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Commentary by Jeff Commings, Swimming World senior writer
The United States is looking to return to the top of the medal table at this year’s World University Games swimming competition in Gwangju, South Korea. When the competition begins Saturday (July 4, coincidentally), the Americans will present one of its strongest squads and could leave with the majority of gold medals.
At the last World University Games in 2013, host Russia put most of the members of its world championship team in the meet as racing preparation. That resulted in an astounding 17 gold medals for the Russians, which is not likely to be repeated this year. With the exception of a few years here and there, the United States and Japan have been the top medal winners at the World University Games, and that could continue this year.
This preview will focus on the men’s competition. Since the biennial event is open only to athletes enrolled in collegiate education (including those earning Masters degrees), the meet rosters often vary from year to year. The meet is also viewed by many of the top swimming federations as a second- or third-tier meet, and most who race in the World University Games often move up to a higher ranking in their country and are competing against the ultra-elite two years later. Japan’s Kohei Yamamoto and Australia’s Justin James are the only 2013 men’s winners returning to the meet (1500 freestyle winner Sean Ryan was initially on the U.S. team but is now competing in the open water world championships), so we could see some new faces on the gold medal stand.
Yamamoto will be looking for another gold medal in the 800 freestyle, and we’ll see if he can improve on the 7:49.96 he posted two years ago. A swim under 7:50 would rank in the top 10 in the world, and though it’s a non-Olympic event, it would be a standout performance in South Korea. With Ryan out of the meet, Yamamoto might take the 1500 freestyle, as well as the 400 free for a sweep of the distance freestyle events. Look for American Reed Malone to be one of the top contenders for the 400 free title, while American representatives Janardan Burns and Arthur Frayler might not be up for a sub-15:00 swim that will be needed to challenge Yamamoto in the 1500.
Photo Courtesy: Kazan 2013
As for James, defending the 200 IM title will be tough, with American Josh Prenot making some strong inroads this year. Joe Patching of Great Britain, could be a factor in the 200 IM and give Auburn University a bit of pride in the final.
Australia’s Jordan Harrison looks to be the early favorite for the gold medal in the 1500 free. He was a 2013 world championship finalist and fourth at last year’s Pan Pacific championships, but he surprisingly didn’t swim fast enough to make it onto Australia’s world championship team. Look for Harrison to prove his worth with a strong mile in Korea.
Japan also brings 200 breaststroke world record holder Akihiro Yamaguchi to the meet. Since setting that world record of 2:07.01 in September 2012, Yamaguchi has not lived up to the promise set by that swim. He made the world championship final of the 200 breast in 2013, but was nowhere near medal contention. He was virtually absent from the international rankings in 2014, and has seen several talents overshadow him in 2015. Can Yamaguchi rally at the World University Games and put up a time that will make the rest of the world take notice? He’ll have to go under 2:08 if he wants to win gold. Prenot has been very impressive this year, with a 2:09.30 to his credit, and is deemed the 200 breast gold medal favorite.
Photo Courtesy: David Farr
One more swimmer to mention from Japan is Takeharu Fujimori. He was second in the 400 IM at the 2013 meet and will be aiming for gold with reigning champion Michael Weiss not present. (Weiss is swimming at the Pan American Games and world championships.) Prenot is once again a strong medal favorite, and when you add in the 200 IM and 200 breast, he could join Yamamoto as a three-time champion.
Australia’s Ned McKendry will likely do battle with Malone in the 200 free final, as both have lifetime bests in the 1:47-mid range. Clay Youngquist could put two Americans on the 200 free medal stand if he can also crack 1:48. Youngquist and Malone will be using the meet as prep for the 800 free relay at world championships about a month later, so expect them to use the race as an early rehearsal.
Watch out for Andrew Seliskar in the 200 butterfly. The rising American star is on the shortlist of potential Olympic qualifiers in this event, and if he beats his lifetime best of 1:55.92, he will be in contention for the distinction of being the fastest American in 2015. That’s a good place to be heading into training for Olympic Trials.
The United States men’s team should have no problem with winning the relays. Japan will have something to say about that, particularly in the 400 medley relay, but the United States’ depth will be enough to handle any challengers.
Has anyone seen a psych sheet for WUG’s?
Nothing posted yet. It appears start lists won’t go online until the meet starts.
Justin James is the 2013 200IM champion returning this year Jeff.
Thanks for pointing that out. I think my eyes moved right over his name on the Aussie roster when I saw Jordan Harrison’s name above it. We’ll see if he can defend his 200 IM title.
Jeff, I’m not sure if Ned McKendry will be participating at this meet. I’ve seen his name mentioned in articles, but his name is missing from the team list provided on Swimming Australia’s website. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s just an error on the Swimming Australia site. It’ll be good to see him have an individual swim and, most importantly, his participation on all 3 relays.