Daniil Pakhomov of Russia broke the championship record in the men’s 100m fly semifinals Wednesday night in order to take the top seed heading into finals over some of the best competitors worldwide.
At the touch Pakhomov recorded a 52.40 to better the 52.52 mark that Daniel Bell of New Zealand swam in 2008.
He was well off the junior world record held by Chinese swimmer Zhuhao Li which was set at the World Championships in Kazan, Russia earlier this month. Zhuhao is not competing at the junior edition of the meet.
Pakhomov has been the clear leader in the 100m butterfly throughout the competition thus far. Prior to setting the record in the semifinals, Pakhomov also took the top seed after the heats being the only swimmer under 53-seconds. There, his closest competitor was Vinicius Lanza of Brazil who was 0.38 seconds behind him.
Heading into finals Pakhomov has slightly increased the gap between himself and Lanza who was a 52.81 in order to take the second seed 0.41 seconds behind him.
Ryan Hoffer of the United States wasn’t far behind Lanza, however he has a ways to go if he wants to catch Pakhomov. Sporting a 52.89, Hoffer is the third seed overall heading into the final.
If 17-year-old Pakhomov can pull off a win, it will be his first major international medal since winning four golds and a bronze at the inaugural European Games this season.