2024 SC World Championships: Day 6 Finals Live Recap

2024 SC 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 | Day 5 | Day 6
• Finals Live Recap: Day 1  | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

This is the end, folks.

After a fantastic week of racing in Budapest, we’ve reached the final session of the 2024 Short Course World Championships. But, with many of the swimmers who helped make this meet so electric in the pool again tonight–like Gretchen Walsh, Summer McIntosh, Kate Douglass, and Jordan Crooks, to name a few–it seems like this meet will go out not with a whimper, but with a bang.

Day 6 Finals Heat Sheet

• Women’s 50 freestyle — final
• Men’s 50 freestyle — final
• Women’s 50 breaststroke — final
• Men’s 50 breaststroke — final
• Women’s 200 backstroke — final
• Men’s 200 backstroke — final
• Women’s 200 freestyle — final
• Men’s 200 freestyle — final
• Women’s 4×100 medley relay — final
• Men’s 4×100 medley relay — final

Two world records went down during the 50 freestyle semifinals. Walsh continued her record-breaking spree by taking down Ranomi Kromowidjojo‘s mark, while Crooks became the first man to break 20 seconds in the short-course meter pool, swimming a 19.90 to reset his 20.08 world standard from prelims. What do they have in store for us during the final?

Other world record breakers from this week in the pool for their final individual events include McIntosh and Regan Smith, who will go head-to-head in the women’s 200 backstroke final. McIntosh chose to take on this test rather than the 200 IM, and she’s been on fire this week, setting three world records en route to three golds. In the 200 backstroke, she runs into the current world record holder, Smith, who set her 1:58.83 mark earlier this fall and is looking to complete her sweep of the backstrokes in Budapest.

After breaking Paul Biedermann‘s super-suited mark leading off the men’s 200 freestyle relay, Luke Hobson now eyes gold in the individual 200 freestyle. He’s the top qualifier heading into finals, swimming a 1:41.55 in the heats to move through three-hundredths ahead of Belgium’s Lucas Henveaux. Henveaux set a national record in the heats, as did the third-place qualifier, Finland’s Tomas Koski (1:41.92).

Olympic champion Hubert Kos asserted himself in the men’s 200 backstroke heats, swimming a 1:48.02. He was the only man to break 1:50 in prelims, and he’s looking to end his meet on a high note and earn a gold medal in front of a home crowd after getting out-touched in two tight finals in the 50 and 100 backstroke.

The meet ends with the women’s and men’s 4×100 medley relays. The U.S. women have loaded up with Smith, Lilly King, Walsh, and Douglass as their lineup. Poland is the top qualifier through the heats on the men’s side. The Neutral Athletes ‘B’ have added 50 and 100 backstroke champion Miron Lifintsev to their squad, and the U.S. swapped three legs and is going with Shaine Casas, Michael Andrew, Dare Rose, and Jack Alexy. The full relay lineups are listed below, or you can check our articles breaking down the women’s and men’s lineups.

Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay Lineups

Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay Lineups

Women’s 50 Freestyle — Final

• World Record: 22.87 — Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 23.69 — Anastasiya Shkurdai, BLR (2020)
• World Championship Record: 22.87 — Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)
• 2022 World Champion: Emma McKeon, AUS — 23.04

Final:

1. Gretchen Walsh (USA) — 22.83 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Kate Douglass (USA) — 23.05
3. Kasia Wasick (POL) — 23.37
4. Eva Okaro (GBR) — 23.66 ***WORLD JUNIOR RECORD***
5. Meg Harris (AUS) — 23.73
6. Silvia di Pietro (ITA) — 23.85
7. Sara Curtis (ITA) — 23.87
8. Arina Surkova (NAB) — 23.95

And that’s another world record for Walsh here in Budapest. She kept doing what she’d been doing all week during the final of the women’s 50 freestyle, slicing four-hundredths off the world record she set during prelims with a 23.83 to claim gold.

The United States went 1-2 in this event as Walsh’s Virginia training partner Douglass claimed the silver medal in a personal best of 23.05. Poland’s Kasia Wasick rounded out the podium, earning bronze in 23.37 as Poland keeps an exciting week going.

Great Britain’s Eva Okaro swam a world junior record to finish just outside the medals in fourth. She swam a 23.66, taking three-hundredths off the record Anastasiya Shkurdai swam in 2020. Her time moves her up to #2 all-time among British women, behind only Halsall.

Men’s 50 Freestyle — Final

• World Record: 19.90 — Jordan Crooks, CAY (2024)
• World Junior Record: 20.98 — Simons Kenzo, NED (2019)
• World Championship Record: 19.90 — Jordan Crooks, CAY (2024)
• 2022 World Champion: Jordan Crooks, CAY — 20.46

Final:

1. Jordan Crooks (CAY), 20.19
2. Gui Santos (BRA), 20.57
3. Jack Alexy (USA), 20.61
4. Chris Guiliano (USA), 20.78
5. Nyls Korstanje (NED), 20.78
6. Egor Kornev (NAB), 20.81
7. Maxime Grousset (FRA), 20.90
8. Ji Yuchan (KOR), 20.91

Jordan Crooks successfully defended his 50 freestyle world title from two years ago. He led from start to finish, turning in 9.64 and storming home in 10.55 to clock a 20.19 for gold. It’s becoming a pattern for Crooks to have his best swim of an event in the semifinals–that stayed true here as he was off the incredible 19.90 world record he set yesterday.

However, 20.19 was enough to earn gold by .38 seconds, as his Tennessee training partner Gui Santos earned the silver medal in 20.57. The swim is a lifetime best for Santos, taking two-hundredths off his time from the semifinals. He’s now six-hundredths off Cesar Cielo‘s Brazilian record (20.51) from 2010.

The Americans earned third and fourth in this event, as Jack Alexy grabbed the final step of the podium with a 20.61. Alexy flipped fifth but swam a 10.71 on the second 25 meters to get his hand on the wall in medal position. Chris Guiliano made a similar charge on the back half of the race, moving from seventh at the turn (9.97) to fourth in 20.78.

Women’s 50 Breaststroke — Final

• World Record: 28.37 — Ruta Meilutyte, LTU (2018)
• World Junior Record: 28.81 — Benedetta Pilato, ITA (2020)
• World Championship Record: 28.37 — Ruta Meilutyte, LTU (2018)
• 2022 World Champion: Ruta Meilutyte, LTU — 28.50

Final:

1. Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) — 28.54
2. Tang Qianting (CHN) — 28.86
3. Lilly King (USA) — 28.91
4. Benedetta Pilato (ITA) — 29.11
5. Eneli Jefimova (EST) — 29.13
6. Dominika Sztandera (POL) — 29.49
7. Alina Zmushka (NAA) — 29.56
8. Veera Kivirinta (FIN) — 29.69

We got a second successful title defense in as many events as Ruta Meilutyte claimed another 50 breaststroke short-course world title. Meilutyte is also the world record holder in this event. In the semifinal, she was two-hundredths off her world record from 2018. She was further from her mark during the final but led from start to finish in the race, splitting 12.91 on the first 50 meters and 15.63 on the second 25 meters.

Tang Qianting, the 100 breaststroke champion from earlier this week, earned another medal in Budapest as she claimed silver in 28.86. King had the fastest back half in the field, clocking 15.61 on her second 25 meters to move from sixth at the turn onto the podium with the bronze medal.

The three women on the podium all cleared 29 seconds, as King rounded out the trio with a 28.91. Italy’s Benedetta Pilato touched fourth in 29.11, two-hundredths ahead of 100 breaststroke bronze medalist Eneli Jefimova.

Men’s 50 Breaststroke — Final

• World Record: 24.95 — Emre Sacki, TUR (2021)
• World Junior Record: 25.66 — Chris Smith, RSA (2024)
• World Championship Record: 25.38 — Nick Fink, USA (2022)
• 2022 World Champion: Nick Finke, USA — 25.38

Final:

1. Qin Haiyang (CHN) — 25.42
2. Emre Sakci (TUR)/Kirill Prigoda (NAB) — 25.56
3. (tie)
4. Simone Cerasuolo (ITA) — 25.62
5. Ilya Shymanovich (NAA) — 25.64
6. Ludovico Viberti (ITA) — 25.71
7. Michael Houlie (RSA) — 25.73
8. Chris Smith (RSA) — 25.77

After a disappointing Olympic Games, Qin showed flashes of stronger form during the World Cup circuit, setting Asian records. He’s continued to improve from there, displaying a remarkable ability to get his hands on the wall first. He won a tight 100 breaststroke final with an incredible closing 25 meters and used a similar strategy here, moving from fourth at the turn to first at the finish with a field-best 13.84 closing 25 meters.

World record holder Emre Sakci led the field around at the turn, splitting 11.46 to touch eight-hundredths ahead of Kirill Prigoda. Prigoda battled back on the second 25 meters and hit the wall tied with Sakci in 25.56. It’s his third individual silver medal of the week, as he’s now made the podium in all three breaststroke races.

Since World Aquatics has been combining the men’s and women’s medal ceremonies, the second step on the podium will be crowded for this ceremony with three swimmers–Sakci, Prigoda, and Tang.

Former world junior record holder Simone Cerasuolo just missed another trip to the podium in this event, swimming 25.62 for fourth overall, two-hundredths ahead of Ilya Shymanovich.

Women’s 200 Backstroke — Final

• World Record: 1:58.83 — Regan Smith, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 2:00.03 — Missy Franklin, USA (2011)
• Championship Record: 1:59.23 — Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2014)
• 2022 Champion: Kaylee McKeown, AUS — 1:59.26

Final:

1. Regan Smith (USA) — 1:58.04 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Summer McIntosh (CAN) — 1:59.96 ***WORLD JUNIOR RECORD***
3. Anastasiya Shkurdai (NAA) — 2:00.56
4. Phoebe Bacon (USA) — 2:00.76
5. Carmen Weiler Sastre (ESP) — 2:02.26
6. Pauline Mahieu (FRA) — 2:03.21
7. Iona Anderson (AUS) — 2:04.60
8. Milana Stepanova (NAB) — 2:05.06

Regan Smith left no doubt about who was going to win the women’s 200 backstroke. She attacked the race from the start in lane two and led the entire race, lipping in 57.59 at the 100-meter mark, over a second ahead of Summer McIntosh.

Smith led the charge through the second 100 meters as well and stopped the clock at 1:58.04, smashing the world record she swam in Singapore by .79 seconds. With that, she completes the backstroke event sweep here in Budapest and, in addition to her world record bonus, earns another $10,000 bonus for winning the world title after sweeping the event at the World Cup.

McIntosh claimed silver in her first international 200 backstroke final. She clocked 1:59.96, breaking Missy Franklin‘s world junior record from 2011 and bringing the mark under two minutes for the first time. Her swim is also a Canadian record.

Anastasiya Shkurdai swam her way through the field on the back half of the race. She was sixth at the halfway point but had moved into fifth with 50 meters to go. She was fourth at the final turn, then split 14.73 on the final 25 to pass Phoebe Bacon and land on the podium in 2:00.56. Shkurdai out-touched Bacon by two-tenths.

Carmen Weiler Sastre finished fifth, just missing the Spanish record she swam in prelims with a 2:02.26.

Men’s 200 Backstroke — Final

• World Record: 1:45.63 — Mitch Larkin, AUS (2015)
• World Junior Record: 1:48.02 — Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2017)
• Championship Record: 1:46.68 — Ryan Lochte, USA (2010)
• 2022 Champion: Ryan Murphy, USA — 1:47.41

Final:

1. Hubert Kos (HUN) — 1:45.65 ***CHAMPIONSHIP, EUROPEAN RECORD***
2. Lorenzo Mora (ITA) — 1:48.96
3. Mewen Tomac (FRA) — 1:49.93
4. Daiki Yanagawa (JPN) — 1:50.28
5. Jack Aikins (USA) — 1:50.60
6. Tao Guannan (CHN) — 1:51.04
7. Dmitrii Savenko (NAB) — 1:51.27
8. Jan Cejka (CZE) — 1:51.81

Hubert Kos had asserted himself as the favorite in this event after a 1:48 in prelims, which separated him from the rest of the prelims field. He lived up to that expectation in the final–after being tied with Mewen Tomac at the first turn, Kos sped away from the field. He made the 100-meter turn at 52.75. Kos was well off the world record pace, but over the next 100 meters, the Olympic champion kicked into another gear. 

Kos split 52.90 on the second 100 meters, nearly even splitting his race as he charged toward the world record line. He missed Mitch Larkin‘s mark from 2015 by two-hundredths, but his 1:45.65 demolishes Ryan Lochte‘s 2010 championship record (1:46.68). The swim is also a European record for Kos as well, as he claims gold in front of a home crowd on the final day of competition. 

This marks a sweep of the 200 backstroke for Bob Bowman-trained swimmers as Smith and Kos both train with Bowman at Texas.

While Kos was the only man under 1:50 in prelims, the entire podium cleared that mark for the final. Italy’s Lorenzo Mora and France’s Mewen Tomac both climbed onto the podium for the first time in an individual event this week. Mora lingered near the back of the field for the first 75 meters but pulled into second by 100 meters and maintained that place for the rest of the race, clocking 1:48.96 for silver.

Tomac grabbed bronze with a 1:49.93, touching nearly a second behind Mora.

Women’s 200 Freestyle — Final

• World Record: 1:50.31 — Siobhan Haughey, HKG (2021)
• World Junior Record: 1:52.51 — Claire Weinstein, USA (2024)
• Championship Record: 1:50.31 — Siobhan Haughey, HKG (2021)
• 2022 Champion: Siobhan Haughey, HKG — 1:51.65

Final:

1. Siobhan Haughey (HKG) — 1:50.62
2. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN) — 1:51.49 ***AMERICAS RECORD***
3. Claire Weinstein (USA) — 1:51.62
4. Lani Pallister (AUS) — 1:51.75
5. Freya Anderson (GBR) — 1:52.14
6. Paige Madden (USA) — 1:52.93
7. Leah Neale (AUS) — 1:53.21
8. Sofia Morini (ITA) — 1:54.17

Siobhan Haughey had a tough outing in the women’s 100 freestyle and missed the podium. But, she rallied in the women’s 200 freestyle, which she calls her favorite event, and dominated the field for the gold medal.

Haughey led the race from the start and was out under her world record pace with a 53.64. When she set the world record in Abu Dhabi, she flipped at halfway in 53.81. Her world record pace slipped away from her on the back half, but her 1:50.62 stands as the third fastest performance in history, behind only her world record and Sarah Sjostrom‘s 1:50.43 from 2017. She now owns four of the five fastest times in event history.

This is also Haughey’s third-straight short-course meters 200 freestyle world title. In addition to another title, she claimed a $10,000 bonus for winning the world title after sweeping the event at the World Cup.

Before this meet, Mary-Sophie Harvey had never won an individual World Championships medal. She’s now earned multiple in Budapest after going from fifth at the 150-meter mark to second with a 28.35 closing 50. Her 1:51.49 marks an Americas record and puts an exclamation point on the improvements she’s made in this event over the last year in long and short-course meters.

Claire Weinstein was just off the 1:52.51 she swam in prelims for a world junior record, clocking 1:52.62 for bronze. She held off a charging Lani Pallister for the final step on the podium as Pallister swam 14.07 on the last 25, the fastest closing 25 in the field.

Men’s 200 Freestyle — Final

• World Record: 1:38.91 — Luke Hobson, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 1:40.68 — Matthew Sates, RSA (2021)
• Championship Record: 1:38.91 — Luke Hobson, USA (2024)
• 2022 Champion: Hwang Sun-woo, KOR — 1:39.72

Final:

1. Luke Hobson (USA) — 1:38.61 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Max Giuliani (AUS) — 1:40.36 ***OCEANIAN RECORD***
3. Lucas Henveaux (BEL) — 1:41.13
4. Danas Rapsys (LTU) — 1:41.24
5. Kieran Smith (USA) — 1:41.57
6. Rafael Miroslaw (GER) — 1:41.71
7. Tomas Koski (FIN) — 1:42.47
8. Tatsuya Murasa (JPN) — 1:42.95

Hobson has done it again. He rose to the pressure of resetting the men’s 200 freestyle world record, leading off the men’s 4×200 freestyle relay, earning gold in the individual event by breaking his world record from several days ago. 

He shared after the final that he felt he had a little more to give on the last 50 after his relay lead-off. Tonight, he let Rafael Miroslaw lead the field around at the 50-meter mark (23.01) while he sat second in 23.18. Hobson took over the lead at the 75m mark and was 47.87 at the 100, opening a gap of .66 seconds over Miroslaw. 

He continued to press his lead over the third 50, splitting 25.09 before bringing the race home in 25.65. He touched in 1:38.61, chopping three-tenths off his world record from earlier this week. He’s now about seven-tenths faster than Paul Biedermann’s former world record. 

A rising star in his own right, Max Giuliani claimed the silver medal, breaking Edward Sommerville’s Oceanian record from September with a 1:40.36. Giuliani neared Sommerville’s mark leading off Australia’s 4×200 freestyle relay and was able to grab the record during tonight’s final. 

Henveaux swam a Belgian record for the second time today, breaking the 1:41.58 he put together in the heats with a 1:41.13 for a drop of .45 seconds. The 24-year-old was fourth at the final turn but passed a fading Miroslaw on the final length with a 12.84 split. This is Henveaux’s first medal at the World Championship or Olympic level; he earned bronze in the 400 freestyle at the 2023 European Short Course World Championships.

Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay — Final

• World Record: 3:44.35 — United States (C. Curzan, L. King, T. Huske, K. Douglass) (2022)
• Championship Record: 3:44.35 — United States (C. Curzan, L. King, T. Huske, K. Douglass) (2022)
• 2022 Champion: United States (C. Curzan, L. King, T. Huske, K. Douglass) — 3:44.35

Final:

1. United States (Smith, King, G. Walsh, Douglass) — 3:40.41 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. Great Britain (Wood, Evans, Okaro, Anderson) — 3:47.84
3. China (Qian, Tang, Chen, Liu) — 3:47.93
4. Sweden — 3:48.35
5. Neutral Athletes ‘B’. — 3:49.35
6. Italy — 3:50.36
7. Japan — 3:51.13
8. Hungary — 3:51.65

The American women put an incredible stamp on their week in Budapest as they took out two world records in the women’s 4×100 medley relay to close out the women’s events at the 2024 Short Course World Championships.

Smith led off the relay with a world record of 54.02, bettering the unofficial world record, she swam leading off the mixed 4×100 medley relay (unofficial because it was a mixed relay). She gave the United States a huge lead, which only continued to grow as King swam 1:03.02.

Then, in her final swim of an incredibly busy week, Walsh split 52.84 on the fly, growing the lead over the world record line even further. Douglass anchored the team with a 50.53, stopping the clock at 3:40.41 as the quartet demolished the two-year-old world record by 3.94 seconds.

All eyes were on the American women, but there was actually quite a close race going on for the remaining two medals. Great Britain came out as best of the rest, with a 51.11 split from anchor Freya Anderson to earn silver in 3:47.84 after spending the bulk of the race in third. The British women out-touched the Chinese team of Qian Xinan (56.88), Tang (1:03.17), Chen Luying (56.25), and Liu Shuhan (51.63) by nine-hundredths. Anderson was joined on the relay by Abbie Wood (57.44 back), Angharad Evans (1:03.18), and Okaro (56.11).

Sweden did its best to get involved in the medal hunt as Sara Junevik anchored in 51.35, but they ultimately ran out of room to track down the British and Chinese swimmers and took fourth in 3:48.35.

Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay — Final

• World Record: 3:18.98 — Australia (I. Coopers, J. Yong, M. Temple, K. Chalmers) / United States (R. Murphy, N. Fink, T. Julian, K. Smith) (2022)
• Championship Record: 3:18.98 — Australia (I. Coopers, J. Yong, M. Temple, K. Chalmers) / United States (R. Murphy, N. Fink, T. Julian, K. Smith) (2022)
• 2022 Champion: Tie – Australia (I. Coopers, J. Yong, M. Temple, K. Chalmers) / United States (R. Murphy, N. Fink, T. Julian, K. Smith) — 3:18.98

Final:

1. Neutral Athletes ‘B’ ( Lifintsev, Prigoda, Minkov, Kornev) — 3:18.68 ***WORLD RECORD***
2. United States (Casas, Andrew, Rose, Alexy) — 3:19.03
3. Italy (Mora, Viberti, Busa, Miressi) — 3:19.91
4. Poland — 3:21.02
5. Canada — 3:21.17
6. Australia — 3:22.03
7. France — 3:22.53
8. Japan — 3:23.20

One more world record for the road–it’s a fitting way to end these championships, as the total world record count hits the thirties with the Neutral Athletes ‘B’ team of Miron Lifintsev, Prigoda, Andrei Minakov, and Egor Korev breaking the joint Australia and United States world record from 2022 by three-tenths.

Lifintsev won both the 50 and 100 backstroke in world junior record times, but it was Casas who had the fastest lead-off in the field, swimming a 48.92. Kacper Stokowski put Poland in second (49.10), while the Neutral Athletes were third (49.31).

Prigoda, the silver medalist in all three backstroke distances, pulled his team into the lead with a 55.15 split. Ludovico Viberti moved Italy into second (56.15) while the U.S. fell to third after a 57.03 from Michael Andrew.

Dare Rose had the field’s best butterfly split (48.55), which helped close the gap, but even with some awkward turns from Minakov (48.80), the Neutral Athletes held onto the lead going into the final exchange as they were over a second ahead of Italy and the United States.

100 freestyle world champion Jack Alexy hit the water and put up a field-best 44.53 anchor, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap to the Neutral Athletes. Kornev did his job with a 45.42 split, and the Neutral Athletes claimed gold in a world record time of 3:18.68.

The quartet won by .35 seconds as Alexy passed Alessandro Miressi to secure the silver medal for the United States in 3:19.03, just outside the former world record.

Italy earned the silver medal as Mora (49.53), Viberti (56.15), Michele Busa (48.81), and Miressi (45.42) swam 3:19.91.