Coverage of the 2015 FINA World Championships is sponsored by Wylas Timing. Visit our coverage page for more.
Everything you need to follow along with prelims live during the 2015 FINA World Championships. Hit refresh for the latest coverage.
Men’s 50 breast
Cameron van der Burgh matched the unratified world record of Adam Peaty in the men’s 50-meter breast at the 2015 FINA World Championships.
During prelims, Van der Burgh hit the wall in 26.62. Officially, that’s a world record as he bested his own mark of 26.67. Unofficially, that’s tied for the best time ever.
Peaty broke Van der Burgh’s world record with a 26.62 during the 2014 European Championships last summer, but FINA elected not to approve it yet because he wasn’t tested for EPO since someone forgot to check the box to test his sample for EPO.
“The form for world records includes a test for EPO,” FINA secretary Paolo Barelli said of the issue. “The lab analysis performed in Germany didn’t do it because there wasn’t an ‘X’ on the tiny box for EPO.”
Either way, van der Burgh now has the top time in the world to his credit, perhaps alongside Peaty.
Peaty snared the second seed in the sprint breast with a time of 26.68, while Slovenia’s Damir Dugonjic claimed third in 26.70.
USA’s Kevin Cordes rounded out the 26s with a fourth-seeded 26.93 as his full-time training in Singapore with Sergio Lopez is taking form. He’s just off Mark Gangloff’s American record of 26.86 from 2009.
Brazil’s Felipe Silva (27.10), Serbia’s Caba Siladi (27.19), New Zealand’s Glenn Snyders (27.23) and Brazil’s Felipe Lima (27.37) rounded out the top eight.
Germany’s Hendrik Feldwehr (27.41), France’s Giacomo Perez-Dortona (27.42), Russia’s Kirill Prigoda (27.43), Slovenia’s Peter John Stevens (27.46), Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Balandin (27.47), Italy’s Andrea Toniato (27.47), Uzbekistan’s Vlad Mustafin (27.51) and Lithuania’s Giedrius Titenis (27.51) also made the semis.
Women’s 200 free
One of the most stacked fields of the entire 2015 FINA World Championships was assembled with USA’s Katie Ledecky leading the way in the women’s 200-meter free.
Ledecky, who actually cruised her way to a world record in the women’s 1500-meter free yesterday during prelims, paced qualifying with a time of 1:55.82. That moved Ledecky up to fifth in the world rankings.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu put up the second seed of the morning with a time of 1:56.32. She’s been faster with a 1:55.89 from earlier this season.
This event could be the final straw in the likely battle between Ledecky and Hosszu for Swimming World’s World Swimmer of the Year. Assuming the two swimmers take care of business in their other events, this is the only head-to-head swim.
Ledecky, however, is going to have to measure herself during finals tonight. She had the women’s 1500-meter freestyle finale, then comes right back after the men’s 100-meter back finals for the women’s 200-meter free semis.
Plenty of other top swimmers will have something to say about Ledecky and Hosszu in semis. USA’s Missy Franklin raced her way to the third seed in 1:56.42 with China’s Shen Duo posting a fourth-seeded 1:56.75.
Russia’s Veronika Popova (1:57.18), Italy’s Federica Pellegrini (1:57.34), Australia’s Emma McKeon (1:57.78) and France’s Charlotte Bonnet (1:57.99) closed out the top eight.
The Netherlands’ Femke Heemskerk (1:58.10), Sweden’s Michelle Coleman (1:58.11), Great Britain’s Siobhan Marie O’Connor (1:58.27), China’s Guo Junjun (1:58.27), Russia’s Viktoria Andreeva (1:58.31), Japan’s Chihiro Igarashi (1:58.31), Bulgaria’s Nina Rangelova (1:58.41) and Brazil’s Manuella Lyrio (1:58.68) also will compete in the semis.
Men’s 200 fly
Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh uncorked a world best in the men’s 200-meter fly at the 2015 FINA World Championships.
Cseh clocked a time of 1:53.71 to beat Daiya Seto’s world best of 1:54.46 from the Japan Open. That’s just a second off Cseh’s lifetime best of 1:52.70 from the 2008 Beijing Olympics that puts him second all time behind Michael Phelps (1:51.51).
Denmark’s Viktor Bromer raced his way to the second seed in 1:54.47 to move to third in the world rankings, while Seto qualified third in 1:55.60.
Poland’s Jan Switkowski (1:55.78), Brazil’s Leonardo De Deus (1:55.83), USA’s Tyler Clary (1:55.86), Japan’s Masato Sakai (1:55.97) and Australia’s David Morgan (1:56.05) qualified fourth through eighth.
USA’s Tom Shields (1:56.12), Greece’s Stefanos Dimitriadis (1:56.23), South Africa’s Sebastien Rousseau (1:56.29), Belgium’s Louis Croenen (1:56.33), Singapore’s Joe Schooling (1:56.85), South Africa’s Chad le Clos (1:56.92), Australia’s Grant Irvine (1:56.92) and Germany’s Alexander Kunert (1:57.28) snared the other spots in semis.
Men’s 800 free
USA’s Connor Jaeger led the way during the men’s 800-meter free prelims at the 2015 FINA World Championships.
Jaeger threw down a top time of 7:44.77 during prelims, just about a second off Michael McBroom’s American record of 7:43.60 from 2013. He also just missed his own personal best of 7:44.26 from 2013 as well.
Jaeger’s performance is a huge world best, clearing the 7:47.36 clocked by Mack Horton at the Australian Nationals.
Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri turned in a second-seeded time of 7:45.15 in what proved to be a close battle with Jaeger in the final heat of five.
Great Britain’s Stephen Milne qualified third in 7:46.41 with Michael McBroom taking fourth in 7:47.05.
Horton cruised his way to a fifth-seeded 7:47.08, while China’s Sun Yang also made the finale with a sixth-seeded 7:47.87.
Poland’s Wojciech Wojdak (7:48.95) and Norway’s Henrik Christiansen (7:49.70) also will compete for the world title.
Canada’s Ryan Cochrane saw his podium-placement streak end at three meets after taking 10th overall in 7:50.28. Cochrane had made the previous three podiums with a bronze (2009), silver (2011) and bronze (2013).
2015 FINA World Championships, Swimming: Day 3 Prelims – Results
SCHEDULED EVENTS
- Men’s 50 breast
- Women’s 200 free
- Men’s 200 fly
- Men’s 800 free
