The fifth finals session of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina featured four medal events.
Men’s 800 Freestyle
Vietnam’s Huy Hoang Nguyen claimed his first medal of the meet in the men’s 800 Freestyle with a time of 7:50.20. The swim is not only a season best for the 18-year-old, but moves him from twenty-second to twelfth in the world rankings for this year.
Nguyen did not take the lead until the 550 mark, as he split the race 3:57.13-3:53.07. His relaxed strategy paid off in the end to catch and then pass Japan’s Keisuke Yoshida who led the race throughout. He came in at a final time of 7:53.85, which also makes the top twenty world rankings. It is also the second-best performance for Japan so far this year. Italy’s Marco De Tullio took third in 7:55.81.
Men’s 50 Butterfly
After an impressive week so far, it did not take long for the Russian team to make it back atop the podium. Andrei Minakov and Daniil Markov provided a one-two finish in 23.62 and 23.63, respectively. Markov’s swim tied that of Norway’s Tomoe Hvas for the silver. Italy’s Thomas Ceccon narrowly missed the podium in 23.65.
Women’s 50 Backstroke
Australia’s Kaylee McKeown completed her podium trifecta by winning the women’s 50 Backstroke in 28.28. She also won silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200 distance. McKeown was followed closely by Russia’s Daria Vaskina in 28.38. France’s Lila Touili claimed the third spot in 28.78.
Women’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay
Russia then kept their relay streak alive by claiming the women’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay in 3:45.26. They were followed by Brazil in 3:47.20 and Japan in 3:49.27. The race was tight through even the 350 mark, as Japan had the lead with one lap to go. But the team could not hold off Russia’s Polina Egorova who split a 55.31 to bring home the gold.