2024 Short Course World Championships
- December 10-15, 2024
- Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
- SCM (25m)
- Meet Central
- Roster Index
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Pick’em
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Prelims Live Recap:Â Day 1Â |Â Day 2
- Finals Live Recap:Â Day 1Â | Day 2
It’s time for another early morning… or mid-afternoon or normal morning, depending on where you are reading from. Day 3 Prelims of the 2024 Short Course World Championships are upon us, and it is going to be a star-studded morning.
Regan Smith is the top seed in two events. The women’s 50 backstroke and the women’s 200 butterfly. As long as she makes it through in both, the backstroke event will have a semi-final this evening, and the butterfly has the finals tonight. It is going to be a busy day for the American swimmer.
We will also see fellow Americans Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh will also be swimming prelims this morning, with both of them competing in the women’s 100 IM.
On the men’s side, World Junior Record Holder Isaac Cooper of Australia will be swimming the 50 backstroke prelims as the top seed by a little over two tenths of a second.
Canadian Ilya Kharun is swiming the men’s 200 fly, and if his 50 fly on the mixed relay was any judge of what we can expect to see today, it’s going to be fast.
World Record holder in the 50 fly, Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, will be competing in the men’s 100 IM, where Leon Marchand’s withdrawal makes him the top seed.
The final individual event will be the prelims of the men’s 400 freestyle will star American Kieran Smith as the top seed.
The last event of the morning is the women’s 4×200 free relay.
Women’s 50 Backstroke
- World Record: 25.25 – Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 2022
- World Junior Record: 26.08 – Sara Curtis (ITA), 2024
- World Championship Record: 25.25 – Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 2022
- 2022 World Champion: Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 25.25
- Katharine Berkooff (USA)- 25.89
- Ingrid Wilm (CAN)- 26.06
- Regan Smith (USA)- 26.08
- Kylie Masse (CAN)- 26.11
- Maaike De Waard (NED)- 26.19
- Analia Pigree (FRA)- 26.22
- Mizuki Hirai (JPN)- 26.23
- Sara Curtis (ITA)- 26.35
- Lora Fanni Komoroczy (HUN)- 26.38
- Kira Toussaint (NED)- 26.48
- Iona Anderson (AUS)- 26.56
- Hanna Rosvall (SWE)- 26.62
- Danielle Hill (IRL)- 26.67
- Anastasiya Shkurdai (NAA)- 26.68
- Fanny Teijonsalo (FIN)- 26.74
- Daryna Nabojcenko (CZE)- 26.86
The prelims of the women’s 50 backstroke were all about American Katherine Berkoff. Berkoff swam in the 2nd circle seeded heat all the way in lane 2, and won the heat by 3 tenths of a second going 25.89 to be the only sub-26 swimmer of the morning.
All the semi-finals qualifiers came out of one of the 3 circle-seeded heats. The heat before Berkoff, the first of the seeded heats, went to Analia Pigree of France in 26.22, which qualified her in 6th for tonight’s semi-final.
The last heat went to Ingrid Wilm of Canada in 26.06. Wilm came in just two one-hundredths over top seed Regan Smith, who placed second in the heat at 26.08. Smith was 5th at the 25 mark, but had the strongest 2nd 25 to cruise her way to the 3rd qualifying spot. The 4th qualifier, Kylie Masse from Canada also came from this heat, just three one-hundredths back from Smith.
Men’s 50 Backstroke
- World Record: 22.11 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2022
- World Junior Record: 22.52 – Isaac Cooper (AUS), 2022
- World Championship Record: 22.22 – Florent Manaudou (FRA), 2014
- 2022 World Champion: Ryan Murphy (USA)- 22.64
Top 16 Qualifiers:
- Miron Lifintsev (NAB)- 22.87
- Kacper Stokowski (POL)- 22.89
- Shane Ryan (IRL)- 22.98
- Isaac Cooper (AUS)- 23.01
- Pavel Samusenko (NAB)- 23.02
- Hubert Kos (HUN)- 23.05
- Ralf Tribuntsov (EST)- 23.06
- Guilherme Basetto (BRA)- 23.11
- Miroslav Knedla (CZE)- 23.13
- Marius Kush (GER)- 23.28
- Thierry Bollin (SUI) / Ruard Van Renen (RSA)- 23.29
- —
- Mewen Tomac (FRA)- 23.22
- Ole Braunschweig (GER)- 23.33
- Finlay Knox (CAN)- 23.35
- Mantas Kauspedas (LTU) / Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (FRA)- 23.37 **Swim-Off Required**
Miron Lifintsev, a Russian Neutral Athlete, qualified with the top seed out of the prelims of the men’s 50 back from the second circle seeded heat, heat 5. Lifintsev was only two-one-hundredths ahead of 2nd place Qualifier Kacper Stokowski from Poland who won heat 6.
The first circle-seeded heat went to Pavel Samusenko, also a Russian Neutral Athlete in 23.02.
Unlike the women’s event, the men’s event had a few qualifiers outside of the final 3 heats. Finlay Knox of Canada, who qualified 15th, came out of heat 2, which he won with his 23.35. Hubert Kos, the 6th seed out of Hungary, was also from an early heat. He won heat 3 in 23.05 to qualify for tonight’s semi-final.
Two swimmers Mantas Kauspedas and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard tied at 16th, meaning there will need to be a swim-off for the spot in the semi-finals.
Michael Andrew was the only American entered in the event, and he scratched the event this morning
Women’s 200 Butterfly
- World Record: 1:59.61 – Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP), 2014
World Junior Record: 2:02.52 – Luying Chen (CHN), 2024- World Championship Record: 1:59.61 – Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP), 2014
- 2022 World Champion: Dakota Luther (USA) – 2:03.37
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Summer McIntosh (CAN)- 2:01.96 **New World Junior Record**
- Alex Shackell (USA)- 2:02.79
- Laura Lahtinen (FIN)- 2:03.55
- Regan Smith (USA)- 2:04.11
- Elizabeth Dekkers (AUS)- 2:04.34
- Helena Rosendahl Back (DEN)- 2:04.71
- Luying Chen (CHN)- 2:05.23
- Bella Grant (AUS)- 2:05.53
Summer McIntosh just set a new World Junior Record in the 200 fly prelims, with the former World Junior Record holder waiting to swim in the next heat. McIntosh went a blistering 2:01.96 to break the previous record of 2:02.52 by a little over half a second. This was the top time of the morning by almost a second, qualifying McIntosh for lane 4 in tonight’s final. Fellow teenager American Alex Shackell was also in the heat, and she went 2:02.79 to qualify 2nd.
The former record holder, Luying Chen of China set the record just a few months ago in September of this year, and she also qualified for the final in 7th at 2:05.23. Chen was 2nd in her heat to Laura Lahtinen of Finland who qualified 3rd in 2:03.55.
The final went to Regan Smith in 2:04.11, which was good enough to qualify her 4th for this evening’s final. Smith qualified for the 50 backstroke around 30 minutes prior to this 200 fly swim.
Men’s 200 Butterfly
- World Record: 1:46.85 – Tomoru Honda (JPN), 2022
- World Junior Record: 1:49.61 – Junder Chen (CHN), 2018
-  World Championship Record: 1:48.24 – Daiya Seto (JPN), 2018
- 2022 World Champion: Chad le Clos (RSA) – 1:48.27
Top 8 Qualifiers
- Alberto Razzetti (ITA)- 1:49.44
- Ilya Kharun (CAN)-1:50.11
- Krzysztof Chmielewski (POL) / Kregor Zirk (EST) – 1:50.39
- —
- Trenton Julian (USA)- 1:50.58
- Andrei Minakov (NAB)- 1:50.62
- Nicolas Albiero (BRA)- 1:50.83
- Richard Marton (HUN)- 1:51.79
Women’s 100 IM
- World Record: 55.98 — Gretchen Walsh (USA), 2024
- World Junior Record: 57.59 – Anastasiya Shkurdai (BLR)- 2020
World Championship Record: 56.70 — Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2014- 2022 World Champion:  Marrit Steenbergen (NED)— 57.53
Top 16 Qualifiers:
- Gretchen Walsh (USA)- 56.06 **New Championship Record**
- Kate Douglass (USA)- 56.98
- Tessa Giele (NED)- 57.87
- Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN)- 58.21
- Rebecca Meder (RSA)- 58.44
- Beryl Gastaldello (FRA)- 58.58
- Diana Petkova (BUL)- 58.79
- Ellen Walshe (IRL)- 58.85
- Sydney Pickrem (CAN)- 58.92
- Tamara Potocka (SVK)- 58.95
- Louise Hansson (SWE)- 59.02
- Helena Gasson (NZL)- 59.14
- Barbora Janickova (CZE)- 59.25
- Huiyu Zheng (CHN)- 59.58
- Fernanda Gomes Celidonio (BRA)- 59.78
- Anastasiya Kuliashova (NAA)- 59.82
Men’s 100 IM
- World Record: 49.28 — Caeleb Dressel (USA), 2020
- World Junior Record: 50.63 — Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2018
- World Championship Record: 50.63 — Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2018
- 2022 World Champion: Thomas Ceccon, (ITA) — 50.97
Men’s 400 Freestyle
- World Record: 3:32.25, Yannick Agnel (FRA), 2012
- World Junior Record: 3:37.92 – Matthew Sates (RSA), 2021
- World Championship Record: 55.70 – 3:34.01, Danas Rapsys (LTU), 2018
- 2022 World Champion: Kieran Smith (USA), 3:34.38
Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay
- World Record: 7:30.87, Australia – 2022
- World Championship Record: 7:30.87, Australia – 2022
- 2022 World Champion: Australia, 7:30.87
Never thought I’d see a gorilla swim a 100IM. Andrew was walked down in the breaststroke
Not bad for Andrew in his heat !! 3 solid legs ….but as we know , his Free technique is not on the same level
Another OK performance by Andrew.
Given the length and reach, Douglass would have to be a foot ahead of Gretchen entering the final stroke of 100 freestyle or 100 individual medley.
There is no way Gretchen loses this, she’s just so much more explosive than everyone else.
indeed ….those will be 2 Epic Finals
56.06 for Gretchen !! just so easy . It was over after the butterfly in this heat
That last underwater dolphin kick was Monstruously long 😄
Walsh is swimming the 100IM so idk what that one guy was on who said she wasn’t gonna.
She said she wouldn’t swim the 100 IM on Unfiltered Waters
Apparently she said it in the Unfiltered Podcast?
Well apparently, she lied! My pickems are going up in flames!
56.98 for Douglass
And Razzetti threw down the gauntlet! It’s shaping up to be a great final.