2022 FINA WORLD JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- August 30-September 4, 2022
- Lima, Peru
- Long Course Meters (50m), Prelims/Semis/Finals
- Meet Site
- Event Schedule
- Live Results
- Entries List
- Top 5 Girls’ Storylines
- Top 5 Boys’ Storylines
- Click here to download an Excel sheet with events by swimmer
- Day 5 Finals Live Recap
- FINA YouTube Link (USA, Canada)
- How to Watch
The final night of the 2022 World Junior Championships just concluded tonight and there were several standout performances, such as David Popovici making a 47.13 100 free look easy and Pieter Coetze‘s 200 back championship record. However, in this article, we wanted to highlight some swims from day six of World Juniors which flew under the radar, but still deserve to be recognized.
Photo Finish For Hungary In Girls’ 200 Free
The Hungarian girls have long been a strong force in the 4×200 free relay on a junior level, so it’s not a surprise to see them go 1-2 in the 200 free at World Juniors. But the significant thing about this race was that gold medalist Nikoletta Padar and silver medalist Lilla Abraham finished just 0.04 seconds apart. They were engaged in a close race the entire time and were separated by 0.01 seconds at the 100-meter mark, and they both whipped out incredibly fast final 50s to finish the race. Padar closed in 29.40 to touch first, but Abraham was right on her tail with a 29.39 split.
For Padar, her winning time of 1:58.19 was the fastest she’s been in the finals of a championship meet this summer. Her best time of 1:57.80 was set in the semi-finals at senior Europeans, but she went on to go 1:58.87 in finals at the same meet. In addition, she was also 1:58.43 in the European juniors finals and 1:58.90 in the prelims of World Championships. Abraham, on the other hand, clocked a time of 1:58.23 that was over a second faster than her best time headed into this meet. Prior to today, the fastest she had been was 1:59.42, a time that she hit at 2022 European Juniors.
Beatriz Bezerra Drops Over A Second In 100 Fly
In the finals of the girls’ 100 fly, Brazilian swimmer Beatriz Bezerra clocked a time of 59.69 to take silver, being only the second girl in the field to break the minute barrier. She has dropped over a second since the start of the meet, as her best time prior to World Juniors was a 1:00.85.
At 16 years old, Bezerra is the youngest Brazilian girl to ever break a minute in the 100 fly. In addition, she is also the second Brazilian junior to complete this feat, as Stephanie Balduccini had been sub-1:00 three times when she was 17. Balduccini currently holds the Brazilian junior record in the event with a time of 59.27, which is not far from what Bezerra went today.
Jere Hribar Breaks 50 Seconds In The 100 Free
Like Bezerra, Croatian swimmer Jere Hribar also broke a major barrier today. In the boys’ 100 free, he finished second to David Popovici and put up a new personal best time of 49.37—nearly a second improvement from his prior PB of 50.12, which was set in semi-finals. This means that tonight’s race was Hiribar’s first time under the elusive 50-second barrier.
Hiribar’s accomplishment wasn’t just a personal milestone, but it was also a milestone for Croatia. The 18-year-old is now the fastest 18-and-under swimmer in his country’s history, beating out Karlo Noah Paut’s time of 49.64 that was set back in 2016 (however, at sixteen, Paut was two years younger than Hiribar when he earned the “fastest 18-and-under Croatian” title).
Defne Coskun Comes From Behind For Bronze
Tukey’s Defne Coskun paced her race incredibly tonight to earn bronze in the girls’ 200 breast. At the 50-meter mark, she was in last place, over two seconds away from the leader. She moved up to sixth at the 100 mark and then fifth at the 150, before she closed in a 37.52 to overtake Martina Bukvic and Sieun Park for third. Her final 50 split was the only one in the field under 38 seconds and 0.55 seconds faster than the next-fastest final 50, which was a 38.12 swam by Park.
Coskun’s final time of 2:29.85 was a few seconds slower than her personal best of 2:27.33, which was set back in March of this year.
