2021 Short Course World Championships: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

2021 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, December 16th – Tuesday, December 21st
• Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• SCM (25m)
• Prize Money
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheet
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Live Results

Day 2 of the 2021 Short Course World Championships will feature a slightly shorter prelims session than we saw on day 1 of the meet, but will certainly bring with it another action-packed set of events.

All 3 Tokyo medalists in the men’s 200 freestyle are back in action here in the form of Duncan Scott, Tom Dean, and Fernando Scheffer. They, along with Danas Rapsys, David Popovici, and Hwang Sunwoo will be trying to claim a spot on the battlefield of a final.

Fresh off a 200 freestyle world record, we’ll see Siobhan Haughey take to the 100 freestyle. Among her competitors are Sarah Sjostrom, Abbey Weitzeil, Freya Anderson, and Kasia Wasick.

The duel of the day might just be Tom Shields v Chad le Clos in the 100 butterfly, but we’ll see first if the likes of Matteo Rivolta, Marcin Cieslak, Tomoe Hvas, or any others can challenge for a spot in the top 2 heading into the finals.

The list of stars doesn’t end there, though and we’ll also get a glimpse of Olympic champ Zhang Yufei in the 200 fly as well as fast-rising distance star Anastasiia Kirpichnikova in the 800.

Women’s 4×50 Medley – Prelims

• World Record: 1:42.38 – United States – 12 DEC 2018
• Championship Record: 1:42.38 – United States – 12 DEC 2018

Top 8:

1. USA – 1:44.50
2. Canada -1:45.17
3. Italy – 1:45.48
4. China – 1:45.57
5. Sweden – 1:45.63
6. Russia – 1:45.76
7. Netherlands- 1:46.06
8. Belarus – 1:46.68

Many of the biggest stars took to the pool for the first relay prelims event of the day including American women Katharine Berkoff, Emily Escobedo, Claire Curzan, and Kate Douglass. Those four women produced the top time in the field of 1:44.50, while the Canadian quartet followed closely in a 1:44.50.

Berkoff was quick for the Americans with her 25.88 50 back lead-off, which allowed her to be Canada’s Kylie Masse who was a 26.12. The Netherlands can be expected to get a bit of a bump during the final when they sub in world record holder Kira Toussaint for their back leg.

Claire Curzan was the only woman with a swim under 25 on the fly leg with her 24.87, while Tang Qianting of China brought forth the best breast split of the top 8 with a blistering 29.10.

NCAA rivals Maggie MacNeil and Kate Douglass were in different heats but battled it out on the freestyle leg nonetheless. Maggie of Canada was a touch slower, closing the race out with a 23.64, while Douglass notched a 23.43 for the USA.

Men’s 200 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record: 1:39.37 – BIEDERMANN Paul (GER) 15 NOV 2009
• Championship Record: 1:40.95 – RAPSYS Danas (LTU) 14 DEC 2018
• World Junior Record: 1:40.65 – SATES Matthew (RSA) 3 OCT 2021

Top 8:

1. Fernando Scheffer (BRA) – 1:42.42
2. Hwang Sunwoo (KOR) – 1:42.43
3. Duncan Scott (GBR) – 1:42.58
4. Kieran Smith (USA) – 1:42.64
5. Alekdandr Shchegolev (RSF) – 1:42.76
6. Antonio Djakovic (SUI) – 1:42.82
7. Danas Rapsys (LTU) – 1:42.82
8. Matteo Ciampi (ITA) – 1:42.82

Hwang Sunwoo brought the heat in the 6th of the men’s 200 freestyle, out-touching Italy’s Matteo Ciampi with a 1:42.43. Ciampi was close behind in a 1:42.99, while Brazil’s Murilo Setin Sartori was third in the heat with a 1:43.08. The swim for Sunwoo was enough to get him into the final but wasn’t as quick as his 1:41.17 entry time from earlier this fall.

Sunwoo’s swim was actually the second fastest of the field and beat the entirety of heat 7, which Kieran Smith won in a 1:42.64. Smith doesn’t frequently race in short course meters and was entered with a relatively slow time of 1:44.74 so this confirms that he’ll stay in the mix during the final.

From Smith’s heat, Danas Rapsys of Lithuania and Switzerland’s Antonio Djakovic will also advance with their tied-for-6th swims of 1:42.82.

Tokyo bronze medalist was 0.01 seconds faster than Sunwoo in the final heat of the event and will move onto finals in first place with his 1:42.42. As he guns for a spot on the podium during finals, he’ll also have a shot at taking out Joao de Luca’s 2014 Brazilian record in the event of 1:41.85.

Fellow Olympic medalist Duncan Scott was 2nd in the final heat, while Aleksandr Shchegolev of Russia was a 1:42.76 for third, each claiming a spot in the final as well.

The most notable man to miss out on a spot in the finals was Romania’s David Popovici who boasted an entry time of 1:42.12 but ultimately wound up hitting a 1:43.62 here for 14th overall.

Women’s 100 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record: 50.25 – CAMPBELL Cate (AUS) 26 OCT 2017
• Championship Record: 51.14 – KROMOWIDJOJO Ranomi (NED) 13 DEC 2018
• World Junior Record: 51.45 – SANCHEZ Kayla (CAN) 14 DEC 2018

Top 16:

1. Siobhan Haughey (HKG) – 51.97
2. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 52.21
3. Kayla Sanchez (CAN) – 52.38
4. Abbey Weitzeil (USA) – 52.81
5. Kasia Wasick (POL) – 52.98
6. Freya Anderson (GBR) – 53.02
7. Marie Wattel (FRA) – 53.32
8. Torri Huske (USA) – 53.34
9. Michelle Coleman (SWE) – 53.41
10. Zhu Menghui (CHN) – 53.47
11. Lucy Hope (GBR) – 53.49
12. Charlotte Bonnet (FRA) – 53.50
13. Marrit Steenbergen (NED) – 53.51
14. Julie Kepp Jensen (DEN) – 53.63
15. Rebecca Smith (CAN) – 53.70
16. Cheng Yujie (CHN) – 53.86

Freshly minted world record holder and world champion Siobhan Haughey kept up her pace here in the women’s 100 freestyle with a field-leading swim of 51.97 to retain her top seed heading into the final. Despite the fact that she was the only woman under 52 here, Haughey was still about a second slower than her own national record and PB in the 100 free of 50.79 from just last week at the ISL final.

Another one of history’s fastest 100 freestylers was in the mix in the form of Sarah Sjostrom who swam a 52.21 for second seed, trailing her season-best of 51.26 from the ISL final. Haughey and Sjostrom are the 2nd and 3rd quickest women in the event worldwide this year and both trail Emma McKeon who has been a 50.58.

Next to Sjostrom in the pool was Canadian record-holder Kayla Sanchez who wound up in 3rd place here with a 52.38. Like the leading ladies, Sanchez has been a bit quicker before and holds a best time of 51.45 in this event, which she swam in 2018.

The USA’s Abbey Weitzeil was 4th in a 52.81 while Kasia Wasick of Poland came 5th in prelims with her 52.98. Both will be in the mix for a podium finish considering their recent swims of 51.66 and 51.44, respectively.

Freya Anderson, Marie Wattel, and Torri Huske will round out the top 8 here will another 8 women occupy positions 9-16, each with a chance at improving tonight in order to clinch a spot in the final.

Men’s 100 Butterfly – Prelims

• World Record: 47.78 – DRESSEL Caeleb (USA) 21 NOV 2020
• Championship Record: 48.08 – le CLOS Chad (RSA) 8 DEC 2016
• World Junior Record: 49.53 – LI Zhuhao (CHN) 19 NOV 2017

Top 16:

1. Noe Ponti (SUI) – 49.49
2. Andrei Minakov (RSF) – 49.60
3. Yousef Ramadan (EGY) – 49.66
4. Matteo Rivolta (ITA) – 49.82
5. Nyls Korstanje (NED) – 49.97
6. Josh Liendo (CAN) – 50.00
7. Vini Lanza (BRA) – 50.11
8. Dylan Carter (TTO) – 50.22
9. Nikola Miljenic (CRO) – 50.23
10. Jakub Majerski (POL) – 50.40
11. Chad le Clos (RSA) – 50.47
12. Antani Ivanov (BUL) – 50.49
13. Tomoe Hvas (NOR) – 50.51
14. Simon Bucher (AUT) / Michele Lamberti (ITA) – 50.53
16. Tom Shields (USA) – 50.57

Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist in the 100 butterfly Noe Ponti had control in the prelims and led the pack with a 49.49 Swiss national record. The swim for Ponti is better than the 49.98 he swam just a few weeks ago at Swiss Championships where he reset 4 individual national records.

Ponti will move on ahead of Russia’s Andrei Minakov who was a 49.60, which is his first time under 50 seconds in the short course meters version of the event. His former PB was a 50.12 from December 2020.

Youssef Ramadan brought forth another national record with his 3rd place swim of 49.66 and broke it by quite a wide margin. According to FINA, Ramadan’s swim is an improvement upon Omar Eissa’s 53.02 Egyptian record in the event from 2018. Ramadan was entered with a 51.67, which is his long course PB in the event from earlier this year at the Tokyo Olympics.

4th and 5th place finishers Matteo Rivolta and Nyls Korstanje were a bit off the Italian and Dutch national records of 48.64 and 49.86 but should have enough left in the tank to make another effort at cracking those marks in later rounds.

Josh Liendo pulled outa 6th place finish in the prelims and also set a new national record, bringing the Canadian mark from a 50.90 to a 50.00. He got as close as he could to her 49-second mark as he took out Coleman Allen’s 2013 NR by nearly a second.

Women’s 200 Butterfly – Prelims

• World Record: 1:59.61 – BELMONTE Mireia (ESP) 3 DEC 2014
• Championship Record: 1:59.61 – BELMONTE GARCIA Mireia (ESP) 3 DEC 2014
• World Junior Record: 2:02.96 – HASEGAWA Suzuka (JPN) 14 JAN 2017

Top 8:

1. Svetlana Chimrova (RSF) – 2:05.12
2. Zhang Yufei (CHN) – 2:05.73
3. Anastasiia Markova (RSF) – 2:05.97
4. Lana Pudar (BIH) – 2:06.07
5. Maria Ugolkova (SUI) – 2:06.26
6. Zsuzsanna Jakabos (HUN) – 2:06.41
7. Charlotte Hook (USA) – 2:06.55
8. Ilaria Cusinato (ITA) – 2:06.60

Zhang Yufei was a little bit slower here than she was in Tokyo over the summer when she won Olympic gold. Yufei posted a 2:05.73 for second place, compared to the 2:03.86 she used to top the podium in Tokyo.

Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova managed to out-swim the Olympic champ with a 2:05.12, which is a little slower than her entry time as well, which was a 2:04.97. Chimrova holds the Russian record in this event at a 2:03.76 from earlier this year. Her teammate Anastasiia Markova was right behind Yufei and clocked a 2:05.97 for 3rd.

Lana Pudar also earned a spot in the final, touching in 4th place with a 2:06.07. That’s just a touch slower than the 2:05.89 national record she swam a few weeks ago at the 2021 Short Course EuropeanChampionships.

4th through 8th featured a quartet of 2:06s in the form of Ugolkova, Jakabos, Hook, and Cusinato who will round out the final.

Mixed 4×50 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record: 1:27.89 – United States – 12 DEC 2018
• Championship Record: 1:27.89 – United States – 12 DEC 2018

Top 8:

1. Russia- 1:29.84
2. Italy – 1:30.44
3. Netherlands – 1:30.50
4. USA – 1:31.31
5. Hong Kong – 1:31.33
6. France – 1:31.50
7. Canada – 1:31.63
8. Switzerland – 1:33.12

Russia and Italy saved the best for last in the 4th and final heat of this race as they delivered the leading times of 1:29.84 and 1:30.44, respectively. Andrei Minakov swam the opening leg for Russia in a 21.04, which Daniil Markov followed with a 21.30. The women kept the momentum going as Arina Surkova notched 23.50 and Rozaliya Nasretdinova anchored in a 24.00.

Italy’s Marco Orsi (21.70) and Leonardo Deplano (20.91) kept in competitive with their opening splits and Silvia di Pietro (23.78) and Costanza Cocconcelli (24.05) brought it home.

The Netherlands are sitting in 3rd place overall heading into the finals, while the USA sits at 4th followed by Hong Kong in 5th.

Women’s 800 Freestyle – Prelims

• World Record: 7:59.34 – BELMONTE Mireia (ESP) 10 AUG 2013
• Championship Record: 8:03.41 – BELMONTE GARCIA Mireia (ESP) 4 DEC 2014
• World Junior Record: 7:59.44 – WANG Jianjiahe (CHN) 6 OCT 2018

Top 8:

1. Li Bingjie (CHN) – 8:10.08
2. Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 8:13.37
3. Isabel Gose (GER) – 8:13.61
4. Simona Quadarella (ITA) – 8:14.10
5. Anastasiia Kirpichnikova (RSF) – 8:14.53
6. Martina Caramignioli (ITA) – 8:15.01
7. Katie Grimes (USA) – 8:16.01
8. Anna Egorova (RSF) – 8:17.03

The top 8 here is a fairly expected group of women, led by China’s 400 freestyle bronze medalist Li Bingjie. Bingjie swam in heat 3 of the prelims along with Simona Quadarella and Anna Egorova and got off to an early lead, extending it more and more throughout the race.

Bingjie touched with an 8:10.08, which gets her right on top of her own PB of 8:09.81 from 3 years ago at this same meet.

Summer McIntosh stormed to victory in the fourth heat and lowered one of the oldest Canadian records on the books. McIntosh took out the mark of 8:19.99 by Savannah King back in March 2009 and brought the NR down by 6 seconds to an 8:13.37.

Coming in behind McIntosh, the trio of Isabel Gose, Anastasiia Kirpichnikova, and Martina Caramignoli were each separated by less than a second and wound up in 3rd, 5th, and 6th overall. All 3 likely saved a bit of speed during prelims, leaving us wondering what they’ll unleash in the final.