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• 🌎Short Course World Champs Day 3🌏

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🌎World Short Course Championships🌏

Day 3 Finals

Women's 100 Freestyle Final:

It was a quick start for the women's 100m freestyle. Emma McKeon of Australia was the favorite after having the fastest qualifying time from the semi-finals. Siobhan Haughey from Hong Kong has been on a tear in this event in the last two years in the SCM freestyle events whether it was the world championships, ISL, or FINA World Cup circuits. In the end, it was Mckeon taking the 🥇 in a championship record of 50.77. Haughey finished 🥈 in 50.87 and the Netherlands' Marrit Steenbergen finished 🥉 in 51.25.

Men's 100m Freestyle Final:

An Aussie gold sweep in the 100m freestyle finals! In this event, Australia's Rio Olympic Gold Medalist and SCM World Record Holder, Kyle Chalmers, had to battle against the opening speed of Cayman Islands swimmer, Jordan Crooks. Though Crooks faded to seventh, he was the first to the 50 mark. As predicted, Chalmers' back-end speed and heavyweight experience were too much for Crooks with Chalmers winning 🥇 in a new Championship record of 45.16 (23.5 the last 50🔥). France's Maxime Grousset had a "Chalmers-like" back half and fought back, but came up short winning 🥈 in 45.41. Alessandro Miressi of Italy won 🥉 in 45.57.

Another notable swim was the "skinny legend" and Romanian swimmer, David Popovici, crushing his own World Junior Record from last night's semi-finals finishing just off the podium in fourth at 45.64.

Women's 50m Backstroke Semi-Finals:

There could be a major upset in tomorrow night's final in the women's 50m backstroke... American, Claire Curzan will go in as the top seed (25.60) over the current world record holder and 50m co-gold medalist in the 50m butterfly from last night, Maggie MacNeil of Canada (25.64). However, Aussie Mollie O'Callaghan who's been a rampage for this stout Aussie team is seeded third in 25.69 (an Oceanic Record). Former World Record Holder, Kira Toussaint from the Netherlands is sitting in ninth as the first reserve so will likely not swim in the final tomorrow night, unless something major happens.

Men's 50m Backstroke Semi-Finals:

A lot going on in the men's 50m backstroke semi-finals. Australia's Isaac Alan Cooper qualified first in a new Oceanic and World Junior record of 22.52. Ryan Murphy, who led off the United States World Record-breaking 4X50m Mixed Medley Relay last night in 22.37 has qualified second in 22.74. Third, going into tomorrow night is Poland's Kacper Stokowski in 22.74.

A swim off is needed to decide the eighth-place qualifier between Canada's Javier Acevedo, Greece's Apostolos Christou, and American long-course 50m backstroke world record holder, Hunter Armstrong - all in 23.05. The swim-off will be tomorrow morning at the end of the prelim session.

Women's 200m Butterfly Final:

It was an American 1-2 finish in the women's 200m butterfly final. Dakota Luther won 🥇 and swam her second PB of the day in 2:03.37. Fellow American, and veteran, Hali Flickinger swam an ever-consistent race finishing second 🥈 just off her PB of 2:03.35. Third was Aussie Elizabeth Dekkers who came charging home on the Americans but just ran out of room winning 🥉 in 2:03.94.

Men's 200m Butterfly Final:

What an emotional finish in the men's 200m Butterfly final. It was 30-year-old Chad le Clos of South Africa who swam his first best time in this event since 2018 to win 🥇 in a new African Record. Known in the last few years for blowing everyone away in the first half of the race and trying to hold on, self-proclaimed "Chad 2.0" is calm and collected the first 100 and a killer the last 100 (this finishing 100 was faster than his previous best time).

Second was Japan's Daiya Seto in 1:49.22 and third was Switzerland's Noe Ponti in 1:49.42.

Women's 100m Breaststroke Final:

The race I was most looking forward to was the Women's 100m breaststroke final. The battle between American Lilly King and Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte. The race was as promised, amazing. King won 🥇 in a time of 1:02.67. Meilutyte finished second, but was later disqualified for two underwater dolphin kicks. Germany's Anna Lendt wins the 🥈 (1:04.05) and China's Qianting Tang 🥉 in 1:04.06.

Men's 100m Breaststroke Final:

An American sweep in the 100m breaststrokes! Double World Champion in the 50 and 200 Breaststroke from Abu Dhabi last year, Nic Fink won all breaststroke races in the FINA world cup circuit this year and capped off the SCM season undefeated in the men's 100m breaststroke. Fink's 🥇 time was 55.88. Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi was 🥈 in 56.07 and the returning Breaststroke 🐐 Adam Peaty of Great Britain finished 🥉 in 56.25.

Women's 100m IM Semi-Finals:

This could be anyone's race tomorrow. Though Marrit Steenbergen is the favorite with a top seed time of 57.65, Sweden's Louise Hansson really shut it down to finish as the second seed in 58.05. Canada's Sydney Pickrem (58.54) had an excellent breaststroke split (16.96 - the fastest of tomorrow's finalists) which could ruin the parties of either Steenbergen or Hansson. However, Pickrem tends to get better with longer IM distances, so only time will tell. France's Beryl Gastaldello will go into the final tomorrow seeded fourth in 58.61.

Men's 100m IM Semi-Finals:

Sooooo many 51's in this field. A half-second separates first through eighth tomorrow. Should make for one of the best races of the night! After the disqualification of France's Maxime Grousset (backstroke to breaststroke turn infraction), Michael Andrew of the USA is the top seed in 51.40 (just off his best time of 51.22 from the FINA world cup stop in Indianapolis last month). I must say, Andrew's last 25 freestyle was moderately strong compared to what we've seen in the last few years. I think he could definitely pull off a win tomorrow.

Fellow American, Shaine Casas, qualified second in 51.42, and Canada's Javier Acevedo qualified third in 51.46. Someone who could really make the move is Greece's Andreas Vazaios. A proven IM success, Vazaios has the front and back half to spoil the American party tomorrow night.

Men's 400m Freestyle Final:

From start to finish this race belonged to American, Kieren Smith 🥇; A new American record and now the sixth-fastest swim of all time (3:34.38). Second, was a charging Thomas Neill of Australia in 3:35.05 🥈 and Danas Rapsys of Lithuania finished third in 3:36.26.

Women's 4X50m Freestyle Relay Final:

In their FIFTH gold medal performance of the night, Team USA (Torri Huske, Claire Curzan, Erika Brown, and Kate Douglass) won 🥇 (1:33.89) in the 4X50m freestyle relay in a Championship and American Record. Douglass anchored splitting 22.77 against a charging Emma McKeon which is the third fastest relay split ever. Mckeon of Australia (Meg Harris, Madison Wilson, Mollie O'Callighan, and Emma McKeon) split 22.73 (tied for the fastest split ever) for the 🥈 medal-winning relay (1:34.23). The Netherlands team (Kim Busch, Maaike de Waard, Kira Toussaint, and Valerie van Roon) was 🥉 in 1:35.36.

Men's 4X50m Freestyle Relay Final:

In the final event of the night, Australia's team (Isaac Alan Cooper, Matt Temple, Flynn Zareb Southam, and Kyle Chalmers) took the win 🥇 and Oceanic record in 1:23.44 featuring a 20.34 anchor split by Chalmers. Italy's team (Alessandro Miressi, Leonardo Deplano, Thomas Ceccon, and Manuel Frigo) placed second 🥈 in 1:23.48, and the team of Kenzo Simons, Nyls Korsanje, Stan Pijnenburg, and Thom de Boer of the Netherlands placed third 🥉 in 1:23.76.

Unfortunately, the team from the United States (David Curtiss, Shaine Casas, Hunter Armstrong, and Drew Kibler), finished off the podium in fifth. The same team swam faster than they did this morning (mostly thanks to David Curtiss' lead-off), but it wasn't enough to overtake the raw speed of all the 20.7s, 20.6s, and 20.5s let alone Chalmers' 20.3 split.

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