2016 Short Course World Championships – Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

2016 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• December 6th – December 11th, 2016
• Windsor, Ontario, Canada
• WFCU Centre
• SCM (25m)
• Prelims: 9:30 AM EST/Finals: 6:30 PM EST
• Start Lists/Results
• Live Stream ($)

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

Top 8:
1. Krasnykh (RUS) – 3:38.40
2. Park (KOR) – 3:38.47
3. Grothe (USA) – 3:38.70
4. Bernek (HUN) – 3:39.08
5. Pothain (FRA) – 3:39.31
6. Wojdak (POL) – 3:40.49
7. Brzoskowski (NED) – 3:40.80
8. Milne (GBR) – 3:40.87

Despite Canadians winning back-to-back heats in the form of Jeremy Bagshaw and Peter Brothers, neither could push through to the top 8 for tonight’s men’s 400m freestyle final. Russian short course National Champion Aleksandr Karsnykh led the pack this morning, clocking 1 of only 3 sub-3:39 times. His 3:38.40 was just .07 ahead of a charging South Korean in Park Tae-Hwan, who touched in 3:38.47 for 2nd seed. The 2008 Olympic champion in the LCM version of this event, Park holds a SCM best mark of 3:36.68, so look for him to shave a notable amount of time off of his performance tonight.

Zane Grothe scored the only American slot for tonight’s final (3:38.70), which notably is missing Italy’s Gabriele Detti. Detti earned a bronze medal at last year’s European Short Course Championships in a time of 3:37.22, but was only able to muster a 3:42.58 for 12th in Windsor tonight. Also missing out on the top 8 is Norway’s young talent Henrik Christiansen. He finished in a time of 3:41.18 for the wretched 9th spot and out of the final.

Of note, Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri scratched the event, while Tunisia’s Ous Mellouli was a no-show in heat 1.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

Top 8:

1. Hosszu (HUN) 1:53.07
2. Comerford (USA) 1:53.71
3. Pellegrini (ITA) 1:54.10
4. Ruck (CAN) 1:54.26
5. Popova (RUS) 1:54.32
6. Savard (CAN) 1:54.81
7. Smith (USA) 1:54.93
8. Lyrio (BRA) 1:55.19

Katinka Hosszu of Hungary kicks off her monster event campaign with the women’s 200m freestyle this morning, where the Iron Lady snagged the top seed in a time of 1:53.07. That mark is a quality swim for the multiple 2016 Olympic gold medalist who is looking to make around 32 individual splashes over the course of the meet should she maintain her entry list schedule. With defending short course world champion, Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, absent from this world championships, Hosszu has a chance to claim the world title and improve upon her silver medal-winning position from Doha.

With a powerful morning swim, however, is America’s Mallory Comerford, the rising star from the University of Louisville. The national team member was out quick in a 55.22 and held on to earn the 2nd seed in 1:53.71. With that outing, Comerford becomes the stars n’ stripes’ 6th fastest short course performer of all time.

2016 Olympic medalist Leah Smith is Comerford’s teammate in this final, holding the 7th seed in 1:54.93. In the mix for the semi-final is Italy’s veteran competitor Federica Pellegrini, who cruised into the 3rd seed, scoring a morning time of 1:54.10. 1:51.89 is what it took Pellegrini to earn the 2015 European Short Course Championships gold medal, so look for the superstar to find her stealthy gear tonight.

Two Canadians were fueled by home crowd cheers this morning, as both Taylor Ruck and Katerine Savard made it into the top 8 in respective times of 1:54.26 and 1:54.93. Of note, the 8th place finisher this morning, Manuella Lyria‘s time of 1:55.19 was less than a second off of the South American Record held by Larissa Oliveira at 1:54.75.

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

Top 8:
1. Kharlanov (RUS) 1:51.03
2. Le Clos (RSA) 1:51.23
3. Clark (USA) 1:51.68
4. Bromer (DEN) 1:51.87
5. Seto (JPN) 1:52.44
6. De Deus (BRA) 1:52.89
7. Horomura (JPN) 1:53.05
8. Shields (USA) 1:53.09

The 2 fastest performers of all time in this event have made the final, with South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, the current world record holder in this event, firing off a 1:51.23 for the 2nd seed and Japan’s Daiya Seto scoring the 5th seed in 1:52.44. But, it was Russia’s Aleksandr Kharlanov ruled the morning pool with his massive underwaters, which helped inch him to the top seeded spot in 1:51.03, just .2 ahead of Le Clos.

Sidebreathing American Pace Clark also got the job done to secure his spot for tonight’s final, wrangling in a time of 1:51.68. That was a huge big boy swim from the Georgia Bulldog, who just checked in as the 2nd-fastest American performer ever in the SCM of this event. Holding the top spot in the historical rankings is 2016 Olympian Tom Shields. His personal best (and fastest time ever by an American) is the 1:49.05 from last year’s Duel in the Pool, but his 1:53.09 this morning proved to be enough to squeak into the 8th spot for potential outside smoke in tonight’s final.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

Top 8 (of 16):
1. Atkinson (JAM) 29.48
2. Laukkanen (FIN) 29.71
3. King (USA) 29.84
4. Hannis (USA) 29.92
5. Lecluyse (BEL) 30.06
6. Ivaneeva (RUS) 30.23
7. Teramura (JPN) 30.27
8. Hansen (AUS) 30.35

As with any splash n’ dash, this 50m breaststroke is truly anyone’s race as we move from this morning’s prelims to semi’s. The reigning world record holder, Alia Atkinson, did stake her claim as much as one can in the first round, touching in 29.48 for the top seed. Her world record stands at 28.64 set just this past fall at the Tokyo stop of the FINA World Cup series. Right behind is Finland’s Jenna Laukkanen. Laukkanen scored the short course European title in this event last year touching in the exact same time as her prelim swim here in Windsor – 29.71.

Two American’s made it into the top 8 of the 16 to move forward, with 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 100m breaststroke, Lily King touching in 29.94, followed immediately by former Tennessee Volunteer Molly Hannis in 29.92. They represented the last of the 4 swimmers to delve into sub-30-second territory so far.

Fanny Lecluyse and Natalia Ivaneeva were the European SC silver and bronze medalists, respectively, last winter so look for them to crank things up a notch to make the final top 8. Iceland’s Hrafnhildur Luthersdottir is also one on which we must keep an eye, as she slid into the 15th spot in 30.64.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

Top 8 (of 16):
1. Xu (CHN) 50.21
2. Larkin (AUS) 50.22
3. Kawecki (POL) 50.63
4. Pebley (USA) 50.64
5. Koga (JPN) 50.71 (tied)
6. Shabasov (RUS) 50.71 (tied)
7. Tarasevich (RUS) 50.93
8. Kaneko (JPN) 51.01

China’s Xu Jiayu scored the quickest time of the morning, holding off double world champion, Aussie Mitch Larkin by just .01 of a second for the top seed. Xu’s time this morning of 50.21 rests just .07 of a second shy of his own national record of 50.14, so we may see that fall in Windsor, considering this is just one of 3 rounds of the 100m backstroke event.

Larkin is one of 2 Aussies to move on to the semi, as injury-plagued Bobby Hurley touched in 51.13 for the 12th seed after having won the Australian national title last month. USA’s Jacob Pebley was able to nab the 4th seed with a time of 50.64, while the Japanese record holder Junya Koga tied Russia’s Andrei Shabasov with the same 50.71 mark to also make it into the top 8 of the qualifying 16.

The silver medalist in the 2014 Short Course World Championships, Radoslaw Kawecki of Poland looked on point this morning, clinching the 3rd seed in 50.62. Two years ago he earned 2nd place in 50.11 to Larkin’s 49.57.

Canadian standout Javier Acevedo had some home crowd help to position him nicely into the semi-final. The 18-year-old World Junior silver medalist sits as the 13th seed in 51.32.

Of note, the other American, Michael Taylor, was disqualified during his race, while Trinidad & Tobago’s Dylan Carter was a no-show for his heat.

WOMEN’S 400 IM – PRELIMS

Top 8: 

1. Hosszu (HUN) 4:25.03
2. Eastin (USA) 4:29.64
3. Belmonte (ESP) 4:31.14
4. Miley (GBR) 4:31.48
5. Zavadova (CZE) 4:32.05
6. Nguyen (VIE) 4:32.19
7. Ohashi (JPN) 4:32.20
8. Cox (USA) 4:34.50

In her 2nd of 3 individual races this morning, Hungarian Katinka Hosszu threw.it.down. this morning, clocking a monster 4:25.03 for the clear top seed in the women’s 400m IM. Hosszu set the world record in this event at 4:19.46 en route to gold at last year’s European Short Course Championships, and she appears primed and determined to take the short course world title from 2014’s winner, Mireia Belmonte of Spain.

In Doha, Belmonte scored a new world record and championship record of 4:19.86, which has since been surpassed by Hosszu. But the fact that both are in the top 3 may prove to give us a show for tonight’s final, with USA’s Ella Eastin right in the middle with her morning outing of 4:29.64.

Great Britain’s mainstay Hannah Miley is very much in the mix with her time of 4:31.48, as is Anh Vien Nguyen of Vietnam. Nguyen’s time of 4:32.19 crushed her own previous national record of 4:34.49 set in Doha.

MEN’S 100 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

Top 8 (of 16):

1. Koch (GER) 57.01
2. Shymanovich (BLR) 57.39
3. Miller (USA) 57.41
4. Lima (BRA) 57.68 (tied)
5. Franca Silva (BRA) 57.68 (tied)
7. Scozzoli (ITA) 57.70
8. Morozov (RUS) 57.73

Germany’s Marco Koch, who recently set the world record in the 200 scm distance of this discipline, set himself apart from the field this morning with a blistering 57.01 to take the top seed. That represents Koch’s 3rd fastest outing of his career, which includes a 56.75 personal best from just this past November.

Two Americans made it into the top 16, led by 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Cody Miller. The former Indiana Hoosier blasted a 57.41 to comfortably claim the 3rd seed, although he holds the fastest time ever registered by an American at 56.43. Nic Fink earned the 12th seed with a time of 57.07, the final swimmer to dip beneath the 58-second threshold.

Also ready to move up in tonight’s semi-final are two Brazilians in Felipe Lima and Felipe Franca Silva, both of whom touched in 57.68 for the 4th seed. The latter holds his nation’s record at 56.25 and also earned the 2014 short course World title back in 2014 with his somewhat upset win over GBR’s Adam Peaty, who is absent from this meet.

No Canadians made it through to the semi’s, as Richard Funk found himself in 18th place after his morning swim produced a time of 58.35.

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

Top 8 (of 16):
1. Masse (CAN) 56.02
2. Hosszu (HUN) 56.16
3. DeLoof (USA) 56.40
4. Seebohm (AUS) 56.60
5. Davies (GBR) 56.99
6. Dawson (GBR) 57.17
7. Nielsen (DEN) 57.36
8. Zevina (UKR) 57.41

Making the Windsor crowd stand on its feet was 20-year-old Canadian Kylie Masse of Windsor Essex swim club, who clinched the women’s 100 backstroke seed in a new national record of 56.02. That mark slashes .53 of a second off of the old record of 56.55 she set in February of this year. Masse is having a heck of a year, having already earned a bronze medal in the LCM version of the event at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Right behind Masse, however, is the Iron Lady swimming her 3rd individual event of the morning session. Katinka Hosszu of Hungary clocked a swift 56.16, although that’s a walk in the park for the woman who holds the world record in 55.03. Making major headway, however, was American Ali DeLoof. The former Michigan Wolverine stopped the clocked today at 56.40, a monster personal best which checks in as the 4th fastest American performer ever.

Two British swimmers made the top 8 of 16 in Georgia Davies and Kathleen Dawson. Headed into this meet, Dawson became the first Scottish woman to ever dip beneath the minute threshold and the Stirling swimmer topped that again today. Her time of 57.17 this morning laid waste to her Scottish NR of 58.11. She now can claim to be the first Scottish woman ever to clock a sub-58-second 100 scm backstroke.

MEN’S 200 IM – PRELIMS

Top 8:

1. Seto (JPN) 1:53.49
2. Szaranek (GBR) 1:53.77
3. Prigoda (RUS) 1:53.94
4. Heintz (GER) 1:54.07
5. Prenot (USA) 1:54.10
6. Wang (CHN) 1:54.21
7. Andreas (GRE) 1:54.30
8. Fujimori (JPN) 1:54.37

Just the top 8 move on in this 200m IM race, led by Japan’s Daiya Seto and his fierce morning time of 1:53.49. With no Kosuke Hagino at this meet, teammate Takeharu Fujimori tiptoed into the final to join Seto, clocking 1:54.37.

USA’s Josh Prenot did the stars n’ stripes proud by landing the 5th seed in a time of 1:54.10, while China’s Wang Shun touched just behind in 1:54.21 for the 6th seed. Shun, who earned the bronze in this event at the 2016 Olympic Games, recently beat Seto at the LCM version of this race at the Asian Swimming Championships late last month.

A British swimmer did make it into the final in the form of Mark Szaranek and in a big way. Headed into this meet, the Florida Gator’s best scm time in this event was the 1:57.31 he registered back in 2013. He smashed that to bits this morning, roaring to the wall in 1:53.77 for the second seed. That effort sits just over a second off of the GBR national record.

WOMEN’S 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – PRELIMS

Top 8:

1. CAN 3:29.49
2. ITA 3:32.41
3. NED 3:33.59
4. AUS 3:33.65
5. CHN 3:34.49
6. FRA 3:34.84
7. USA 3:34.98
8. JPN 3:35.04

Sandrine Mainville started things off right for the Canadians, clocking one of only two sub-53-second opening legs of the entire field. 52.72 got the Maple Leafs off to a terrific start, which was carried through by teammates Alexia Zevnik (52.12), Michelle Williams (52.02) and Taylor Ruck (52.63). The relay will really catch fire tonight when 2016 Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak is on board for the Canadians.

The Italians finished almost 3 seconds behind, but notched the 2nd seed, helped by Silvia Di Pietro‘s 3rd leg of 52.61. Other notable splits of the field include Japan’s Rikako Ikee‘s opening 52.69, Ranomi Kromowidjojo‘s (NED) 51.90 closing 100m and Australia’s Brittany Elmslie‘s 52.62 anchor.

MEN’S 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – PRELIMS

Top 8:

1. FRA 3:08.05
2. RUS 3:08.39
3. AUS 3:08.97
4. USA 3:09.02
5. CAN 3:10.80
6. JPN 3:11.33
7. NED 3:12.07
8. BEL 3:12.89

It was a tight battle for the top 3 seeds when all was said and done, with America winding up 4th. Clement Mignon fired off a wicked fast 46.75 opening split, the quickest of the entire field, to get the French out in front and two additional sub-47 splits helped keep them there. Mehdy Metella and Jeremy Stravius scored legs of 46.38 and 46.56, respectively, which made their anchor Yonel Govindin‘s time of 48.36 look disastrous.

The Russians’ spread was a little more even with the first two swimmers registering 47-second marks, while the latter two legs were in the 46-second territory. Controversial swimmer Nikita Lobintsev opened with a time of 47.76, followed by Aleksi Brianskii‘s leg of 47.39. Mikhail Vekovishchev took things up a notch with a 46.84 split, followed by Aleksandr Popkov‘s final 100m of 46.40. All told, their time of 3:08.39 finished just .34 behind the French squad.

Other notable splits include a fierce 46.50 anchor by veteran Aussie and 2012 Olympian Tommaso D’Orsogna, while Americans Michael Chadwick and Blake Pieroni also earned 45-second splits The Mizzou swimmer notched a time of 46.66 to the Hoosier’s 46.34.