WATCH: (Almost) All the Freestyle Races from 2022 Worlds

2022 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 18-25, 2022 (pool swimming)
• Budapest, Hungary
• Duna Arena
• LCM (50-meter format)
• Full Aquatics Schedule
• How To Watch
• Psych Sheets
• Meet Central
• Live Results

Relive 11 of the 12 freestyle races through video highlights from last month’s 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Day 1

Men’s 400 Freestyle – Final

1. Elijah Winnington (AUS), 3:41.22
2. Lukas Märtens (GER), 3:42.85
3. Guilherme Costa (BRA), 3:43.31
4. Felix Auboeck (AUT), 3:43.58
5. Marco de Tullio (ITA), 3:44.14
6. Kim Woomin (KOR), 3:45.64
7. Kieran Smith (USA), 3:46.43
8. Trey Freeman (USA), 3:46.53

The men’s 400 freestyle was everything we could’ve asked for, as the fastest swimmers in the world over the past two years went head-to-head in an epic showdown. Australian Elijah Winnington got out to a fast start, was overtaken by Germany’s Lukas Märtens on the fifth 50, and then roared home in 26.50 to solidify the victory in a time of 3:41.22.

Women’s 400 Freestyle – Final

1. Katie Ledecky (USA), 3:58.15 CR
2. Summer McIntosh (CAN), 3:59.39
3. Leah Smith (USA), 4:02.08
4. Lani Pallister (AUS), 4:02.16
5. Isabel Gose (GER), 4:03.47
6. Erika Fairweather (NZL), 4:04.73
7. Kiah Melverton (AUS), 4:05.62
8. Tang Muhan (CHN), 4:10.70

Katie Ledecky reclaims the World Championship title she lost three years ago in the women’s 400 freestyle, getting out to an early lead before holding Summer McIntosh at bay and touching first in 3:58.15. The time for Ledecky breaks her previous Championship Record of 3:58.34, set in 2017, though it falls well shy of the world record set by Australian Ariarne Titmus (3:56.40) last month. Titmus opted not to compete in Budapest.

Day 3

Men’s 200 Freestyle – Final

1. David Popovici (ROU), 1:43.21 WJR
2. Hwang Sunwoo (KOR), 1:44.47
3. Tom Dean (GBR), 1:44.98
4. Drew Kibler (USA), 1:45.01
5. Felix Auboeck (AUT), 1:45.11
6. Kieran Smith (USA), 1:45.16
7. Lukas Märtens (GER), 1:45.73
8. Elijah Winnington (AUS), 1:45.82

David Popovici delivered an unbelievable performance to win gold in the men’s 200 freestyle, clocking another World Junior Record while becoming the youngest-ever swimmer under 1:44 in history. The 17-year-old Romanian touched in a time of 1:43.21, smashing his WJR of 1:44.40 set during the semi-finals and launching into fourth on the all-time performers’ list while producing the second-fastest textile swim in history.

Women’s 1500 Freestyle – Final

1. Katie Ledecky (USA), 15:30.15
2. Katie Grimes (USA), 15:44.89
3. Lani Pallister (AUS), 15:48.96
4. Moesha Johnson (AUS), 15:55.75
5. Simona Quadarella (ITA), 16:03.84
6. Beatriz Pimentel Dizotti (BRA), 16:05.25
7. Viviane Jungblut (BRA), 16:13.89
8. Kristel Kobrich (CHI), 16:20.24

It was never in doubt. Katie Ledecky once again was crowned world champion in the women’s 1500 freestyle, roaring to a dominant victory in a time of 15:30.15. It was Ledecky’s fourth win in a row, having won three straight from 2013 until 2017 before being forced to withdraw from the race due to illness in 2019. It also marked her 17th World Championship gold medal, the most ever by a female swimmer.

Day 4

Men’s 800 Freestyle – Final

1. Bobby Finke (USA), 7:39.36 AR
2. Florian Wellbrock (GER), 7:39.63
3. Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR), 7:40.05
4. Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), 7:41.19
5. Guilherme Costa (BRA), 7:45.48
6. Gabriele Detti (ITA), 7:47.75
7. Damien Joly (FRA), 7:48.10
8. Daniel Wiffen (IRL), 7:50.63

Using the same strategy that won him double Olympic gold last summer in the men’s 800 and 1500 free, American Bobby Finke executed a scorching-fast closing 50 to earn gold in the men’s 800 freestyle at the 2022 World Championships.

Women’s 200 Freestyle – Final

1. Yang Junxuan (CHN), 1:54.92
2. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS), 1:55.22
3. Tang Muhan (CHN), 1:56.25
4. Freya Anderson (GBR), 1:56.61
5. Madi Wilson (AUS), 1:56.85
6. Charlotte Bonnet (FRA) / Taylor Ruck (CAN), 1:57.24
7. –
8. Isabel Gose (GER), 1:57.38

Yang Junxuan brought home China’s first-ever title in the women’s 200 freestyle, edging out Australian Mollie O’Callaghan for the gold medal in a time of 1:54.92, but we could not find video of her victory. Yang, 20, was fourth in this event at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but set a best time and National Record of 1:54.37 leading off China’s world record-breaking 800 free relay at the same competition.

Day 5

Men’s 100 Freestyle – Final

1. David Popovici (ROU), 47.58
2. Maxime Grousset (FRA), 47.64
3. Josh Liendo (CAN), 47.71
4. Pan Zhanle (CHN), 47.79
5. Brooks Curry (USA), 48.00
6. Nandor Nemeth (HUN), 48.13
7. Lewis Burras (GBR), 48.23
8. Alessandro Miressi (ITA), 48.31

Although the final of the men’s 100 freestyle ended up being significantly slower than the semis, we still witnessed a great race that saw David Popovici emerge victorious for his second title of the meet. The 17-year-old Romanian overcame the likes of Maxime Grousset and Josh Liendo to win gold in a time of 47.58, over four-tenths shy of his personal best of 47.13 from the semis.

Day 6

Women’s 100 Freestyle – Final

1. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS), 52.67
2. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 52.80
3. Torri Huske (USA), 52.92
4. Penny Oleksiak (CAN), 52.98
5. Cheng Yujie (CHN), 53.58
6. Kayla Sanchez (CAN), 53.59
7. Marie Wattel (FRA), 53.60
8. Claire Curzan (USA), 53.81

Mollie O’Callaghan showcased her patented back-half speed to claim her first career individual world championship title in the women’s 100 freestyle in what was an incredibly tight race between the top four finishers. The 18-year-old Australian flipped in sixth at the 50-meter mark in 25.96, but closed in a scintillating 26.71 to run down the leaders and win gold in a time of 52.67.

Day 7

Men’s 50 Freestyle – Final

1. Ben Proud (GBR), 21.32
2. Michael Andrew (USA), 21.41
3. Maxime Grousset (FRA), 21.57
4. Szebasztian Szabo (HUN), 21.60
5. Josh Liendo (CAN), 21.61
6. Lorenzo Zazzeri (ITA), 21.81
7. Lewis Burras (GBR), 21.83
8. Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE), 21.89

Ben Proud used his explosive start to gain an early advantage on the men’s 50 free field that fueled his first LC World Championship title in a time of 21.32, his fastest showing since 2018. Proud won bronze in 2017 and then placed fifth in Gwangju. It marked the first victory for Great Britain in this event, and just the fourth time in 15 editions that the men’s 50 free has been won by a European swimmer.

Women’s 800 Freestyle – Final

1. Katie Ledecky (USA), 8:08.04
2. Kiah Melverton (AUS), 8:18.77
3. Simona Quadarella (ITA), 8:19.00
4. Leah Smith (USA), 8:20.04
5. Li Bingjie (CHN), 8:23.15
6. Isabel Gose (GER), 8:23.78
7. Eve Thomas (NZL), 8:30.37
8. Viviane Jungblut (BRA), 8:37.04

Katie Ledecky becomes the first swimmer in history to win the same event five consecutive times at the World Championships, claiming another dominant victory in the women’s 800 freestyle in a time of 8:08.04.

Day 8

Men’s 1500 Freestyle – Final

1. Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) – 14:32.80
2. Bobby Finke (USA) – 14:36.70
3. Florian Wellbrock (GER) – 14:36.94
4. Lukas Marten (GER) – 14:40.89
5. Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) – 14:40.98
6. Guilherme Costa (BRA) – 14:48.53
7. Daniel Jervis (GBR) – 14:48.86
8. Damien Joly (FRA) – 15:09.15

For the majority of this race, it looked like we might see the first-ever sub-15:30 1500 freestyle as Gregorio Paltrinieri swam the middle portion of the race a body length ahead of world record pace. Paltrinieri dominated the field and made sure that he put as much space as he could between himself and expert-closer Bobby Finke.

Women’s 50 Freestyle – Final

1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 23.98
2. Kasia Wasick (POL) – 24.18
3. Meg Harris (AUS) / Erika Brown (USA) – 24.38
5. Zhang Yufei (CHN) – 24.57
6. Torri Huske (USA) – 24.64
7. Anna Hopkin (GBR) – 24.71
8. Julie Kepp Jensen (DEN) – 24.96

Sarah Sjostrom has a knack for winning. She picked up her second gold medal of this meet and her 10th career gold medal at World Championships. Sjostrom was the only woman to dip under 24 seconds and won the event with a 23.98.