It was an exciting night of racing at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships as the men of the Russian Federation took home their third relay gold and the women of Canada propelled themselves to their country’s first. Read below for the full recap of night five!
Events:
- Men’s 4×50 Medley Relay FINAL
- Women’s 200 Individual Medley FINAL
- Men’s 100 Freestyle Semi-Finals
- Women’s 100 Butterfly Semi-Finals
- Men’s 50 Butterfly FINAL
- Women’s 50 Freestyle Semi-Finals
- Men’s 50 Breaststroke Semi-Finals
- Women’s 50 Backstroke FINAL
- Men’s 400 Individual Medley FINAL
- Women’s 100 Breaststroke FINAL
- Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay FINAL
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Men’s 4×50 Medley Relay:
The men of the Russian Federation added a third relay gold to their collection after a commanding presence in the back half of the men’s 200 medley relay. Vladimir Morozov once again anchored Russia to victory as he posted a 20.46 split, the fastest in the field, en route to the final wall.
Andrei Shabasov (23.46), Kirill Prigoda (25.52), Aleksandr Popkov (22.08), and Morozov (20.46) posted a combined 1:31.52 for the gold.
Michael Chadwick gained ground on Morozov in the final leg for Team USA, but was unable to catch him as the USA finished second with a 1:31.97. Team USA was represented by Jacob Pebley (23.54), Cody Miller (25.68), Tom Shields (21.94), and Chadwick (20.81).
Belarus’ Pavel Sankovich (23.05), Ilya Shymanovich (25.82), Yauhen Tsurkin (22.59), and Anton Latkin (21.03) earned the bronze medal with a time of 1:32.49.
Japan finished fourth overall with a 1:32.62, followed by Australia with a time of 1:33.29.
China (1:33.98), Sweden (1:34.40), and Lithuania (1:35.00) completed the top eight.
Women’s 200 IM:
Katinka Hosszu of Hungary completed a sweep of the individual medleys with a decisive victory in the 200 individual medley. Hosszu jumped to an early lead and never looked back, finishing with a time of 2:02.90.
The USA picked up both the silver and bronze medals as Ella Eastin and Madisyn Cox tried to run Hosszu down. Eastin stopped the clock at a 2:05.02, while Cox finished with a 2:05.93.
Emily Seebohm of Australia faded to fourth after turning second at the first 50 meters. Seebohm finished with a time of 2:07.41, followed by Japan’s Miho Teramura’s 2:08.47.
Canada’s Sarah Darcel (2:08.59), Japan’s Yui Ohashi (2:08.89), and Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Jakabos (2:08.95) were sixth through eighth.
Men’s 100 Free Semi-Finals:
Blake Pieroni of the USA continued to lead the men’s 100 free with a top showing in semi-finals. Pieroni, a member of the successful Hoosier swimming program, posted a top qualifying time of 46.70 to claim lane four in tomorrow night’s finals.
Lithuania’s Simonas Bilis surged to the wall with Pieroni, finishing a shy .03 seconds behind with a 46.73.
Shinri Shioura of Japan turned in a 46.77 from semi-final one to return tomorrow as the third place seed, while Korea’s Park Tae Hwan was fourth overall in semis with a time of 46.80.
Italy’s Luca Dotto posted a 47.12 for fifth, followed by France’s Mehdy Metella’s 47.16.
Marius Kusch of Germany and Tommaso D’Orsogna of Australia picked up the seventh and eighth place seeds with times of 47.27 and 47.30 respectively.
Women’s 100 Fly Semi-Finals:
Kelsi Worrell of the USA continued to lead the women’s 100 fly with a top showing of 55.80 in the semi-finals. Worrell currently holds the American Record at a 55.42 from last December but keeps edging closer to it.
Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu posted a second place qualifying time of 55.82 from semi-final one, while Japan’s Rikako Ikee turned in a 56.68 from semi-final two for the third place seed.
The USA’s Sarah Gibson grabbed the fourth place seed with a time of 56.88, while hometown favorite Katerine Savard of Canada took fifth with a 56.93.
Brazil’s Daiene Dias was sixth with a 57.10, just ahead of Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova’s 57.16.
Emily Washer of Australia qualified eighth with a 57.44.
Men’s 50 Fly:
Chad le Clos of South Africa flew away from the competition in finals of the men’s 50 fly, posting the only sub-22 second swim of the night. Le Clos flirted with his own championship record of 21.95, stopping the clock at a 21.98 to add a second gold to his collection.
The USA’s Tom Shields finished second overall with a time of 22.40, while Australia’s David Morgan grabbed the bronze with a time of 22.47.
Andrii Govorov of Ukraine took fourth overall with a 22.55, just ahead of Russia’s Aleksandr Popkov’s 22.56.
Venezuela’s Albert Subirats (22.62), Trinidad & Tobago’s Dylan Carter (22.68), and Japan’s Takeshi Kawamoto (22.84) completed the top eight.
Women’s 50 Free Semi-Finals:
World record holder Ranomi Kromowidjojo dashed to the first place seed in semi-finals of the women’s 50 freestyle, turning in a 23.67 for lane four in tomorrow night’s final. Kromowidjojo first posted her world record of 23.24 in August of 2013 before tying it once more in December of 2015.
Jeanette Ottesen of Denmark posted the only other sub-24 second swim of the evening with a 23.99 showing – good for the second place seed.
Italy’s Silvia di Pietro turned in a time of 24.04 to return as the third place seed, while France’s Anna Santamans grabbed fourth with a time of 24.14.
Brittany Elmslie qualified fifth for Australia with a time of 24.17, followed by a three-way tie for sixth place. The USA’s Amanda Weir, Madison Kennedy, and Italy’s Erika Ferraioli posted matching times of 24.18 from semi-finals one and two.
Men’s 50 Breast Semi-Finals:
The men of the 50 breaststroke semi-finals came ready to sprint and etch their names in the record books as the top eight for tomorrow night’s finals were decided and both an American Record and a Junior World Record fell.
Russia’s Kirill Prigoda turned in the fastest time of the morning with the only sub-26 second swim. Prigoda returns tomorrow as the top seed with a 25.95.
Brazil’s Felipe Lima and South Africa’s Giulio Zorzi posted matching times of 26.08 to tie for second from heats one and two respectively.
Fellow Brazilian Felipe Franca Silva grabbed the fourth place seed with a time of 26.10, followed by Italy’s Fabio Scozzoli’s 26.11.
Cody Miller of the USA posted a 26.15 from semi-final two to pick up the sixth place seed. Miller’s time overturns the previous American Record of 26.28, set in 2002 by Ed Moses.
South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh and Slovakia’s Peter Stevens rounded out the top eight qualifies with times of 26.20 and 26.29 respectively.
While he did not make the final of the 50 breaststroke, Michael Andrew of the USA once again sprinted past the Junior World Record. Andrew first lowered the record to a 26.56 in prelims before posting a time of 26.39 in semi-finals.
Women’s 50 Back:
Etiene Medeiros of Brazil successfully defended her world championship title, fending off a charging Katinka Hosszu in the final stretch of the race. Medeiros, the world record holder in the event, stopped the clock at a 25.82 to earn gold.
Hosszu, meanwhile, settled for second and a time of 25.99 to be the only other athlete beneath the 26-second mark.
Ali DeLoof of the USA snuck her hand to the wall to pick up the bronze medal with a time of 26.14, out-touching Russia’s Mariia Kameneva and Australia’s Emily Seebohm by .01 and .02 seconds respectively. Kameneva finished fourth with a 26.15, while Seebohm was fifth with a 26.16.
Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina finished sixth overall with a time of 26.40, followed by Great Britain’s Kathleen Dawson’s 26.42.
Kylie Masse of Canada was eighth with a time of 26.46.
Men’s 400 IM:
Josh Prenot of the USA led the men’s 400 individual medley throughout the first 100 meters of the race, but Japan’s Daiya Seto took command of the race during the backstroke leg and never looked back. Seto continued to build his lead through the backstroke and breaststroke legs, leaving the field to race for second by the freestyle leg. Seto touched in a time of 3:59.24 to be the only swimmer to post a sub-4 minute time.
Great Britain’s Max Litchfield made his move in the final 75 meters of the race, chasing down both Hungary’s David Verraszto and Prenot. Litchfield bypassed both of them to finish second overall with a time of 4:00.66.
Verraszto finished third overall with a time of 4:01.56, followed by Prenot and his time of 4:01.94.
Mark Szarenek of Great Britain took fifth with a time of 4:04.57, while Hungary’s Gergely Gyurta was sixth with a 4:04.89.
Japan’s Takeharu Fujimori and the USA’s Abrahm Devine were seventh and eighth respectively with times of 4:04.90 and 4:06.02.
Women’s 100 Breast:
Alia Atkinson of Jamaica and Lilly King of the USA squared up once more in the sprint breaststroke, but with much different results. Unlike the 50 breaststroke where King ran away with the race, it was Atkinson who held off two charging Americans to pick up her first gold medal of the meet.
Atkinson, who co-owns the world record of 1:0236 with Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte, never looked back as she charged to a final time of 1:03.03. King finished second overall with a 1:03.35, while American teammate Molly Hannis grabbed the bronze medal with a time of 1:03.89.
Finland’s Jenna Laukkanen was fourth overall with a time of 1:04.62, followed closely by Great Britain’s Chloe Tutton and her time of 1:04.79.
Silja Kansakoski of Finland was sixth with a 1:05.16, ahead of Japan’s Miho Teramura (1:05.23) and Canada’s Rachel Nicol (1:05.48).
Women’s 4×200 Free Relay:
A strong argument could be made for the women’s 800 free relay being the relay race of the meet. Leah Smith got the USA off to a strong lead with a 1:54.87 split, but it was all Canada once Taylor Ruck (1:51.69) hit the water. Ruck pulled away from Mallory Comerford to secure the lead for Kennedy Goss (1:54.62) going into the third leg.
Goss, cruising to the cheers of the crowd, pulled even further away from Team USA before handing off to Canada’s superstar Penny Oleksiak (1:52.05). Oleksiak left the field in her dust as she continued to build her distance and flirt with the world record line. The 16-year-old brought Canada within three tenths of a second within the world record line throughout her 200 meters, stopping the clock at a final 7:33.89, shy of the world record by 1.04 seconds.
Together Katerine Savard (1:55.53), Ruck (1:51.69), Goss (1:54.62), and Oleksiak (1:52.05) brought home Canada’s first gold medal of the 2016 FINA SC World Championships.
The USA’s Smith (1:54.87), Comerford (1:53.32), Sarah Gibson (1:55.43), and Madisyn Cox (1:55.03) posted a second place finish of 7:38.65.
The Russian Federation and Australia battled to the finish for the bronze medal, with Russia picking up third with a 7:39.93 over Australia’s 7:40.00.
Japan posted a fifth place finish of 7:41.97, while China took sixth with a 7:42.09.
Germany and Denmark rounded out the top eight with times of 7:48.22 and 7:49.95.