Fukuoka Finals: A Swimfo Showcase

Courtesy: Bradley Bush

After 10 world records, four women under four minutes in the 400 free, and the first international three-way podium tie since the infamous Phelps/le Clos/Cseh podium in Rio, another World Championship meet has come and gone. With no more racing in Fukuoka, we can now turn to the data behind the world’s fastest swimmers.

Geography

Across 34 individual events with eight swimmers in each final heat, 272 lanes were up for grabs in the finals. The map below features the federations that sent at least one swimmer to finals, with each of the six inhabited continents sending at least three individual swimmers. South America produced three (all from Brazil), Africa qualified five, Oceania had 23, Asia sent 35, North America boasted 39, and Europe rounded out the total with a dominating 75 swimmers.

Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italyears, Japan, Lithuania, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, USA.

The 10 countries that occupied the most lanes in finals (out of the 272) are as follows:

1. United States: 56 (20.59%)
2. Australia: 33 (12.13%)
3. China: 24 (8.82%)
4. France/UK: 15 (5.51%)
5. –
6. Canada/Italy/Japan: 13 (4.78%)
7. –
8. –
9. Germany: 10 (3.68%)
10. Netherlands: 8 (2.94%)

The teams sending the most swimmers to finals (out of 180):

1. United States: 31 (17.22%)
2. Australia: 20 (11.11%)
3. China: 17 (9.44%)
4. Japan/UK: 11 (6.11%)
5. –
6. France: 10 (5.56%)
7. Italy: 9 (5.00%)
8. Canada: 7 (3.89%)
9. Hungary: 6 (3.33%)
10. Germany/The Netherlands: 5 (2.78%)

Youth vs. Experience

The average age of a finalist in Fukuoka was 22.8 years old (roughly 22 years, 293 days). With an uptick in young phenoms in the form of Summer McIntosh and Dong Zhihao swimming alongside experienced stars like Katie Ledecky and Nic Fink, the future of the sport is poised for some exciting competition down the line.

Thirty-two teenagers (under 20) made a final in at least one event.

The youngest finalists (as of July 30):

• Thomas Heilman, United States (16 years, 5 months, 23 days)
• Eneli Jefimova, Estonia (16 years, 7 months, 3 days)
• Mio Narita, Japan (16 years, 7 months, 12 days)
• Summer McIntosh, Canada (16 years, 11 months, 12 days)
• Lana Pudar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (17 years, 6 months, 11 days)

The oldest finalists:

• João Gomes Júnior, Brazil (37 years, 6 months, 9 days)
• Satomi Suzuki, Japan (32 years, 6 months, 1 day)
• Mélanie Henique, France (30 years, 7 months, 8 days)
• Nic Fink, United States (30 years, 27 days)
• Kristian Gkolomeev, Greece (30 years, 26 days)

Youngest medalists:

• Summer McIntosh– Canada, 200 Fly/400 IM/200 Free (16 years, 11 months, 12 days)
• Katie Grimes– United States, 400 IM (17 years, 6 months, 22 days)
• Yu Yiting- China, 200 IM (17 years, 10 months, 25 days)
• Benedetta Pilato- Italy, 50 Breast (18 years, 6 months, 12 days)
• Diogo Matos Ribeiro- Portugal, 50 Fly (18 years, 9 months, 3 days)

Oldest medalists:

• Nic Fink– United States, 50/100 Breast (30 years, 27 days)
• Sarah Sjöström- Sweden, 50 Fly/50 Free (29 years, 11 months, 13 days)
• Cam McEvoy- Australia, 50 Free (29 years, 2 months, 17 days)
• Daiya Seto– Japan, 400 IM (29 years, 2 months, 6 days)
• Ben Proud- United Kingdom, 50 Free (28 years, 10 months, 9 days)

Some exciting things come about when averaging the ages of each final heat, as seen in these graphs. The 200-800 range of most disciplines leaned on the younger side, while the 50s of most strokes favored the older swimmers. Non-50 freestyle events showed more of a likeness to the younger swimmers, yet the two 50 frees are the oldest combination of events.

Average of Finalists – Men

Average Age of Finalists – Women

Average Age of Finalists – Combined

The women’s 400 IM showcased a lot of youth in McIntosh, Katie Grimes, and Mio Narita, a shocking difference from the Men’s 50 breaststroke that featured 23-year-old Lucas Matzerath as its youngest competitor and 37-year-old João Gomes Junior as its oldest.

Birthdays

Below is a calendar featuring each finalist’s birthday. Newer talents Lana Pudar and Jack Alexy share their birthdays, and veterans Emma McKeon and Daiya Seto were both born on May 24. The most intriguing birthday twins are Leon Marchand and Qin Haiyang, born on May 17. Both men could have justifiably been named the male swimmer of the meet, each with three individual gold medals and a world record to boot.

As an extra interesting factoid, there were a few swimmers who shared birthdays that raced in the same heat:

• Men’s 200 Fly: United States’ Thomas Heilman and Canada’s Ilya Kharun (February 7)
• Women’s 200 Fly: Japan’s Airi Mitsui and Denmark’s Helena Bach (June 12)
• Men’s 50 Breast: China’s Sun Jiajun and Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi (August 1)
• Women’s 100 Free: Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey and Sweden’s Michelle Coleman (October 31)
• Men’s 400 IM: Australia’s Brendon Smith and New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt (July 4)

ABOUT BRADLEY BUSH

Bradley Bush was a Sectionals qualifier under the Waves of Wilmington and swam for Hoggard High School, where he holds two school relay records. When not writing or analyzing race results, he can be found doing the New York Times mini crossword and trying his hand at photography. He will be attending Stanford University in the fall.

Follow Bradley on Twitter @splitsngoggles