Grieshop Wins Gold, Fa’amausili Strikes Back to Highlight Day 5 at Junior World Championships

2015 JUNIOR WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN’S 1500 FREE FINAL

  • WR: 15:25.48 Katie Ledecky (USA) 4 AUG 2015 Kazan (RUS)
  • WJ: 15:28.36 Katie Ledecky (USA) 24 AUG 2014 Gold Coast (AUS)
  • CR: 16:18.83 Tjasa Oder (SLO) 20 AUG 2011 Lima (PER)

A championship record went down in the first event of the night, as the top 2 finishers in the women’s 1500 free were well under the 16:18.83 set by Tjasa Oder in 2011. Italy’s Simona Quadarella smoked the field in 16:05.61 to claim the new record.

Behind Quadarella, the Americans nabbed a 2-3 finish to take the minor medals. Sierra Schmidt was a 16:12.84 to take 2nd place ahead of teammate Gabrielle Kopenski (16:21.15).

Australia’s Tamsin Cook grabbed 4th in the final (16:22.92), just ahead of Hungary’s Adel Juhasz (16:24.29). Juhasz’s teammate Janka Juhasz swam a 16:38.31  in the early heats that was fast enough to get her into the top 8.

Also landing a top 8 finish in the early heats was Olivia Anderson (16:37.03), who came in 7th.

PDF Results.

MEN’S 100 FREE SEMI-FINAL

  • WR: 46.91 Cesar Cielo (BRA) 30 JUL 2009 Rome (ITA)
  • WJ: 48.25 Matheus De Santana (BRA) 22 AUG 2014 Nanjing (CHN)
  • CR: 48.97 Caeleb Dressel (USA) 31 AUG 2013 Dubai (UAE)

The semi-finals of the men’s 100 free were much faster than prelims, with Brazil’s Pedro Spajari showing record-breaking speed to earn the top seed for finals. His 48.87 was the only sub-49, and good enough to beat the old Championship Record of 48.97 done by Caeleb Dressel in 2013.

Also qualifying for the top 8 out of the 1st semifinal behind Spajari was Australia’s Kyle Chalmers (49.65) and Italy’s Alessandro Bori (49.70). Chalmers was 6th after semis, but is set to be a factor in the medal race tomorrow after a stellar 50 free and a few sub-49 relay splits earlier in the week.

Team USA’s Maxime Rooney won the 2nd semifinal in 49.39, considerably faster than he was in prelims. He overcame Canada’s Markus Thormeyer (49.59) and Brazil’s Felipe Souza (49.62) to win that heat. Robert Glinta closed out the top 8 behind them, finishing in 49.97.

Top 8: Spajari (BRA), Rooney (USA), Thormeyer (CAN), Souza (BRA), Miressi (ITA), Chalmers (AUS), Bori (ITA), Glinta (ROU).

PDF Results.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY SEMI-FINAL

  • WR: 55.64 Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 3 AUG 2015 Kazan (RUS)
  • WJ: 56.61 Xinyi Chen (CHN) 23 SEP 2014 Incheon (KOR)
  • CR: 58.34 Svetlana Chimrova (RUS) 31 AUG 2013 Dubai (UAE)

Swimming to a sub-59 in heat 1, Japan’s Rikako Ikee topped the semifinals of the women’s 100 fly at 58.98. After winning the 50 fly earlier in this meet, she’s put herself into position to battle for another gold with Team USA’s Cassidy Bayer.

Bayer won the 2nd heat in 59.00, barely off her personal best 58.87 from prelims. That was enough to earn her the 2nd seed for finals, touching out Australia’s Gemma Cooney (59.01). Cooney’s teammate Lucia Lassman will join her in the final after swimming a 59.50 for 5th.

Canada’s Penny Oleksiak (59.45) finished between the Australians to take 4th overall. She has potential to grab a medal after taking silver in the 50 fly here.

Rounding out the top 8 was Russia’s Polina Egorova (59.71), Hungary’s Szonja Szokol (59.82), and China’s Jingzhuo Wang (59.87).

Top 8: Ikee (JPN), Bayer (USA), Cooney (AUS), Oleksiak (CAN), Lassman (AUS), Egorova (RUS), Szokol (HUN), Wang (CHN).

PDF Results.

MEN’S 50 FLY FINAL

  • WR: 22.43 Rafael Muñoz Perez (ESP) 5 APR 2009 Malaga (ESP)
  • CR: 23.61 Daniel Bell (NZL) 11 JUL 2008 Monterrey (MEX)
  • WJ: 23.28 Evgeny Sedov (RUS) 13 MAY 2014 Moscow (RUS)

The Ukraine picked up a gold medal in the men’s 50 fly, with a quick 23.64 by Andrii Khloptzov. He topped a loaded field that included USA’s Michael Andrew (23.84) and Russia’s Daniil Pakhomov (23.89). Andrew was slightly off his fastest, grabbing the silver medal, while Pakhomov swam sub-24 for the first time of the meet to take bronze.

Spain’s Alberto Lozano (23.95) and Croatia’s Bruno Blaskovic (23.98) were also under 24 seconds the take 4th and 5th.

Poland’s Michal Chudy (24.45), Russia’s Vladislav Kozlov (24.54), and Brazil’s Vinicius Lanza (24.57) were closely matched to take 6th through 8th place.

PDF Results.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE SEMI-FINAL

  • WR: 23.73 Britta Steffen (GER) 2 AUG 2009 Rome (ITA)
  • WJ: 24.87 Chen Zinyi (CHN) 26 SEP 2014 Incheon (KOR)
  • CR: 25.02 Rozaliya Nasretdinova (RUS) 30 AUG 2013 Dubai (UAE)

Russia went 1-2 again in the women’s 50 free, with Daria Ustinova grabbing the top seed for finals from heat 1. Ustinova’s 25.22 landed her ahead of teammate Mariia Kameneva (25.44), who touched out Australia’s Shayna Jack (25.47) to win heat 2.

Hungary’s Flora Molnar and China’s Yuting Tang tied at 25.54 for 4th. They were just a touch faster than Japan’s Rikako Ikee (25.57), who qualified for the top 8 in her 2nd race of the night.

The USA’s sprinters cut it close in this race, but managed to both make it into the top 8. Ashley Volpenhein (25.82) was 7th and Lauren Pitzer (25.84) was 8th.

Top 8: Ustinova (RUS), Kameneva (RUS), Jack (AUS), Molnar (HUN), Tang (CHN), Ikee (JPN), Volpenhein (USA), Pitzer (USA).

PDF Results.

MEN’S 50 BREAST SEMI-FINAL

  • WR: 26.42 Adam Peaty (GBR) 4 AUG 2015 Kazan (RUS)
  • WJ: 27.74 Peter John Stevens (SLO) 30 AUG 2013 Dubai (UAE)
  • CR: 27.74 Peter John Stevens (SLO) 30 AUG 2013 Dubai (UAE)

Lithuania’s Andrius Sidlauskas earned himself the top spot for finals of the men’s 50 breast. He beat a talented field with a swift 28.16. Trailing closely through semis was Croatia’s Nikola Obrovac, who won heat 2 in 28.21.

Russia’s Anton Chupkov touched 3rd overall with a 28.33 to give himself a shot at sweeping the breaststroke events in the final. He was narrowly ahead of Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi (28.37).

Team USA qualified both swimmers for the final. Michael Andrew clocked a 28.44 for 5th in a quick turnaround after the 50 fly. Reece Whitley (28.58) was 7th over China’s Hao Shen (28.59). Separating Andrew and Whitley, Britain’s Charlie Attwood (28.56) was 6th. 

Top 8: Sidlauskas (LIT), Obrovac (CRO), Chupkov (RUS), Martinenghi (ITA), Andrew (USA), Attwood (GBR), Whitley (USA), Shen (CHN).

PDF Results.

WOMEN’S 50 BACK FINAL

  • WR: 27.06 Zhao Jing (CHN) 30 JUL 2009 Rome (ITA)
  • CR: 27.92 Minna Atherton (AUS) 28 AUG 2015 Singapore (SIN)
  • WJ: 27.92 Minna Atherton (AUS) 28 AUG 2015 Singapore (SIN)

On day 4, Australia’s Minna Atherton ran away with the Junior World Record and Championship Record that previously belonged to New Zealand’s Gabrielle Fa’amausili, setting the bar at 27.92. In finals, however, Fa’amausili fired back. It was an extremely close race to the finish, but she took the gold medal with a new Junior World Record and Championship Record of 27.81 ahead of Atherton’s 27.83.

Canada’s Danielle Hanus took the bronze medal with a time of 28.26. She just touched out Fa’amausili’s teammate, Bobbi Gichard, who was 4th at 28.40. Russia’s Irina Prikhodko (28.69) was close behind for 5th.

Rounding out the final was Germany’s Laura Riedemann (28.88), USA’s Grace Ariola (28.88), and South Africa’s Mariella Venter (29.17).

PDF Results.

MEN’S 400 IM FINAL

  • WR: 4:03.84 Michael Phelps (USA) 10 AUG 2008 Beijing (CHN)
  • WJ: 4:14.47 Brandonn Almeida (BRA) 16 JUL 2015 Toronto (CAN)
  • CR: 4:14.97 Gunnar Bentz (USA) 30 AUG 2013 Dubai (UAE)

Coming into today, Junior World Record holder Brandonn Almeida of Brazil was the heavy favorite to win this event. For 350 meters of the race, it looked like he was going to pull off the win.

That was until Team USA’s Sean Grieshop blasted through the final 50 in 27.94. Grieshop tore through his best time to win the event in 4:15.67 to Almeida’s 4:17.06. His previous best was a 4:17.02 from 2015 U.S. Nationals.

Spain’s Hugo Gonzales swam under 4:20 to pick up the bronze medal in 4:18.14. USA’s Charlie Swanson (4:20.37) just missed the podium behind him, 4th ahead of Hungary’s Daniel Sos (4:20.46).

Russia’s Nikolai Sokolov (4:21.17), China’s Zhou Wang (4:25.41) and Portugal’s Joao Vital (4:26.12) closed out 6th-8th.

PDF Results.

WOMEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY FINAL

  • WR: 3:30.98 Australia (AUS) 24 JUL 2014 Glasgow (GBR)
  • WJ: 3:40.14 United States (USA) 29 AUG 2014 Maui (USA)
  • CR: 3:41.40 Russia (RUS) 30 AUG 2013 Dubai (UAE)

Two teams raced to the wall under 3:40, cracking the old Junior World Record and Championship Record. Australia got to the wall 1st, clocking a 3:39.87 after a stellar 54.38 anchor leg by Lucy McJannett. 3 of the swimmers on that relay were sub-55. Shayna Jack led off with a 54.91, Gemma Cooney swam a 54.65 on the 3rd leg, and Minna Atheron put up a respectable 55.93 on the 2nd leg.

Russia just missed the win, with Daria Ustinova anchoring in 54.50 on the way to the team’s overall 3:39.91. Her teammate Mariia Kameneva put up a solid 54.76 on the 2nd leg.

Canada was 3rd in 3:40.26, getting the fastest split of the event out of Taylor Ruck at 53.76. 4th place Japan clocked a 3:41.67 with a 54.45 from Rikako Ikee on the 2nd leg.

Team USA faded to 5th, and they were slightly slower than the prelims relay. Stanzi Moseley (55.91), Hannah Cox (56.27), Kenisha Liu (55.48), and Lauren Pitzer (55.41) came together for a final time of 3:43.07.

PDF Results.

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Rafael
8 years ago

Bobo I checked Almeida splits he was 1 second faster than on Toronto after back but he was almost 3 seconds slower on his breast Split! That is where he lost it!

Reply to  Rafael
8 years ago

Rafael,
Almeida made a “Morozov”. He clearly was after Junior WR and died at the end.Passed too fast and went downhill.

In another side, I am completely surprised with Spajari opening in 23.55 and coming home in 25.3.Let’s hope he still have some more in the tank.

PsychoDad
8 years ago

Nah! Only John Murray and Grieshop.

bobo gigi
8 years ago

Wow. Busy sports afternoon. I’m still exhausted and very happy after Ashton’s decathlon world record.
In the decathlon of swimming, the 400 IM, very pleased to see Grieshop win the gold. I haven’t still watched the race but based on the splits I’ve just read, it looks like he finished like a bullet on freestyle as usual. I predicted a 4.15 for him but I thought the Brazilian would swim in 4.13/4.14. Great job for the young American. Now if he wants to go to the next level he seriously needs to improve a lot his backstroke. It’s amazing but also very frustrating to see that most of the best US 400 IM hopefuls have a big weakness on… Read more »

austinswimmer
Reply to  bobo gigi
8 years ago

Backstroke is Grieshop’s second best stroke behind freestyle. The only stroke 200 that he has a trials cut in is backstroke. A 2:02.55 back is significantly better than a 2:19.66 breast and 2:02.57 fly. Based on those times, I’d say his weakest stroke is actually fly. The only person to out-split him on backstroke was Almeida. His breaststroke splits were right with the rest of the field, but he was 4th to the wall on fly.
Convinced yet that backstroke is not his weakness?

LochtesFan
Reply to  bobo gigi
8 years ago

Worry not about American girls sprint, dearest Bobo.

Remember that we have the America’s greatest ever sprinters, Simone Manuel and Abbey Weitzeil?

Gina Rhinestone
8 years ago

To Coach who was asking about Josh Stern . Josh is the coach of the Australian anchor Lucy McJannet .

Gina Rhinestone
8 years ago

Wow – check out Russia’s relay changeovers .just over 1 sec total . They are a well drilled team & beat Canada on this alone .

Aust put in 4 good swimming legs including Minna on free ! I didn’t even know she could free .

Congrats to the top 4 girls on the 50 back – all exceptional .

Gemma Cooney – good work for our 15 years free & Fly national champ .

commonwombat
Reply to  Gina Rhinestone
8 years ago

RUS were even throughout the race as, indeed, were JAP who were maybe a little unlucky not to medal.

CAN were maybe a tad disappointing. Whilst Ruck came home like a steamtrain, Oleksiak’s opening leg was well below her individual swims. USA were out of it after halfway

AUS “bookends” (Jack & McJannett) certainly swam above their individual swims of this meet.

Both W100FLY & 50FS are looking very interesting & open races; wouldn’t care to pick a favourite. Ditto for M50BRS which is looking the toughest leg of the trifecta for Chupkov.

Only just caught the end of M400IM so I’m not going to comment on something I didn’t see.

Outstanding swims by Fa’amausili & Atherton. Unfortunately for… Read more »

flyiscool
Reply to  commonwombat
8 years ago

I did some research and found that Gabrielle has improved tremendously since moving to a new coach (Igor Polianski, 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist for 200 back, bronze in the 100 back) in the time of about 2 months she has dropped from a 1:02.70 to a 1:00.78. It seemed as though she was burning out after the age of 13 but it looks like her results have all dropped with the new coach as she is also been training for the 200 back

PsychDad
8 years ago

Looks like Almeida did not read my post here not to overlook Grieshop. #NitroPride

Rick Mears
Reply to  PsychDad
8 years ago

You should just dumb it down and say that anyone from Texas is a front runner in your mind.

Zanna
8 years ago

Haven’t seen the splits but Almedia either faded or Grieshop had an excellent freestyle split.

Rafael
Reply to  Zanna
8 years ago

Almeida faded a lot after the 250 mark. Strange race he usually goes out easily and speed up on breast and free his wjr was like this. He tried something completely different and backfired

Rick Mears
Reply to  Rafael
8 years ago

I tried to prepare you yesterday by commenting how he was hurting after the prelims.

Zanna
8 years ago

Wow outstanding swim from Grieshop. Thought Almeida was going to take it.

About Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh

Lauren Neidigh is a former NCAA swimmer at the University of Arizona (2013-2015) and the University of Florida (2011-2013). While her college swimming career left a bit to be desired, her Snapchat chin selfies and hot takes on Twitter do not disappoint. She's also a high school graduate of The …

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