2015 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Pool swimming: Sunday, August 2nd – Sunday, August 9th
- Prelims 9:30AM/Finals 5:30PM (Local Time)
- Prelims 2:30AM EST / Finals 10:30am EST
- Kazan Arena Stadium
- Kazan, Russia (UTC+3 hours)
- Full coverage
- All sport medal tables
- Live stream (Universal Sports)
- Schedule and Results
Men’s 200m Freestyle – FINALS
- 2013 World Champion: Yannick Agnel, FRA – 1:44.20
- World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, GER – 2009
- Championship Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, GER – 2009
GOLD: James Guy, GBR – 1:45.14
SILVER: Sun Yang, CHN – 1:45.20
BRONZE: Paul Biedermann, GER – 1:45.38
Ryan Lochte lead for a majority of the race, but a strong back half from James Guy allowed him to pull ahead of the field and get his hand on the wall to win his first World title. It was close at the touch, but Guy put his hand on the wall first, posting the fastest time in the world this year and a new British record of 1:45.14.
Sun Yang of China finished second with a 1:45.20, earning the silver medal, and Paul Biedermann of Germany, the world record holder, claimed the bronze medal with a 1:45.38.
Lochte was nudged off the podium with his time of 1:45.83, despite his early lead. He finished just ahead of the Dutch freestyler, Sebastiaan Verschuren. Verschuren finished fifth at 1:45.91.
The 2014 short course meter World Champion, Chad Le Clos of South Africa, finished sixth with a 1:46.53.
Aleksandr Krasnykh and Cameron McEvoy rounded out the final in seventh and eighth.
Women’s 100m Backstroke – FINALS
- 2013 World Champion: Missy Franklin, USA – 58.42
- World Record: 58.12 – Gemma Spofforth, GBR – 2009
- Championship Record: 58.12 – Gemma Spofforth, GBR – 2009
GOLD: Emily Seebohm, AUS – 58.26
SILVER: Madison Wilson, AUS – 58.75
BRONZE: Mie Nielsen, DEN – 58.86
Emily Seebohm and Madison Wilson had two big swims for Australia, finishing side-by-side as the Gold and Silver medalists. Seebohm won the Gold medal with a time of 58.26 and her teammate, Wilson, won the Silver with her time of 58.75.
The Bronze medal went to Mie Nielsen of Denmark with a 58.86. Seebohm missed the Australian record by 0.03 seconds and Nielsen only missed the Danish record by 0.02 seconds.
The rest of the final all finished under one minute and was lead by Fu Yuanhui of China with a 59.02.
Missy Franklin looked off during her swim and finished fifth as a results with a time of 59.40. She was eighth at the turn, and it looked as if she may have slipped off the start.
Anastasiia Fesikova (RUS) finished sixth, Lauren Quigley (GBR) was seventh, and Kathleen Baker (USA) finished eighth.
Men’s 50m Breaststroke – Semi-finals
- 2013 World Champion: Cameron Van Der Burgh, RSA – 26.77
- World Record:
26.62 – Adam Peaty, GBR – 2014 & Cameron Van Der Burgh, RSA – 2015 - Championship Record:
26.62 – Cameron Van Der Burgh, RSA – 2015
Cameron Van Der Burgh may have tied Adam Peaty‘s World Record this morning during prelims, but Peaty didn’t let that stand for long. Peaty looked dominant in the semi-finals of the men’s 50 breaststroke and claimed the top seed with a new World Record time of 26.42.
Van Der Burgh finished qualified second with a 26.74 and American Kevin Cordes qualified third with a new American Record time of 26.76.
Felipe Silva of Brazil qualified fourth with his time of 26.97, and Damir Dugonjic (SLO) finished fifth and was the final swimmer under 27 seconds with a 26.92.
Glenn Snyders (NZL), Caba Siladi (SRB), and Giedrius Titenis (LTU) were the final three swimmers to qualify for the final.
Women’s 1500m Freestyle – FINALS
- 2013 World Champion: Katie Ledecky, USA – 15:36.53
- World Record: 15:27.72 – Katie Ledecky, USA – 2015
- Championship Record: 15:27.72 – Katie Ledecky, USA – 2015
GOLD: Katie Ledecky, USA – 15:25.48 WR
SILVER: Lauren Boyle, NZL – 15:40.14
BRONZE: Boglarka Kapas, HUN – 15:47.09
Katie Ledecky continues her march to history with a second gold medal and another crushing World Record-breaking swim in the women’s 1500 free. She swam a 15:25.48, to knock another two seconds from her old World Record of 15:27.71 from the preliminary heats on Monday.
The previous World Record (which she also had) coming into this meet was 15:28.36.
Ledecky said that she felt relaxed en route to the prelims World Record, which seemed absurd at the time, but proved prophetic in the final.
When Ledecky finished, the field was just surfacing from their final turns. Runner-up Lauren Boyle of New Zealand (15:40.14) set a new Oceanic Record, and was still 25 meters (half a pool-length) behind Ledecky.
Ledecky’s 800 meter split of 8:13.25 also breaks the old World Championships Meet Record.
Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas took bronze in 15:47.09, doing her part to support the Hungarian medal-haul. That demolished her old Hungarian Record of 16:02.58 in the event – one of the few Hungarian women’s records not held by Katinka Hosszu.
Denmark’s Lotte Friis took 4th in 15:49.00 in her debut at the meet. That’s 10 seconds slower than she was in 2013 where she chased Ledecky in this race to a silver medal. Friis again charged early to try and keep pace with the American, but couldn’t hold on late. Australia’s Jessica Ashwood faded a little at the end of the race as well, but still touched in 15:52.17 – which is under her old Australian and Oceanic Records set in prelims.
The Netherlands’ Sharon van Rouwendaal (16:03.74), Chile’s Kristel Kobrich (16:06.55), and Italy’s Aurora Ponsele (16:09.57) topped out the final.
Men’s 100m Backstroke – FINALS
- 2013 World Champion: Matt Grevers, USA – 52.93
- World Record: 51.94 – Aaron Peirsol, USA – 2009
- Championship Record: 52.19 – Aaron Peirsol, USA – 2009
GOLD: Mitchell Larkin, AUS – 52.40
SILVER: Camille LaCourt, FRA – 52.48
BRONZE: Matt Grevers, USA – 52.66
Mitchell Larkin completed the sweep of the 100 backstroke for Australia, winning the event with a time of 52.40. It was very close at the touch, but he held of the Silver medalist, Camille LaCourt of France, who finished .08 seconds behind with a 52.48.
Matt Grevers was first at the 50m mark but was unable to maintain the lead, falling to third with his final time of 52.66. Xu Jiayu of China just missed the podium and was the only other swimmer under the 53 second barrier, finishing fourth at 52.89.
The two British finalists, Chris Walker-Hebborn and Liam Tancock, finished fifth and eighth, respectively. Walker-Hebborn finished with a time of 53.02 and Tancock posted a 53.37.
Irie Ryosuke of Japan was the favorite coming into the meet. He finished sixth at 53.10. Seventh place when to Russia’s Evgeny Rylov with a 53.23.
Women’s 200m Freestyle – Semi-finals
- 2013 World Champion: Missy Franklin, USA – 1:54.81
- World Record: 1:52.98 – Federica Pellegrini, ITA – 2009
- Championship Record: 1:52.98 – Federica Pellegrini, ITA – 2009
The World Record holder and the 2013 World Champion will be the top two seeds heading into finals in the women’s 200 freestyle. Federica Pellegrini of Italy posted the fastest time of the session with a 1:56.23, qualifying ahead of Missy Franklin of the United States’ 1:56.37.
Shen Duo (CHN), Katinka Hosszu (HUN) , and Veronika Popova (RUS) all finished together between 1:56.44 and 1:56.56 for third through fifth, respectively.
Katie Ledecky had a quick turn around time after breaking the World Record in the women’s 1500 freestyle, but managed to come back and qualify for finals in the 200 freestyle with a sixth place time of 1:56.76.
Femke Heemskerk and Emma McKeon claimed the last two spots in the final with their times of 1:56.91 and 1:56.95, respectively.
Men’s 200m Butterfly – Semi-finals
- 2013 World Champion: Chad le Clos, RSA – 1:54.32
- World Record: 1:51.51 – Michael Phelps, USA – 2009
- Championship Record: 1:51.51 – Michael Phelps, USA – 2009
Laszlo Cseh of Hungary earned the top seed in the men’s 200 butterfly out of the second semi-final heat after watching Chad Le Clos of South Africa play around during his semi-final swim. Cseh was the only swimmer under 1:54 with a 1:53.53.
Le Clos posted the second fastest time, but didn’t appear to be giving his best effort all the way through the swim. He looked very strong taking out the race, but he appeared to be coasting the last 50, letting the field catch up after separating himself by nearly two body lengths through the first 150 meters. His semi-final time was 1:54.50.
Masato Sakai of Japan qualified in third, finishing just behind Le Clos at 1:54.75. Viktor Bromer (DEN) and Daiya Seto (JPN) were the only other swimmers to finish under 1:55.
Jan Switkowski, Louis Croenen, and Tom Shields were the final three swimmers to qualify for the final, finishing between 1:55.42 and 1:55.75.
Women’s 100m Breaststroke – FINALS
- 2013 World Champion: Ruta Meilutyte, LTU – 1:04.35
- World Record: 1:04.35 – Ruta Meilutyte, LTU – 2013
- Championship Record: 1:04.35 – Ruta Meilutyte, LTU – 2013
GOLD: Yuliya Efimova, RUS – 1:05.66
SILVER: Ruta Milutyte, LTU – 1:06.36
BRONZE: Alia Atkinson, JAM – 1:06.42
Yuliya Efimova rallied in front of a home crowd to win the World Championship title in the women’s 100 breaststroke, beating out the defending World Champion and World Record Holder, Ruta Meilutyte. Efimova finished first, winning the gold medal with her time of 1:05.66.
Lithuania’s Meilutyte won the silver medal with her time of 1:06.36, finishing just ahead of the bronze medalist, Alia Atkinson of Jamaica. Atkinson finished with a 1:06.42, earning Jamaica’s first long course World Championship medal in history.
Kanako Watanabe of Japan missed the podium by .01, finishing on the wrong side of the touch out for fourth place with a time of 1:06.43. China’s Shi Jinglin wasn’t far behind, either. She finished fifth with a 1:06.55.
Hrafnhildur Luthersdottir (ISL), Jennie Johansson (SWE), and Arianna Castiglioni (ITA) closed out the final with 1:07’s.
The best comment was the poster who typed – Peking in 2015 .
The other point regarding Soni . Rebecca had a massive improvement after heart surgery in 2006 . This is a fact & it should be thought provoking as to which medications she was on . I find it hard to believe american cardiologists would not prescribe assistance for ayoung patient . American medicine is recognised as being heavy on the pharma & using the latest drugs .
Like Sun , I am certain it would have been legal .thus this is not an accusation but a platform for discussion .
She did go to USC…
Are we using USC as a code now?
Is US finally starting to lose it’s ground as a powerhouse in swimming? This is going to be an interesting Olympic year.
No. Be ready for some American fireworks in Rio. 2020 will even be better.
I’m baffled by how hard it is to find videos of the semi finals on the internet. Barcelona was (and still is) so easy- why is this so difficult
Maybe it is too soon? I am experiencing the same as well.
Russian stuff is not as easy to find . Ask the NSA .
The number is people lamenting a girl shattering a world record by over 2 seconds today because she almost blew a chance to swim a final of her 4th best event should tell you all you need to know about the fans on this site. Unreal.
Thank you. She broke a world record in the finals of the World Championships. Period. The end.
Obviously not period. The end. Since she was back in the pool 20 minutes later/
Very quick day 3 thoughts. I need some rest after short nights with US juniors.
Men’s 200 free final. Big show from Lochte with the underwaters but he faded in the last 25. No surprise but he must be sad. The time of the winner is pretty slow. Agnel must be sad too. But if he can be healthy next year, there will be no race. Guy is still young and has improved a lot but doesn’t have the speed of Agnel to swim 1.44 low. Still a great performance from him and a very succesful week so far. Le Clos has tried but has exploded. It was an open race.
Women’s 100 back final. The logical podium after what… Read more »
I’m still having hard time of understanding Lochte and Dwaer leaving gators , specially when they
both doing great and both in 1’44s , now Dwaer can not go under 1,46
Just wondering how much $$$ they lost looking for greener (or easy) side.
Agreed with your assessment, with the exception of Ledecky. She swam a tired 1:56.7. She’ll go 1:54 tomorrow and race for the gold. She finally has the speed/endurance combo to win this event, but it will be very close.
With grevers going sub 53, he has to be on the back leg for the final men’s 4×100 medley..
I say give Murphy a shot in the prelims so he gets the experience and see what he can do when tapered.. Also got the mixed medley
Both Lochte and Franklin out of the medals standings in a couple of their strongest events. Very disappointing. I said it after London that Missy should have gone pro then, while the iron was red-hot. She missed out on big endorsement $$$ that she will not capture without nearly equivalent success at Rio. Also, without a strong World’s, and especially the OT, she won’t generate the high anticipation, buzz that brings in the sponsors for the pre-Olympic commericial phase either.
Yes I said the same thing years ago. She could have always done a phelps and got into school for the college experience but not competed in NCAAs. I’ll keep taking hate and downvotes for it and hope I am wrong, but I bet Missy only gets WORSE come Rio, and won’t be surprised if she even misses the cut in some key individual events depending on the selection process and some up and comers. It’s extremely rare in sports in general for athletes to not be trending one way or another for extended periods of time. Not as easy to right the ship as everyone makes it out to be.
I wonder if it Katie Hoff, Kate Ziegler, and Dagny Knutson [sic], had anything to do with Missy’s [and possibly Katie Ledecky] decision to forgo going pro initially.
You had an example where athletes forgo college to make money, then came to the reality that you make $X, your agent takes a percentage, and that money you have to use to pay to train… coach, trainers, club fees, travel expenses ect. You are a business and this is capital for operating costs. What is is left is your income for living expenses. — Knutson has stated it was that last part that proved to be a problem, there was not enough left. You may also factor in the the… Read more »
I think this comment is 100% spot-on. All those women (Hoff, Ziegler, Knudson, etc) turned pro and gave up their NCAA eligibility and it didn’t go well for them. And, they were the generation immediately before Franklin.
This isn’t pro Basketball. When you are primarily relying on endorsements, the drop-off from the very best to the very good is pretty steep in terms of money. Even for Olympic gold medalists it can be hard to make a living.
Franklin still has every shot at bringing in pre-Olympic endorsements. 99% of the public won’t know she back-slid at 2015 Worlds, and she still has an infectious personality. As a swimmer, I have HUGE respect for what Ladecky is doing, but she doesn’t have the same persona that will sell consumer products to regular folks who’s only exposure to international swimming is the summer Olympics every 4 years. As long as the golden girl from 2012 is back for 2016 with a chance to match or exceed her medal count from London, Missy will be the second most talked about swimmer in the pre-Olympics run-up after Phelps.
If she qualifies for more than just the 200 backstroke……..
My reply is above under your Ledecky comment.
My reply to your question is above under your Ledecky comment.
I don’t agree . Simone Biles who has just forsaken UCLA schol will get the big US attention . She is alittle stocky Dynamo who does man style gymnastics & possesses a backstory NBC will love to blare out. Again & again .
Ledecky will be respected but I don’t know where MF will fit in . Even Phelps will be a tough sell.
Swimming has always struck me as far too coach-centric than is merited. I bet no one can name Lebron James’s high school coach. But we all know who Missy Franklin’s was. Apparently Lebron is just a freak athlete who would have succeeded no matter whose gym he walked into, but swimmers are a product of amazing coaches. Here a coach, there a coach, everywhere a coach coach. And that dynamic is skewed at the college level, where recruiting is the name of the game (this is the knock on McKeever, right?), and at the club level, where everyone decided they needed Michael Phelps’s coach (forgetting the fact that Phelps was slaughtering NAG records before he ever met Mr. Bowman.) I’m… Read more »
Agreed. I could be long-winded about this one, but I’ll leave it at this: Great swimmers make the reputations of coaches more often than great coaches make the reputations of swimmers.
For the sake of conversation, what are the odds Missy trains with Durden for Rio- obviously it has worked for Natalie Coughlin and Durden has had a strong transition into LCM
none. she is back in Colorado and I think that will help her immensely next year. it seems like the only event she clearly improved in while at cal was the 500 yd free.