2024 SC World Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

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: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
• Finals Live Recap: Day 1  | Day 2 | Day 3

We’re now well into the back half of the 2024 Short Course World Championships, but if this morning was an indication, the athletes are showing little sign of slowing down. Gretchen Walsh was doing Gretchen Walsh things in prelims, obliterating the women’s 100 butterfly world record in her first time swimming the event short-course meters. She’s slated for a busy session as the women’s 100 butterfly semifinal, and the 100 IM final–where she’s also the world record holder–are separated from one event. However, there are also two medal ceremonies between events.

Day 4 Finals Heat Sheet 

• Mixed 4×50 freestyle relay — Final
• Women’s 200 breaststroke — Final
• Men’s 200 breaststroke — Final
• Women’s 50 backstroke — Final
• Men’s 50 backstroke — Final
• Women’s 100 butterfly — Semifinals
• Men’s 100 butterfly — Semifinals
• Women’s 100 IM — Final
• Men’s 100 IM — Final
• Women’s 1500 freestyle — Fastest heat
• Men’s 4×200 freestyle relay — Final

She’s one of many swimmers pulling doubles tonight. Her teammate Kate Douglass will race in the 200 breaststroke final at the beginning of the session and later line up next to Walsh for the 100 IM final. Douglass shattered the 200 breaststroke world record twice this fall, and unsurprisingly, she leads the way into the final ahead of Evgeniia Chikunova and Alex Walsh.

Swiss start Noe Ponti faces the same double as Walsh tonight. He’s in lane four for the 100 IM final after taking out the championship record in the semifinals (50.43), but before he gets there, he’s got the men’s 100 butterfly semifinals. It was tight at the top of the men’s 100 fly this morning, with newly minted 200 butterfly world champion Ilya Kharun getting his hands on the wall in 49.17 for the morning’s fastest time. France’s Maxime Grousset qualified second (49.22), while Ponti, Hubert Kos, and Youssef Ramadan are separated by two-hundredths after turning in 49.3s during prelims.

The event before, Kos races the 50 backstroke, which is shaping up to be another competitive final. It took a 22.89 to make the top eight in the event, and the top five qualifiers are separated by four-hundredths, with 100 backstroke champion Miron Lifintsev leading the way in 22.70.

On top of all the individual finals, there are also two relays on tap this session. The first is the mixed 4×50 freestyle relay, which the United States missed the final for after placing ninth this morning. Meanwhile, the U.S. qualified first for the men’s 4×200 freestyle relay, which closes the session.

Mixed Freestyle Relay Lineups 

Men’s 4×200 Free Relay Lineups

MIXED 4×50 FREESTYLE RELAY – Final

• World Record: FRA – 1:27.33
• World Championship Record: FRA – 1:27.33
• 2022 World Champion: FRA – 1:27.33

Final: 

1. Italy (Deplano, Miressi, di Pietro, Curtis) — 1:28.50
2. Canada (Kharun, Kisil, Wilm, Harvey) — 1:28.60
3. Poland (Ludwiczak, Sieradzki, Fiedkiewicz, Wasick) — 1:28.80
4. Neutral Athletes ‘B’  — 1:28.95
5. Netherlands — 1:29.86
6. Slovakia — 1:30.36
7. Hong Kong — 1:30.40
8. Norway — 1:30.97

So often, it’s been Italy’s male sprinters in the spotlight, but tonight, it was their female sprinters, Silvia di Pietro and Sara Curtis that shined as they helped the Italians claim their first gold medal of the week. Italy’s men gave them a strong start; Leonardo Deplano tied with Ilya Kharun for the fastest lead-off in 20.80.

Yuri Kisil pulled the Canadians into the lead at the halfway point with a 20.57 split, while the Italians stayed in the hunt thanks to a 21.01 from Alessandro Miressi. Italy’s anchor, the 18-year-old Curtis, dove into the pool third, trailing Canada and Neutral Athletes ‘B.’ But she didn’t panic and matched Silvia di Pietro‘s 23.35 split with a 23.34 anchor, pulling her team to gold by a tenth over Canada’s quartet.

On the last 50 meters, Polish sprint star Kasia Wasick split 22.90, the fastest split by a woman in this field, to pass the Neutral Athletes ‘B’ team for the bronze medal.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – Final

• World Record: 2:12.72 – Kate Douglass, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 2:14.70 – Evgeniia Chikunova, RUS (2022)
• World Championship Record: 2:15.77 – Kate Douglass, USA (2022)
• 2022 World Champion: Kate Douglass, USA – 2:15.77

Final:

1. Kate Douglass (USA) — 2:12.50 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Evgeniia Chikunova (NAB) — 2:15.14
3. Alex Walsh (USA) — 2:16.83
4. Alina Zmushka (NAA) — 2:17.30
5. Rebecca Meder (RSA) — 2:18.26
6. Kristyna Horska (CZE) — 2:18.31
7. Clara Rybak-Andersen (DEN) — 2:18.73
8. Angharad Evans (GBR) — 2:18.77

Another session, another world record in Budapest. This time, it was Kate Douglass breaking her 200 breaststroke world record from the Singapore stop of the 2024 World Cup by .27 seconds.

Douglass led the race from start to finish as she swam a 2:12.50 for her second individual world record and world title defense of the meet. Earlier, she defended her 200 IM gold from Melbourne with a world record time.

In her post-race interview, Douglass mentioned that she wasn’t sure she would be able to break the world record at this meet because of how much racing she’s been doing. But, she was able to rise to the occasion in her first swim of the session, earning a bonus for her world record swim and for winning the world title after sweeping the event at the World Cup.

Behind Douglass, it was a race between long-course world record holder Evgeniia Chikunova and 200 IM silver medalist Alex Walsh. Walsh helped the United States women’s 4×200 free relay team set a world record yesterday and was fifth at the 50-meter mark but moved into third by the halfway point. She was unable to make up the rest of the ground to Chikunova, who out-split her over the final 100 meters to claim silver in 2:15.14, while Walsh earned her second individual medal of the meet in 2:16.83.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE  – Final

• World Record: 2:00.16 – Kirill Prigoda, RUS (2018)
• World Junior Record: 2:03.23 – Akhiro Yamaguchi, JPN (2012)
• World Championship Record: 2:00.16 – Kirill Prigoda, RUS (2018)
• 2022 World Champion: Daiya Seto, JPN – 2:00.35

Final:

1. Carles Coll Marti (ESP) — 2:01.55
2. Kirill Prigoda (NAB) — 2:01.88
3. Yamato Fukasawa (JPN) — 2:02.01
4. Aleksandr Zhigalov (NAB) — 2:02.12
5. Caspar Corbeau (NED) — 2:02.44
6. AJ Pouch (USA) — 2:02.84
7. Joshua Yong (AUS) — 2:03.21
8. Ilya Shymanovich (NAA) — 2:03.49

Italy claimed its first gold medal of the 2024 Short Course World Championships earlier this session, but Carles Coll Marti‘s 200 breaststroke gold represents the first Short Course Worlds gold earned by a Spanish man.

There were plenty of big names in this final, including the short-course world record holder in the 200 (Kirill Prigoda) and 100 (Ilya Shymanovich) breaststrokes. But Coll Marti, who has been swimming well in short-course yards during his fifth year for Virginia Tech, said after the race, the packed field motivated him.

Swimming next to his Hokie teammate AJ Pouch at the top of the pool, Coll Marti maintained a place on the podium for the entire race. He was third at the first 25 but pulled into second by the 50 mark (27.17) behind Prigoda (27.10). By the halfway point, Coll Marti had the lead (58.06) as the top four men were separated by just five-hundredths.

Though Aleksandr Zhigalov was tied with Coll Marti with just 25 meters to go, Coll Marti split 15.87 on the last 25 meters to touch in 2:01.55, breaking the super-suited Spanish record from 2009 (2:02.67) to win his first individual Worlds title.

Prigoda was fourth at the final turn but split 15.92 on the final length to move ahead of Zhigalov and Yamato Fukasawa, who both split 16-point on the last 25 meters. Fukasawa’s 16.11 final 25 moved him ahead of Zhigalov and into the bronze medal position, while Zhigalov faded to fourth.

Women’s 50 Backstroke – Final

• 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

Final:

1. Regan Smith (USA) — 25.23 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Katharine Berkoff (USA) — 25.61
3. Kylie Masse (CAN) — 25.78
4. Ingrid Wilm (CAN) — 25.88
5. Analia Pigree (FRA) — 25.94
6. Sara Curtis (ITA) — 26.26
7. Maaike de Waard (NED) — 26.28
8. Iona Anderson (AUS) — 26.31

The world record party is on now, as Regan Smith made it back-to-back world records in the women’s finals. Smith was three-tenths behind Maggie Macneil‘s world record at the turn but charged with a 12.61 over the final 25 meters to sneak ahead of Macneil’s mark from Melbourne by two-hundredths with a 25.23.

Smith, like Douglass, characterized the world record as a surprise for her. This fall was the first time she’d swum short-course meters in years, and she now owns the short-course world record in the 50, 100, and 200 backstroke.

It was a 1-2 finish for the United States as Katharine Berkoff earned her second individual silver medal of the meet. She touched in 25.61, clearly ahead of Canada’s Kylie Masse, who edged out teammate Ingrid Wilm by a tenth for the bronze medal.

Men’s 50 Backstroke – Final

• 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

Final:

1. Miron Lifintsev (NAB) — 22.47 ***WORLD JUNIOR RECORD***
2. Isaac Cooper (AUS) — 22.49
3. Shane Ryan (IRL) — 22.56
4. Hubert Kos (HUN) — 22.64
5. Kacper Stokowski (POL) — 22.68
6. Pavel Samusenko (NAB) — 22.74
7. Miroslav Knedla (CZE) — 22.89
8. Thierry Bollin (SUI) — 22.97

Emerging backstroke star Miron Lifintsev completed the sprint backstroke double in another world junior record, winning an incredibly close men’s 50 backstroke final.

Lifintsev turned third (11.07), behind a fast start from defending silver medallist Isaac Cooper in first (10.91) and Ireland’s Shane Ryan (10.93). He unleashed a field-best 11.40 on the second 25 meters, using his long reach to stop the clock two-hundredths ahead of Cooper for the gold medal as he broke Cooper’s world junior record.

Cooper was also under his (now former) standard. He’s no longer a junior swimmer, but his 22.49 marks an Oceanian record. Ryan was one of many swimmers in the field to break their national record as he clocked 22.56 for bronze, extending Ireland’s summer success into the winter.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Semifinals

• World Record: 53.24 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 55.39 – Claire Curzan, USA (2021)
• World Championship Record: 53.24 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)
• 2022 World Champion: Maggie MacNeil, CAN – 54.05

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Gretchen Walsh (USA) — 52.87 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Louise Hansson (SWE) — 55.03
3. Ellen Walshe (IRL) — 55.50
4. Alexandria Perkins (AUS) — 55.57
5. Mizuki Hirai (JPN) — 55.68
6. Lily Price (AUS) — 55.74
7. Tessa Giele (NED) — 55.80
8. Daria Klepikova (NAB) — 56.12

Gretchen Walsh doesn’t have much time between her 100 butterfly semifinal and the 100 IM final. So, many were expecting she’d coast through the semifinals after breaking the 100 butterfly world record in prelims on her first official SCM 100 butterfly race.

But Walsh had other ideas.

She did anything but cruise, instead crushing the world record she set this morning with a 52.87. Before the prelims session this morning, no female swimmer had broken 54 seconds in this event. Walsh became the first woman to achieve that, then one-upped herself by becoming the first woman to break 53 seconds as she split 24.37/28.50 en route to her world record.

Second-place qualifier Louise Hansson is the best of the rest, checking in with a 55.03. It took a 56.12 to make it back to the final, as Daria Klepikova qualified eighth. The Australian women put two through to the final, with Alexandria Perkins winning the first semifinal with a 55.57 to qualify fourth overall and Lily Price touching third in that semifinal (55.74) for the sixth seed.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Semifinals

• World Record: 47.78 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2020)
• World Junior Record: 49.03 – Ilya Kharun, CAN (2022)
• World Championship Record: 48.08 – Chad le Clos, RSA (2016)
• 2022 World Champion: Chad le Clos, RSA – 48.59

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Noe Ponti (SUI) — 48.89
2. Maxime Grousset (FRA) — 48.99
3. Matthew Temple (AUS) — 49.01
4. Michele Busa (ITA) — 49.11
5. Dare Rose (USA) — 49.14
6. Andrei Minakov (NAB) — 49.19
7. Simone Stefani’ (ITA) — 49.28
8. Simon Bucher (AUT) — 49.29

Noe Ponti kicked into gear in the back half of the second semifinal, splitting 22.99/25.90 during his race. His back half helped him win his semifinal and qualify for tomorrow’s 100 butterfly final in first. He hopped out of the pool straight after the race; he had the men’s 100 IM final shortly.

Maxime Grousset won the first semifinal in 48.99 and heads into the final a tenth behind Ponti. The Swiss swimmer became the third-fastest in event history earlier this fall, swimming a 48.40 in Shanghai. Grousset’s swim was just five-hundredths from the best he swam last year at the 2023 European Short Course Championships.

It was a tight race to qualify for the final; it took 49.29 to make it in. Ponti and Grousset will be joined by Matthew Temple, Michele Busa, Dare Rose, Andrei Minakov, Simone Stefani’, and Simon Bucher.

That leaves some big names out of the final, chief among them Ilya Kharun, who was the top qualifier into the semifinal and won gold in the 200 fly and silver in the 50 fly already at this meet. Youssef Ramadan, Chad le Clos, and Hubert Kos (on the back end of the 50 back/100 fly double) also missed the final.

Women’s 100 IM – Final

• World Record: 55.71 — Gretchen Walsh (USA), 2024
• World Junior Record: 57.59 – Anastasiya Shkurdai (BLR)- 2020
• World Championship Record: 55.71 — Gretchen Walsh (USA), 2024
• 2022 World Champion:  Marrit Steenbergen (NED)— 57.53

Final:

1. Gretchen Walsh (USA) — 55.11 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Kate Douglass (USA) — 56.49
3. Beryl Gastaldello (FRA) — 56.67
4. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN) — 57.04
5. Tessa Giele (NED) — 57.69
6. Rebecca Meder (RSA) — 58.10
7. Diana Petkova (BUL) — 58.73
8. Sydney Pickrem (CAN) — 59.07

Two world records in less than 30 minutes–Walsh is on fire this week in Budapest. It seems that every time she steps onto the block, the world record is under threat. In the final of the women’s 100 IM, she obliterated the world record she swam in the semifinals, taking six-tenths off her standard with a blazing 55.11.

About two months ago, Katinka Hosszu held the women’s 100 IM world record at 56.51, a mark that had stood since 2017. Walsh first cracked that mark in October, becoming the first woman to break 56 seconds with a 55.98. From that swim to this one, Walsh has taken 1.40 seconds off Hosszu’s standard, completely rewriting what’s possible in this event.

Douglass was on the second swim of her own double after setting a world record in the women’s 200 breaststroke, the first individual final of the night. She’s been continually improving in this event all fall as well; in the final, she got under Hosszu’s former world record with a 56.49, becoming the second-fastest swimmer in history.

Douglass moved ahead of France’s Beryl Gastaldello on the breaststroke leg. Gastaldello held on during the freestyle leg to crush her French record with a 56.67.

Men’s 100 IM — Final

• World Record: 49.28 — Caeleb Dressel (USA), 2020
• World Junior Record: 50.63 — Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2018
• World Championship Record: 50.43 — Noe Ponti (SUI), 2024
• 2022 World Champion: Thomas Ceccon, (ITA) — 50.97

Final:

1. Noe Ponti (SUI) — 50.33 ***CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD***
2. Bernhard Reitshammer (AUT) — 51.11
3. Caio Pumputis (BRA) — 51.35
4. Michael Andrew (USA) — 51.37
5. Carles Coll Marti (ESP) — 51.52
6. Heiko Gigler (AUT) — 51.67
7. Berke Saka (TUR) — 51.82
8. Miroslav Knedla (CZE) — 51.90

It was a back-and-forth affair in the men’s 100 IM final. Michael Andrew held the lead after the butterfly leg, two-hundredths ahead of Ponti. Ponti took control on the backstroke leg (12.69), but Andrew took it back with a 15.01 split on the breaststroke leg, making the turn for home at 37.88. Austria’s Bernhard Reitshammer had the fastest breaststroke split in the field (14.60), which moved him from seventh to second with 25 meters remaining.

Ponti made the final turn in third but had a huge final underwater and the fastest freestyle split in the field (12.30) to claim gold in 50.33, taking a tenth off the championship record he set in the semifinal.

The 30-year-old Reitshammer maintained his second-place position to win the silver medal in an Austrian record of 51.11. While Reitshammer has won medals at both the long-course and short-course European championships, this is his first medal on the World Championship level.

Caio Pumputis moved from fourth to third on the final 25 meters, claiming bronze in a Brazilian record 51.35. He stopped the clock two-hundredths ahead of Andrew. Though he missed the medals, Andrew’s 51.37 is in the top three fastest 100 IM swims of his career–a solid early result for him after joining the ASU pro group this fall. He touched ahead of the newly crowned 200 breaststroke champion, Coll Marti, who just missed the Spanish record (51.50) he swam in the semifinals with a 51.52.

WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – Fastest Heat

• World Record: 15:08.24 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2022)
• World Junior Record: 15:42.05 – Katie Grimes, USA (2022)
• World Championship Record: 15:21.43 – Lani Pallister, AUS (2022)
• 2022 World Champion: Lani Pallister, AUS – 15:21.43

Final:

1. Isabel Gose (GER) — 15:24.69
2. Simona Quadarella (ITA) — 15:30.14
3. Jillian Cox (USA) — 15:41.29
4. Anastasiia Kirpichnikova (FRA) — 15:43.33
5. Tiana Kritzinger (AUS) — 15:44.44
6. Moesha Johnson (AUS) — 15:45.07
7. Amelie Blocksidge (GBR) — 15:47.28
8. Beatriz Dizotti (BRA) — 15:49.00

Isabel Gose left no doubt about who was going to win gold in the women’s 1500 freestyle. She fired off a 15:24.69 for her first World Championship/Olympic level gold medal. Gose has had a busy year–she won three medals (two silver, one bronze) at the 2024 Doha World Championships. Then, she followed up with a bronze medal in the women’s 1500 freestyle in Paris.

Along the way, she’s broken multiple national records–a trend that has continued in Budapest as she reset the German 400 and 800 freestyle records earlier this week, winning silver in the latter.

She won this race by 5.45 seconds as Italy’s Simona Quadarella, a Tokyo Olympic medalist, finished in 15:30.14.

From the early heats, Jillian Cox‘s 15:41.29 stood up for the bronze medal as she touched two seconds ahead of Anastasiia Kirpichnikova.

MEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – Final

• World Record: 6:44.12 – USA (2022)
• World Championship Record: 6:44.12 – USA (2022)
• 2022 World Champion: USA – 6:44.12

Final:

1. United States (Hobson, Foster, Casas, Smith) — 6:40.51 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Australia (Giuliani, Sommerville, Turner, Winnington) — 6:45.54
3. Italy (Megli, Frigo, D’Ambrosio, Razzetti) — 6:47.51
4. Germany — 6:50.43
5. Spain — 6:52.74
6. Neutral Athletes ‘B’ — 6:53.89
7. China — 6:54.56
8. Japan — 7:07.90

Is there a more appropriate way to close out this incredible session in Budapest than with two world records in one race?

Shaine Casas rattled the 200 freestyle American record during his prelims lead-off, which earned him a berth on the finals relay, though Olympic bronze medalist Luke Hobson took over lead-off duties. Hobson made the most of his opportunity, smoking Paul Biedermann‘s legendary super-suited mark of 1:39.37 by becoming the first man sub-1:39 with a blistering 1:38.91.

Many of the fastest 200 freestylers have taken a run at Bidermann’s mark in the 15 years since he set it. In the last two years, we’ve seen Hwang Sun-woo swim 1:39.72 at 2022 Worlds and Duncan Scott clock 1:39.83 this fall at the Singapore World Cup. But it’s Hobson who took down the mark, getting under by .46 seconds. As Walsh reset the 50 butterfly world record earlier this meet and France’s world-best 4×50 freestyle time isn’t ratified, Hobson’s swim means that all super-suited world records are gone from the short-course meters record books.

After blazing a huge lead, Hobson handed things over to Carson Foster, who split 1:40.77. Three-fourths of this relay train at Texas, as Casas split 1:40.34 on the third leg and Kieran Smith anchored in 1:40.49. Smith stopped the clock at 6:40.51, destroying the world record the U.S. swam two years ago in Melbourne by 3.61 seconds, as Smith extended the team’s lead on the world record line over the final 200 meters.

Australia held second place at each exchange as Max Giuliani (1:40.73), Edward Sommerville (1:41.03), Harrison Turner (1:42.21), and Elijah Winnington (1:41.57) earned silver with an Oceanian record 6:45.54. Giuliani’s lead-off leg neared Sommerville’s Oceanian record of 1:40.64 from September.

Italy was fourth at the final exchange behind Germany, but Alberto Razzetti–who set a 200 fly European record for silver yesterday–split 1:41.62 to pass the Germans and put the Italians onto the podium with bronze.