2023 World Cup – Budapest: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2023 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – BUDAPEST

• Friday, October 20th – Sunday, October 22nd
• Budapest, Hungary
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Well, folks, this is it. The last session of the last day of the last meet of this 2023 World Aquatics World Cup tour is about to kick off.

WATCH:

DAY 3 FINALS SCHEDULE:

• Men’s 400 IM — Fastest Heat
• Women’s 800 Freestyle — Fastest Heat
• Women’s 100 Butterfly — Final
• Men’s 50 Butterfly — Final
• Women’s 200 Backstroke — Final
• Men’s 100 Backstroke — Final
• Women’s 50 Breaststroke — Final
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Final
• Women’s 100 Freestyle — Final
• Men’s 200 Freestyle — Final
• Women’s 200 IM — Final

Series leader Kaylee McKeown claimed the top seed in the 200 back this morning in a time of 2:10.64 and will be flanked by Anastasia Shkurdai and Kylie Masse. It will be interesting to see how McKeown will take this race out, considering the last two races she has swum here in Budapest have resulted in World Records.

On the men’s side, China’s Qin Haiyang will have to move up through the field to claim victory in the 200 breast as the prelims sessions saw three other swimmers qualify ahead of him, lead by the Dutch pair of Arno Kamminga and Caspar Corbeau.

The women’s 50 breast sees former World Record holder Benedetta Pilato as the top seed after clocking a time of 29.87 this morning. Chasing her for the title will be Alina Zmushka, Mona McSharry, and Lydia Jacoby.

The ever-exciting women’s 100 free will see familiar faces battle it out for the podium positions as the World Record holder, Sarah Sjostrom, will look to hold off the newly minted World Cup record holder, Siobhan Haughey as well as the resurgent Aussie sisters: Bronte Campbell and Cate Campbell.

Italy’s Thomas Ceccon will look to sweep the 100 backstrokes at all three stops, but faces stiff competition as Great Britain’s Oliver Morgan enters as the top seed, posting a time of 54.46 this morning.

Don’t forget the session is scheduled to end with the Golden Races, where the winners of the 100 of strokes will compete against one. another in staggered starts.

MEN’S 400 IM — FASTEST HEAT

• World Record: 4:02.50 — Léon Marchand, France (2023)
• World Cup Record: 4:11.41 — Daiya Seto, Japan (2019)
• World Junior Record: 4:10.02 — Ilya Borodin, Russia (2021)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Matt Sates (RSA) – 4:15.68
• SILVER: Balazs Hollo (HUN) – 4:16.09
• BRONZE: Brendon Smith (AUS) – 4:16.93

South Africa’s Matt Sates built a lead at the 100 after taking the fly leg out in 56.42. Hungary’s Balazs Hollo put in a strong middle 200 and touched ahead of Sates at the 300 mark by just .17. The last 100 turned into a drag race between the pair, with Sates surging ahead by using a 58.19 last leg to take the win in a time of 4:15.68. Sates placed 2nd last weekend in Athens in a time of 4:13.38.

Hollo held on to 2nd, finishing in 4:16.09, while Brendon Smith used a strong breaststroke leg to move up to finish in 3rd with a time of 4:16.93. Smith was over a second faster than his bronze medal performance from Athens.

Of note, 35-year-old Hungarian David Verraszto finished in 5th in a time of 4:18.74 and American Sean Grieshop was in contention through the backstroke but faded to 8th overall in a time of 4:22.89.

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE — FASTEST HEAT

• World Record: 8:04.79— Katie Ledecky, United States (2016)
• World Cup Record: 8:16.82 — Lani Pallister, Australia (2023
• World Junior Record: 8:11.00— Katie Ledecky, United States (2014)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Lani Pallister (AUS) – 8:15.11 *NEW WORLD CUP RECORD*
• SILVER: Erika Fairweather (NZL) – 8:22.30
• BRONZE: Anja Kesely (HUN) -8:28.87

Australia’s distance star, Lani Pallister, put on a strong and record-setting performance this evening, posting a new PB and World Cup record time of 8:15.11, sweeping the distance events across all three stops. New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather tried her best to stay with the Aussie, but Pallister’s back-half speed was just too much as her lead of .1.46  at the 400 (4:05.25 vs 4:06.71 ) turned into a winning advantage of 7.19 seconds.

Pallister rewrites her own World Cup record from the Berlin meet, where she swam an 8:16.82 to take the victory. The previous record stood at 8:22.24 and was held by fellow Aussie Kiah Melverton.

Rounding out the podium was Hungary’s Ajna Kesely, who finished in a time of 8:28.87.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY — FINAL

• World Record: 55.48 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2016)
• World Cup Record: 56.06— Zhang Yufei, China (2023)
• World Junior Record: 56.43 — Claire Curzan, United States (2021)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Zhang Yufei (CHN) – 56.13
• SILVER: Louise Hansson (SWE) – 57.61
• BRONZE: Alexandria Perkins (AUS) – 58.08

Scaring Sarah Sjostrom‘s World Record, Chinese star Zhang Yufei took out the race fast, splitting 25.74 and under WR pace. She tightened up a little in the closing metes but had built enough of a lead to take the win in 56.13. Her win tonight was just a little off her World Cup record of 56.06 but ensured her the crown in sweeping the 100 fly.

Rounding out the podium was Sweden’s Louise Hansson, who turned just 5th at the 50, but charged home with the 2nd fastest last leg to touch in 57.61. The fastest qualifier from this morning, Alexandria Perkins, was 2nd at the 50 and posted a time of 58.08 to win the bronze.

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY — FINAL

• World Record: 22.27 — Andriy Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
• World Cup Record: 22.82 — Andriy Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
• World Junior Record: 22.96 — Diogo Ribeiro, Portugal (2022)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Michael Andrew (USA) – 23.11
• SILVER: Abdelrahman Sameh (EGY) – 23.13
• BRONZE: Ben Proud (GBR) – 23.15

Perhaps serving as a reminder not to clip your fingernails before a race, the top four finishers in the 50 fly were only separated by .05 of a second. After tying for silver in Berlin and taking the bronze in Athens, the USA’s Michael Andrew will stand atop the podium. His time of 23.11 was just enough to take the win from Abdelrahman Sameh and Ben Proud. Andrew’s time is the fastest he has posted across the three meets, while Sameh was just off the 23.04 he posted in Athens.

Missing out on the podium by just .01 and only .05 away from the gold was Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo, who finished in 4th in 23.16.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE — FINAL

• World Record: 2:03.14 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• World Cup Record: 2:06.02 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2:04.81 *NEW WORLD CUP RECORD*
• SILVER: Anastasiya Shkurdai (NIA) – 2:09.67
• BRONZE: Kylie Masse (CAN) – 2:09.77

One could be forgiven for hoping that McKeown could take out her third-world record of the weekend, but alas, she will have to settle for just a new World Cup Record. McKeown, easily the class of the field, swam a 2:04.81 to crush her own World Cup record of 2:06.02 from just last weekend in Athens.

With the win tonight, McKeown completes her triple sweep of the backstroke events at every stop and in confirmed as the winner of the series/

The battle for 2nd was highly entertaining, with just .1 separating Anastasiya Shkurdai and Kylie Massie as the silver medal went to the Belarussian, competing as a Neutral Athlete, in a time of 2:09.67.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE — FINAL

• World Record: 51.60 — Thomas Ceccon, Italy (2022)
• World Cup Record: 52.11 — Mitch Larkin, Australia (2015)
• World Junior Record: 52.53 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2018)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 52.58
• SILVER: Apostolos Christou (GRE) – 53.77
• BRONZE: Miroslav Knedla (CZE) – 53.78

Thomas Ceccon did not leave anything to chance and stamped his authority in the men’s 100 back. Ceccon had the lead from the opening meters and never looked back, flipping in 25.72 and posting the only sub-27 last 50 to finish in 52.58. His time tonight was a little slower than his win in Berlin (52.27) but faster than his win last weekend in Athens (52.73).

With this win, Ceccon earned himself the crown in the 100 and a co0l 10,000 USD bonus.

Apostolos Christou held off a fast-charging Miroslav Knedla by just .01 of a second but improved his bronze medal from Athens to a silver medal here.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE — FINAL

• World Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• World Cup Record: 29.56 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• World Junior Record: 29.30 — Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Benedetta Pilato (ITA) – 30.04
• SILVER: Mona McSharry (IRE) – 30.41
• BRONZE: Alina Zmushka (NIA) – 30.53

Quicker this morning but still fast enough to take the victory, Italy’s Benedetta Pilato swam her way to gold, winning in a time of 30.04. Despite being known more for her sprint prowess, Pilato was the slowest off the blocks with a reaction time of 0.74 but managed to pull away and take the win.

Irish National Record Holder Mona McSharry took the silver in a time of 30.41, just .12 off her PB, while Belarus’s Alina Zmushka, swimming as a Neutral Athlete, swam to bronze in a time of 30.53, just .10 off her national record.

Making the trip to Europe, just for this meet, the US’s Lydia Jacoby finished in 7th in a time of 31.14.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE — FINAL

• World Record: 2:05.48 — Qin Haiyang, China (2023)
• World Cup Record: 2:07.45 — Qin Haiyang, China (2023)
• World Junior Record: 2:08.04 — Dong Zhihao, China (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Qin Haiyaing (CHN) – 2:07.32 *NEW WORLD CUP RECORD*
• SILVER: Caspar Corbeau (NED) – 2:08.63
• BRONZE: Arno Kamminga (NED) – 2:08.87

Following in the footsteps of McKeown, Qin Haiyang completes his triple-triple crown in World Cup Record fashion, taking the 200 breaststroke in a time of 2:07.32. Qin had the lead throughout the race, turning at the halfway point in 1:00.77. The Dutch pair of Caspar Corbeau and Arno Kaminga were within a second at that mark but could not keep up with the World Record holder and finished more than a second back in times of 2:08.63 and 2:08.87, respectively.

Corbeau won bronze at the previous two stops but improved not only his medal but also his time, as his previous fastest was 2:08.82

American Nic Fink finished 5th in 2:11.41, while Qin’s countryman Dong Zhihao was the only other swimmer under 2:10, finishing 4th in 2:09.22

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE — FINAL

• World Record: 51.71 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
• World Cup Record: 52.02 — Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong (2023)
• World Junior Record: 52.70 — Penny Oleksiak, Canada (2016)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Siobhan Haughey (HKG) – 52.24
• SILVER: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 53.25
• BRONZE: Marrit Steenbergen (NED) – 53.39

Siobhan Haughey has shown remarkable consistency and perseverance in continuing her success from the Worlds and the Asian Games into this World Cup. The Hong Kong athlete, via her victory here, sweeps the 100/200 freestyles across all three stops.

Haughey was just .02 slower off the blocks than Sjostrom but lead at the 50 (24.94) by .45 over Australia Cate Campbell (25.39). Haughey, in addition to the fastest first 50 had the 2nd fastest last 50 to finish in 52.24, a result just off her 52.02 from Berlin but quicker than the 52.55 from Athens.

Sjostrom, just 4th at the 50, passed Cate and Bronte Campbell to take the silver medal in a time of 53.25, over a second behind Haughey. Dutch star Marrit Steenbergen got on to the podium by using the fastest last 50 and only split sub-:27 (26.99) to win the bronze in 53.39.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE — FINAL

• World Record: 1:42.00 — Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
• World Cup Record: 1:44.38 — Danas Rapsys, Lithuania (2019)
• World Junior Record: 1:42.97 — David Popovici, Romania (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Maximillian Giuliani (AUS) – 1:45.42
• SILVER: Danas Rapsys (LTU) – 1:45.72
• BRONZE: Kieran Smith (USA) – 1:46.93

It was a back-and-forth race between Lithuanian Danas Rapsys and Australian Maximillian Giuliani, with the Aussie having the lead at the 50 and the Lithuanian taking in at the 100. Giuliani took it to Rapsys on the last 50 out splitting him 26.49 to 26.80 to take the win in 1:45.42. With the win tonight, the Australian not only set a new personal best but also prevented Rapsys from winning the crown in the 200 free.

Rapsys has shown remarkable consistency swimming  1:45.75 in Berlin and 1:45.72 in Athens, but his time of 1:45.72, tonight, just didn’t cut it tonight.

Rounding out the podium tonight was the American Kieran Smith, who posted a time of 1:46.93, just holding off the Australian Sam Short, who had to settle for 4th in a time of 1:47.05.

WOMEN’S 200 IM — FINAL

• World Record: 2:06.12 — Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2015)
• World Cup Record: 2:08.15 — Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2019)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.89 — Summer McIntosh, Canada (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Marrit Steenbergen (NED) – 2:11.33
• SILVER: Beata Nelson (USA) – 2:13.71
• BRONZE: Dalma Sebestyen (HUN) – 2:14.42

Not a stranger to a lot of racing, Dutch star Marrit Steenbergen pulled off a tough double, coming from the 100 free less than 10 minutes before to steal the win in the 200 IM. Steenbergen, who had the fastest finish in the 100, to win bronze, used a similar strategy here to win the gold.

Sitting in 2nd to the US’s Beata Nelson after the breaststroke, Steenbergen posted the only sub-:30  last 50 of 29.61 (the next fastest was 32.08) to claim her first World Cup victory in a time of 2:11.33.

Nelson, for her part, held on for 2nd and finished in 2:13.71, while home nation swimmer Dalma Sebestyen claimed the bronze in a time of 2:14.42.