2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
- All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
- Meet site
- Competition Schedule
- FinaTV Live Stream
- Entry Lists
- Results
After two scorching performances in the 100 breaststroke, including a World Record 56.88 in the semifinals, Adam Peaty returns to the pool for the 50 breaststroke, where he is the overwhelming favorite. Be prepared to see Peaty lower his World Record in this shorter non-Olympic event as well.
Katie Ledecky is back in action in the women’s 200 freestyle, where she will go head-to-head with
Update: Katie Ledecky is out of the women’s 200 freestyle on “medical grounds;” Ledecky’s status in the 1500 final remains unknown. Though the United States boasts other world-class 200 freestylers such as Mallory Comerford, Leah Smith, Simone Manuel, and Katie McLaughlin, they are unable to enter an alternate in place of Ledecky.
In her absence, newly-crowned 400 freestyle champ Ariarne Titmus of Australia, as well as 2017 World Champion Federica Pellegrini of Italy and 2018 Pan Pacs champion Taylor Ruck of Canada are the major contenders for the podium. Australia’s Emma McKeon will also be a strong challenger to Ledecky and a major medal contender. 2017 Worlds co-silver medalist Emma McKeon has also withdrawn from the 200 freestyle.
Katinka Hosszu‘s entry in the event also raises intrigue, though Hosszu chose to sit out the 100 backstroke yesterday, despite being the 2016 Olympic champion in the race. American Record holder Allison Schmitt, as well as Swedish superstar Sarah Sjostrom and Canada’s Penny Oleksiak will also race the 200.
Kristof Milak, Tamas Kenderesi, Daiya Seto, and Chad le Clos will finally get to spread their wings in the prelims of the men’s 200 fly. Though Milak is the favorite to win the event, Kenderesi and Seto have been having great seasons and swimming exciting times.
Finally, the men’s 800 freestyle will feature Italian superstars Gregorio Paltrinieri and Gabriele Detti, Americans Zane Grothe and Jordan Wilimovsky, Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk, Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, and arch-rivals Sun Yang of China and Mack Horton of Australia. Only the top 8 from prelims will advance to the final Wednesday evening.
Men’s 50 Breaststroke – PRELIMS
- World Record: Adam Peaty (Great Britain), 2017, 25.95
- World Junior Record: Nicolo Martinenghi (Italy), 2017, 26.97
- World Championships Record: Adam Peaty (Great Britain), 2017, 25.95
- 2017 Defending World Champion: Adam Peaty (Great Britain), 25.95
33-year-old Joao Gomes of Brazil blew through the 6th heat, touching in 26.73. Andrei Nikolaev closed fast on Michael Andrew to touch 26.99 to Andrew’s 27.02.
34-year-old Felipe Lima, also of Brazil, then won heat 7 in an equal 26.73. Turkey’s Emre Sakci touched 2nd in 26.87, just ahead of Russia’s Kirill Prigoda, who rounded out the 2ub-27s in 26.93.
Adam Peaty did not break his own World Record, but still blew away the competition in the 7th and final heat of the 50 breast, touching in 26.28. American Andrew Wilson was a declared false start (DFS) in heat 7, despite racing in the final of the 100 breaststroke yesterday. Ilya Shymanovich touched 2nd behind Peaty in heat 7 in 26.87, while China’s Yan Zibei swam to another Asian Record in 26.93 to finish 3rd in the heat.
Top 16 – Semifinals Qualifiers
- Adam Peaty, Great Britain, 26.28
- Joao Gomes, Brazil/Felipe Lima, Brazil, 26.73
- —
- Emre Sakci, Turkey/Ilya Shymanovich, Belarus 26.87
- —
- Kirill Prigoda, Russia/Yan Zibei, China, 26.93
- —
- Darragh Greene, Ireland, 26.94
- Andrei Nikolaev, Russia, 26.99
- Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy, 27.00
- Michael Andrew, United States, 27.02
- Fabio Scozzoli, Italy, 27.11
- Tobias Bjerg, Denmark, 27.13
- Ties Elzerman, Netherlands, 27.19
- Nikola Obrovac, Croatia, 27.27
- Yasuhiro Koseki, Japan, 27.33
Women’s 200 Freestyle – PRELIMS
- World Record: Federica Pellegrini (Italy), 2009, 1:52.98
- World Junior Record: Shen Duo (China), 2014, 1:56.12
- World Championships Record: Federica Pellegrini (Italy), 2009, 1:52.98
- 2017 Defending World Champion: Federica Pellegrini (Italy), 1:54.73
The sudden withdrawals of Katie Ledecky (report here) and Emma McKeon (report here) drastically changed the landscape of the women’s 200 freestyle at this year’s World Championships. Now, unless FINA allows for last-minute subs from either the United States or Australia, heat 7 lane 5 (Ledecky) and heat 5 lane 4 (McKeon) will be vacant, leaving Titmus and Sjostrom, respectively, with clean water to one side.
Another last-minute scratch came from Canadian superstar Taylor Ruck, the 2018 Pan Pacs champion in the 200 free. Without Ruck, McKeon, or Ledecky, three of the best women in the world in this event today, the likeliness of seeing new faces on the podium increases drastically.
Sarah Sjostrom took the race out fast, a full .8 under World Record pace at 50 meters. At 100 meters, Sjostrom was just .18 above World Record pace. Sjostrom maintained her lead through 150 meters, though Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong kept strong to touch 2nd in the heat. Sjostrom’s time registered at 1:55.14 to Haughey’s 1:56.02. Katinka Hosszu touched 5th in the heat in a sluggish 1:59.44, finishing 17th overall. Though with the scratch rate in this event, she may yet have hope of a semifinal berth.
France’s Charlotte Bonnet took the race out fast, flipping .3 under World Record pace at 50 meters. Though she fell off the World Record pace, Bonnet held the lead through 150, but was then passed by Li Bingjie in the final 25 meters. Bingjie touched in 1:57.59, just ahead of Great Britain’s Freya Anderson who also charged at the end to touch in 1:57.68. Japan’s Rio Shirai got to the wall 3rd in 1:58.10, in front of the early leader Bonnet, who faded to 4th in 1:58.21, just ahead of USA’s Allison Schmitt, who touched 5th in the heat in 1:58.73.
Penny Oleksiak led through the first 100 meters of the final heat, but was overpowered by Ariarne Titmus at 150 meters. Titmus got to the wall first in 1:56.34, the 3rd-fastest of the morning, holding off World Record holder Federica Pellegrini (1:56.81) and Oleksiak (1:57.25).
Top 16 – Semifinals Qualifiers
- Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden, 1:55.14
- Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong, 1:56.02
- Ariarne Titmus, Australia, 1:56.34
- Yang Junxuan, China, 1:56.43
- Federica Pellegrini, Italy, 1:56.81
- Penny Oleksiak, Canada, 1:57.25
- Barbora Seemanova, Czech Republic, 1:57.32
- Li Bingjie, China, 1:57.59
- Freya Anderson, Great Britain, 1:57.68
- Veronika Andrusenko, Russia, 1:57.77
- Valeriia Salamatina, Russia, 1:57.98
- Rio Shirai, Japan, 1:58.10
- Charlotte Bonnet, France, 1:58.21
- Allison Schmitt, United States, 1:58.73
- Valentine Dumont, Belgium, 1:59.11
- Chihiro Igarahis, Japan, 1:59.18
Men’s 200 Butterfly – PRELIMS
- World Record: Michael Phelps (United States), 2009, 1:51.51
- World Junior Record: Kristof Milak (Hungary), 2017, 1:53.89
- World Championships Record: Michael Phelps (United States), 2009, 1:51.51
- 2017 Defending World Champion: Chad le Clos (South Africa), 1:53.33
Chad le Clos led through the first 100 meters in 54.04, though by 150 Italy Federico Burdisso had come within .13 of le Clos. Burdisso looked as though he was going to catch le Clos, but the South African took one of his signature glances over to the lane next to him and surged to the wall, touching first in 1:56.17. Australian Matthew Temple managed to pass Burdisso in the final meters, touching 2nd in the heat in 1:56.54 to Burdisso’s 1:56.64.
Luiz Altamir Melo led through the first 150 meters of the second-to-last heat of the 200 fly, though USA’s Zach Harting and Bulgaria’s Antani Ivanov pulled through to touch the wall ahead of the Brazilian in 1:56.35 and 1:56.42. Tamas Kenderesi, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, touched 3rd in 1:56.82, knocking Altamir Melo down to 4th in 1:57.08.
Kristof Milak led at 50 meters, though Daiya Seto of Japan kept the race close. Milak turned at 100 in 54.35, though Seto stayed right on his shoulder. Seto passed Milak on every underwater, as would be expected of the short course World Record holder, though Milak’s easy speed down the stretch won out, finishing in 1:54.19 to Seto’s 1:54.56. 2018 Youth Olympic Games bronze medalist Denys Kesil of Ukraine hit the wall 3rd in 1:55.82, easily coasting into the semifinals.
Top 16 – Semifinals Qualifiers
- Kristof Milak, Hungary, 1:54.19
- Daiya Seto, Japan, 1:54.56
- Denys Kesil, Ukraine, 1:55.82
- Leonardo de Deus, Brazil, 1:56.05
- Chad le Clos, South Africa, 1:56.17
- Antani Ivanov, Bulgaria, 1:56.35
- Louis Croenen, Belgium, 1:56.35
- Zach Harting, United States, 1:56.42
- Matthew Temple, Australia, 1:56.54
- Federico Burdisso, Italy, 1:56.64
- Tamas Kenderesi, Hungary, 1:56.82
- David Morgan, Australia, 1:56.90
- Luiz Altamir Melo, Brazil, 1:57.08
- Brendan Hyland, Ireland, 1:57.09
- Mack Darragh, Canada, 1:57.13
- Maksym Shemberev, Azerbaijan, 1:57.14
Men’s 800 Freestyle – PRELIMS
- World Record: Zhang Lin (China), 2009, 7:32.12
- World Junior Record: Mack Horton (Australia), 2014, 7:45.67
- World Championships Record: Zhang Lin (China), 2009, 7:32.12
- 2017 Defending World Champion: Gabriele Detti (Italy), 7:40.77
Gregorio Paltrinieri and Sun Yang dominated heat 3 of the men’s 800 freestyle, showing starkly different race strategies. Paltrinieri, the 2016 Olympic champion in the 1500, took it out fast, though Yang, with a large, loping stroke, held 2nd for most of the race, but was overtaken in the final 100 meters by France’s David Aubrey and Italy’s Gabriele Detti, who touched 2nd and 3rd in 7:46.37 and 7:46.46, respectively. Sun, on the other hand, was pushed to 4th in the heat in 7:48.12 with one more heat of 10 swimmers remaining.
Mykhailo Romanchuk of Ukraine led through the first 700 meters of the final heat of the men’s 800, but by 750 was overtaken by Australia’s Jack McLoughlin. Ultimately, McLoughlin touched first in 7:46.42, just ahead of Norway’s Henrik Christiansen, who hit the wall in 7:46.53. Romanchuk may have been out-done in the last 50, but wasn’t too far behind, touching in 7:47.01, just ahead of countryman Sergii Frolov who took 4th in the heat in 7:47.25, good for 7th overall. Denmark’s Anton Ipsen finished 5th in the heat in 7:48.74, over half-a-second slower than Sun, who finished 4th in heat 3, knocking Ipsen down to 9th overall and out of the finals.
Top 8 – Finals Qualifiers
- Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy, 7:45.70
- David Aubrey, France, 7:46.37
- Jack McLoughlin, Australia, 7:46.42
- Gabriele Detti, Italy, 7:46.46
- Henrik Christiansen, Norway, 7:46.53
- Mykhailo Romanchuk, Ukraine, 7:47.01
- Sergii Frolov, Ukraine, 7:47.25
- Sun Yang, China, 7:48.12
Another disappointing day for the Germans. Nobody made it to the semi or final. For Wellbrock is maybe too much 10k openwater and than BOTH 800m and 1500m in the pool…Should have more rest between 10k and his first start in the pool, maybe just only swim the 1500m next time…I think now is too late to change somethings..I don’t think he can recover from this…His coach is trying to explain why he swam more than 10 sec. slower than his personal best..but I think is more the mental side of the coin…The German Media try to put him on the hero position to bring German Swimming back on top BUT I belive this is too much pressure for a… Read more »
Maybe the schedule is too much for him but Paltrinieri is swimming the same schedule.
Didn’t Aubrey swim OW too? They knew the schedule.
Yeah for sure the schedule is too much for him…and I guess the pressure from the German Media is playing a big role too…
Mack Horton proving once again he’s the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of swimming.
I think his decision to stop focusing on the 1500 was DUMB.
I have to say — people are way overreacting on the performance of Team USA. Ledecky sick… ok. BUt really., they had more good swims than bad on the first two days. Day 3 was rough – true! But it does not look like a disaster kind of meet, to me. It does seem like few older swimmers have seen their moment come and go…
Today’s events honestly weren’t strong ones for the US anyway. Out of men’s 50br, 800fr, 200fly and women’s 200fr, the only likely medallist was Ledecky.
tomorrow will shine a new day on Usa’s potential to higher their standards
Ledecky wasn’t even a LIKELY medalist before she was sick.
Definitely a contender, but I think Titmus, Ruck and McKeon are better than her at that distance.
Then you throw Federica and Sjostrom right up there with Ledecky also.
I think all 6 of those girls healthy and in the water and Ledecky is probably more likely to finish 4-6 than 1-3.
And I oop…
A broken clock is wright twice a day
It doesn’t make any sense. There’s nothing wrong with your understanding; she’s just gaslighting.
It’s literally saying “we intentionally don’t care about this meet.” Which is, as I said, nonsense.
1:67.17 for Chad LeClos. Must be a typo.
I think it’s safe to say that this was the single worst prelim session in recent US history. Three of eight entries making it out of prelims, qualifying in 8th, 11th and 14th respectively.
For context, in the whole of Rio 2016 we had one swimmer fail to make it out of prelims in a semifinal event, and seven total fail to make finals, out of 58 total entries (52 individuals and six relays). And– this is kind of amazing, but it’s true– out of six total races where the US didn’t have the maximum number of finalists, we won three gold, one silver and one bronze medal, plus one race with no US finalist. There were more races with… Read more »
Where’s day 2 live recap?