World Junior Championships: Diogo Ribeiro Soars to Title in 100 Butterfly; Yuzuki Mizuno Pulls Off Upset in 200 Backstroke
When he competed at the European Championships, Portugal’s Diogo Ribeiro secured a place on the podium as the bronze medalist in the 50-meter butterfly. Clearly, the 17-year-old was a fast-rising talent with significant potential, and that promise was again on display on Thursday night, during the World Junior Championships in Lima, Peru.
Shortly after advancing to the final of the 50 freestyle, which will be contested on Friday evening, Ribeiro easily grabbed the gold medal in the 100 butterfly, finishing a half-second ahead of the Czech Republic’s Daniel Gracik. Leading wire to wire, Ribeiro registered a time of 52.03, which bettered the 52.51 of Gracik. In the bronze-medal position was Denmark’s Casper Puggard, who also dipped under 53 seconds with a swim of 52.94.
Ribeiro went out in 24.12, compared to the 24.41 of Gracik. Over the second lap, Ribeiro extended his advantage as he produced a split of 27.91. Gracik finished in 28.10.
In other action:
Women’s 50 Butterfly – Semifinals
Brazil’s Biatriz Bezerra and Slovakia’s Lillian Slusna set up a duel in the final of the 50 backstroke as the only athletes to break the 27-second barrier. Bezerra narrowly claimed the top seed, off a swim of 26.73. Slusna followed in 26.76, which was comfortably ahead of the 27.01 of Croatia’s Jana Pavalic.
Men’s 50 Freestyle – Semifinals
Croatia’s Jere Hribar put himself in the pole position for the final, thanks to a sprint of 22.35. That outing handed Hribar the top seed over Portugal’s Diogo Ribeiro, who was timed in 22.45 and was racing the first of two individual events on the night. Ribeiro won the final of the 100 butterfly later in the session. Qualifying in the third spot was France’s Nans Mazellier in 22.53.
Women’s 200 Backstroke – Final
In the final of the 100 backstroke earlier in the meet, Hungary’s Dora Molnar grabbed the gold medal by the slightest of margins. At twice the distance, Molnar was edged by the same margin. In a sensational battle in the 200 backstroke, Japan’s Yuzuki Mizuno pulled off an upset over Molnar, prevailing in 2:09.79. Molnar touched the wall in 2:09.80 for the silver medal, with bronze going to Poland’s Laura Bernat (2:11.09).
Molnar was the favorite for the title after making the final in the event at the World Championships and winning the bronze medal at the European Champs. She was also the gold medalist at the European Junior Champs.
Women’s 100 Breaststroke – Semifinals
A tight battle is brewing in the final of the 100 breaststroke, thanks to three athletes posting times in the 1:09 range during the semifinals. Leading the way into the championship race was Italy’s Irene Mati, who touched in 1:09.16. She was followed by Serbia’s Martina Bukvic (1:09.33) and Poland’s Karolina Piechowicz (1:09.71). Piechowicz was the gold medalist in the 50 breaststroke.
Men’s 50 Backstroke – Semifinals
Will there be a reversal of the finishing order from the final of the 100 backstroke? After finishing behind Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk in the 100 back, South Africa’s Pieter Coetze earned the No. 1 seed for the final of the 50 backstroke. Coetze set a championship record of 24.58, which bettered Michael Andrew’s standard of 24.63 from 2017. Masiuk went 24.91 for the second seed and will be a factor for the championship.
Women’s 100 Freestyle
The overwhelming favorite to emerge on top, Hungary’s Nikolett Padar backed up that status with a dominant win in the 100 freestyle. Padar built a .30 margin on the opening lap and never looked back on the way to a time of 55.11. Earlier in the meet, Padar led off Hungary’s winning 800 freestyle relay in 1:58, a swim that affirmed she was in fine form. Italy grabbed the silver and bronze medals behind Matilde Biagiotti (55.56) and Marina Cacciapuoti (55.92).
Men’s 800 Freestyle
Five swimmers went under eight minutes, highlighted by Carlos Garach Benito and his mark of 7:52.73, which was enough for a victory of nearly three seconds. The Spaniard trailed Turkey’s Filiz Batuhan by .14 with 100 meters remaining, but Garach Benito had too much in reserve for the final two laps. Garach Benito split 57.04 for the closing 100 meters, compared to the 1:00.06 of Batuhan, who was timed in 7:55.61. Taking the bronze medal was Romania’s Vlad Stefan Stancu in 7:56.14.
Mixed 400 Freestyle Relay
Fueled by Nikolett Padar and Dora Molnar on the third and fourth legs, Hungary was able to rally by Romania and take the gold medal in 3:30.03. It wasn’t an easy task for Hungary, as David Popovici gave Romania a huge lead on the front of the relay, behind a swim of 47.23. But the Hungarians gradually cut into their deficit and Molnar got to the wall first on the anchor leg, with Romania going 3:30.39.
Hungary was started by Daniel Meszaros (50.79) and Benedek Bona (49.46), but it faced a three-second after the opening leg due to Popovici and his typical dominance. With Padar going 54.41 on the third leg, Hungary pulled within striking distance and set up Molnar to pull ahead, her split of 55.37 doing the job.
