2017 World Junior Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

6TH FINA WORLD JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Competition at the 2017 World Junior Championships continues tonight with day 4 finals in Indianapolis. Tonight, we’ll see finals action in the men’s 200 breast, women’s 50 fly, men’s 50 back, women’s 100 breast, women’s 400 free, men’s 50 free, women’s 200 IM, and men’s 4×200 free relay. We’ll see semifinals of the women’s 50 back and men’s 50 fly.

WOMEN’S 50 BACK – SEMIFINALS

  • WJR: 27.49, Minna Atherton (AUS), 2016
  • Meet: 27.81, Gabrielle Fa’amausili (NZL), 2015
  • Start List

Top 8:

  1. Jade Hannah, CAN, 28.04
  2. Natsumi Sakai, JPN, 28.11
  3. Regan Smith, USA,28.21
  4. Grace Ariola, USA, 28.34
  5. Cassie Wild, GBR, 28.60
  6. Anna Maine, GBR, 28.64
  7. (T-7) Polina Egorova, RUS, 28.70
  8. (T-7) Julie Jensen, DEN, 28.70

Canada’s Jade Hannah (28.04) and Japan’s Natsumi Sakai (28.11) battled their way through semifinal 2 to put up the fastest 2 times of the night. The USA got 2 into the final with 100/200 back champ Regan Smith (28.21) and Grace Ariola (28.34), as did Great Britain with Cassie Wild (28.60) and Anna Maine (28.64). Smith will have a shot at sweeping the backstroke events if she takes the title tomorrow night.

MEN’S 200 BREAST – FINAL

  • WJR: 2:08.71, Qin Haiyang, 2017
  • Meet: 2:10.19, Anton Chupkov (RUS), 2015
  • Start List
  1. GOLD: Daniel Roy, USA, 2:10.77
  2. SILVER: Reece Whitley, USA, 2:10.82
  3. BRONZE: Zac Stubblety-Cook, AUS, 2:10.90

Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi set the pace through the front half as expected, turning in 1:02.93. He wasn’t able to hold off the Americans, however, as Daniel Roy and Reece Whitley reeled him in down the stretch. In the final 50, Roy and Whitley were neck-and-neck, with Roy using his quicker turnover to try and hold off Whitley’s longer strides. Roy was able to do it, touching once again just .05 ahead of Whitley to win it in 2:10.77 to Whitley’s 2:10.82.

Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook made the biggest moves on the final 50. He charged through the final lap in 32.57 to outpace Martinenghi (2:11.53), winning bronze in 2:10.90 and nearly catching the Americans.

WOMEN’S 50 FLY – FINAL

  1. GOLD: Rikako Ikee, JPN, 25.46
  2. SILVER: Sara Junevik, SWE, 26.18
  3. BRONZE: Rebecca Smith, CAN, 26.22

It was all Rikako Ikee in the 50 fly. The Japanese junior star was the only woman to break 26, winning the race in a new Junior World Record time of 25.46. Sweden’s Sara Junevik and Canada’s Rebecca Smith battled for the silver. with Junevik getting her hands to the wall slightly faster in 26.18 to Smith’s 26.22. Rounding out the top 5 were Belarus’ Anastasiya Shkurdai (26.37) and Japan’s Sayuki Ouchi (26.59).

MEN’S 50 BACK – FINAL

  1. GOLD: Michael Andrew, USA, 24.63
  2. SILVER: Hugo Gonzalez, ESP, 25.30
  3. BRONZE: Kacper Stokowski, POL, 25.38

In his first of 3 races tonight, Michael Andrew dominated, tying his Junior World Record from prelims with a 24.63 to win it. Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez out-touched Poland’s Kacper Stokowski, 25.30 to 25.38, to round out the podium. Ireland’s Conor Ferguson just missed the podium by a tenth, touching in 25.48 to take 4th ahead of Romania’s Daniel Martin (25.52).

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – FINAL

  • WJR: 1:05.21, Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2014
  • CR: 1:06.61, Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 2013
  • Start List
  1. GOLD: Mona McSharry, IRL, 1:07.10
  2. SILVER: Faith Knelson, CAN, 1:07.47
  3. BRONZE: Zoe Bartel, USA, 1:07.63

Mona McSharry made history for the Irish tonight, winning their first gold medal ever at a Junior World Championships. Mcsharry led from start to finish, turning in a quick 31.29 en route to her winning time of 1:07.10. It took a 1:07 to make the podium, as Canada’s Faith Knelson (1:07.47) and American Zoe Bartel (1:07.63) each picked up a medal. The USA’s Emily Weiss, who won the 50 breast earlier in the meet, wound up 4th in 1:08.33.

MEN’S 50 FLY – SEMIFINALS

Top 8:

  1. Michael Andrew, USA, 23.27
  2. Andrei Minakov, RUS, 23.76
  3. Adilbek Mussin, KAZ, 23.82
  4. Kristof Milak, HUN, 23.85
  5. Umitcan Gures, TUR, 23.94
  6. Luca Armbruster, GER, 23.97
  7. Egor Kuimov, RUS, 24.02
  8. Abdelrahman Sameh, EGY, 24.16

Team USA’s Michael Andrew held nothing back here, throwing down a 23.27 to clip the Junior World Record, giving him 2 Junior World Records within a half hour of each other. He was a half second faster than anyone else tonight, as Russia’s Andrei Minakov earned the 2nd spot for finals in 23.76. Kazakhstan’s Adilbek Mussin (23.82) and 100 fly champ Kristof Milak (23.85) of Hungary put up a pair of 23.8s to make it into the final. Also breaking the 24-barrier tonight were Turkey’s Umitcan Gures (23.94) and Germany’s Luca Armbruster (23.97).

WOMEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

  • WJR: 3:58.37, Katie Ledecky (USA), 2014
  • Meet: 4:06.17, Tasmin Cook (AUS), 2015
  • Start List
  1. GOLD: Ajna Kesely, HUN, 4:06.72
  2. SILVER: Delfina Pignatiello, ARG, 4:08.33
  3. BRONZE: Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, RUS, 4:08.73

Hungarian 15-year-old Ajna Kesely ran away with the 400 free, flipping in 2:02.13 at the halfway mark and holding on to win it in 4:06.72. Argentina’s Delfina Pignatiello held steady for 2nd place throughout the race, touching in 4:08.33. Russia’s Anastasiia Kirpichnikova sat in 4th  until the final 50 meters. She brought it home in 31.23, going by Japan’s Waka Kobori (4:09.59) to secure the bronze in 4:08.73.

MEN’S 50 FREE – FINAL

  1. GOLD: Michael Andrew, USA, 21.75
  2. SILVER: Maxime Grousset, FRA, 22.25
  3. BRONZE: Leonardo Deplano, ITA, 22.31

Michael Andrew set his 3rd Junior World Record in as many races tonight. Andrew ripped a 21.75 to dominate the race by half a second, once again tying his own record from the prelims. France’s Maxime Grousset out-touched Italy’s Leonardo Deplano for the silver, posting a 22.25 to Deplano’s bronze-winning 22.31. Venezuela’s Alberto Mestre (22.45) and the USA’s Will Davis (22.46) were separated by just a hundredth to round out the top 5.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – FINAL

  1. GOLD: Miku Kojima, JPN, 2:12.42
  2. SILVER: Kayla Sanchez, CAN, 2:12.64
  3. BRONZE: Cyrielle Duhamel, FRA, 2:13.31

Japan’s 15-year-old Miku Kojima held a sizeable lead through the 150-mark. Canada’s Kayla Sanchez blasted a 30.49 down the final stretch to try and run her own, but Kojima held on for the gold in 2:12.42 to Sanchez’s 2:12.64. France’s Cyrielle Duhamel and the USA’s Alex Walsh battled closely for the bronze, but Duhamel was slightly faster on the free leg to come from behind. Duhamel took bronze in 2:13.31, while Wlash touched 4th in 2:13.62. Also breaking 2:14 was Great Britain’s Ciara Schlosshan, who took 5th in 2:13.93.

MEN’S 4×200 FREE RELAY – FINAL

  • WJR: 7:13.76, United States, 2015
  • Meet: 7:13.76, United States, 2015
  • Start List
  1. GOLD: Hungary, 7:10.95
  2. SILVER: United States, 7:10.96
  3. BRONZE: Russia, 7:11.39

Russia’s Ivan Girev popped a 1:46.62 leadoff leg to give the Russians the early advantage, but the USA’s Jack LeVant (1:47.98) and Australia’s Elijah Winnington (1:46.25) roared back on the 2nd leg. Australia had a slight lead going into the 3rd leg, but the USA’s Carson Foster (1:48.12) pulled the Americans to a 1-second lead, with Hungary trailing and Nandor Nemeth on deck.

Nemeth closed the gap and challenged the USA’s Trey Freeman into the finish. Though Nemeth had taken the slight advantage with bout a 50 to go, Freeman put his head down and battled back to outsplit Nemeth on the final 50. He came up just short, though, as Nemeth held on to give Hungary the win by a hundredth of a second with his 1:46.52 split. Freeman’s split was a quick 1:47.53. Both teams were well under the former Junior World Record, as was Russia (7:11.39) en route to the bronze.

In This Story

122
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

122 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Bob
6 years ago

2.07 in 200IM. I guess while he claims USRPT trains the mind, it obviously lacks in training the necessary physiology to deal with a 100 breast and 200IM double. This IS a limitation of USRPT, especially in the LCM pool. Also, I don’t think being ready to swim fast all the time means he is not 100% sure if we will swim his fastest when it matters. I wonder if Rushall will ever address this? Just to say amazing 50s from MA 🙂

AWSI DOOGER
6 years ago

Snooze. The 50s could not be more boring.

The only thing more boring and ridiculous is deciding not to attend college, when you basically could pick any school and get a free ride throughout. And perhaps 60+ years of priceless friendships and memories.

Katie Ledecky understood. She could have become a one dimensional dullard by turning pro instead of attending Stanford. Katie’s most memorable video since Rio was when she was beaming while describing the shenanigans her roommates pulled on her as the spring quarter ended.

I hope Michael Andrew reconsiders. Most never do. Golf prodigy Lydia Ko is struggling through a mediocre year by her standards when she should still be in college, and the golf results really wouldn’t… Read more »

LVH11
Reply to  AWSI DOOGER
6 years ago

lol 60+ years of friendship. Phelps the goat also had the same path as Andrew and I guess it works pretty good to him. Also ledecky actually slower than last year before she’s in Stanford. It’s the path that he choose, why not just support him?

sven
Reply to  AWSI DOOGER
6 years ago

Katie Ledecky can postpone going pro for a couple of reasons:
1) She has made over $400,000 in Olympic rewards for her medals at the Olympics, which is more than enough to last her through college before she starts making pro money.
2) Her family is wealthy. Father is an attorney with a doctorate from Yale. Her uncle is an owner of an NHL team and his net worth in 1998 was estimated at $200 million (with no indication that it should have gone down by now). Much easier to turn down potentially lucrative contracts in order to get the college experience when you have that kind of money behind you.

I don’t think the Andrew family is… Read more »

Claveria
Reply to  sven
6 years ago

Understood. If you’re not wealthy, better don’t go to college.

Anonymous
Reply to  AWSI DOOGER
6 years ago

I would be hesitant to say he wants it this way- I remember reading an article about him where his mom said they wouldn’t let him go to college anyways and since he couldn’t go to college he saw no reason to stay an amateur. His had said, “Michael doesn’t need to be inundated with sex and drugs and ideas from liberal professors”

Anonymous
Reply to  AWSI DOOGER
6 years ago

*His mom

Isabelle
6 years ago

Caeleb Dressel went 21.53 in 2015 in the 50 free. He holds the NAG record for 17-18 year olds.

Isabelle
6 years ago

That is a new NAG record for Daniel Roy! Congratulations!

E Gamble
6 years ago

How about the 22.46 50 free for Will Davis before he even enters the sprint group at U of Florida. ??

Captain Ahab
Reply to  E Gamble
6 years ago

Interesting…

samuel huntington
6 years ago

MA – 50s beast, but honestly shocked that his best in the 100 free is 49.9

DDias
Reply to  samuel huntington
6 years ago

49.9 at 18 doesn’t mean much.At eighteen, Cielo was 22.9 and 50.2 in 50/100free(LCM).At 19, his breakout age, he was 22.32 and 48.61.Andrew can have a huge drop waiting to happen at any moment.

crooked donald
Reply to  samuel huntington
6 years ago

It seems like it was just yesterday when we thought Dressel couldn’t do an LCM 100 free. Remember his freshman year at NCAAs? Won the 50 free, didn’t final in the 100. And that was SCY.

Steve Nolan
Reply to  crooked donald
6 years ago

Right?? Uber-talented teens have a penchant for continuing to develop as 20 yos.

Dudeman
Reply to  crooked donald
6 years ago

Except he went a 48 100 and 1:48 200 free at around 17 years old so he could always do LCM free. People were just skeptical about his monster times in yards translating in the big pool

DisplacedWolverine
6 years ago

What were the relay splits for the US? I can’t find them anywhere

Ben
Reply to  DisplacedWolverine
6 years ago

One of the links at the top of the article, “omega results”, will give you all the exact splits for the entire meet.

Zanna
Reply to  DisplacedWolverine
6 years ago

Callant 1.47.33
Le Vant 1.47.98
Foster 1.48.11
Freeman 1.47.53

Honestly, for their ages, this was very good splits. Some of these splits are similar to some of the US prelims swims at Worlds. Nemeth just had a monster split at the end.

juddy96
6 years ago

Kayla Sanchez has had a terrific week so far, sadly with our national senior team members being so young and having quicker times, she will struggle to make senior teams in a few years.

Hannah
Reply to  juddy96
6 years ago

She is a freestyler so that can help her make teams given that she can swim relays. She had a very fast 100 free split in Budapest. I do think it is funny that every other medley relay at the meet would be dying to let her anchor and Canada is like, well we have 6 juniors who could swim that relay, we’ll see who gets on it.

commonwombat
Reply to  Hannah
6 years ago

Agree, I feel that she may have every chance to make it onto CAN 4X100s over the next few years … as she will only need to finish top 6. The likes of Mainville & Toro are already 25/26 and they may/may not swim through to Tokyo …. esp if some younger names are pushing them down to “alternates”/heat swimmers. She has a couple of seconds to drop to be a real contender for the 4×200 but she’s most definitely in the zone for the shorter relay

Dudeman
Reply to  juddy96
6 years ago

She was in Budapest as part of the freestyle relays so she’s already succeeded in making a senior team. She was 3rd in the 200 free at trials as well so she really won’t struggle if she maintains or improves

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 …

Read More »