2024 SC Worlds Previews: Established Vets Versus Rising Stars In Men’s Distance Free

2024 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• December 10-15, 2024
• Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
• SCM (25m)
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Like many disciplines, there are several glaring absences in the men’s distance freestyle events at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, most notably the reigning champion in the men’s 800 and 1500 free, Gregorio Paltrinieri, and the Olympic champions in those two distances, Daniel Wiffen and Bobby Finke.

However, there are still some talented names headed to Budapest who should make things exciting, including defending 400 free world champion Kieran Smith and the reigning Olympic champion in the 400, Lukas Märtens, along with his German teammate and the 1500 SCM world record holder, Florian Wellbrock.

MEN’S 400 FREE PREVIEW

• World Record: 3:32.25, Yannick Agnel (FRA) – 2012
• World Championship Record: 3:34.01, Danas Rapsys (LTU) – 2018
• 2022 SC World Champion: Kieran Smith (USA), 3:34.38
• Returning 2022 SC World Finalists: Kieran Smith,  Danas Rapsys, Antonio Djakovic
• 2024 Olympic Finalists In The Field: Lukas Märtens, Elijah Winnington

Two-thirds of the podium from the 2022 Worlds will be in the men’s 400 free field in Budapest, with the defending champion Smith joined by Melbourne’s bronze medalist, Danas Rapsys.

Smith was 5th at the 2021 SC Worlds in Abu Dhabi, and then improved significantly 12 months later in Melbourne, clocking a lifetime best of 3:34.38 in the final to hold off Aussie Thomas Neill, who touched in 3:35.05 for 2nd.

Rapsys, 29, is a veteran of SC Worlds, having won 400 free gold in 2018 and then earning silver in 2021 before settling for bronze behind Neill and Rapsys two years ago.

Racing head-to-head three straight times on the 2024 World Cup circuit, Smith got the better of Rapsys at every stop, with Smith earning two runner-up finishes and one 3rd, and Rapsys placing 3rd once and 4th twice. Duncan Scott won twice and Pan Zhanle was the victor in Incheon, with neither entered in Budapest.

In terms of times, Smith leads the entrants this season with his time of 3:36.97 from Singapore, while Rapsys’ fastest time comes in at 3:37.31 from Incheon.

The second-fastest swimmer in the field is Belgian Lucas Henveaux, who was a revelation in the NCAA for Cal during the 2022-23 season and won bronze at the 2023 European SC Championships in the 400 free.

Henveaux has been 3:37.23 this season, while other notable swimmers sub-3:40 are Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi (3:38.74), China’s Xu Yizhou (3:38.81) and France’s Roman Fuchs (3:39.55).

Although they don’t have any SCM times on record this season, or at all in the past two-plus years, the men towering over this field is the reigning Olympic champion Märtens, and the 2022 world champion, Elijah Winnington.

Märtens, who last raced the SCM 400 free at the 2021 SC Worlds and clocked 3:43.64, is coming off becoming one of the fastest men ever in the LCM 400 free in late April (3:40.33) before winning Olympic gold in Paris in a time of 3:41.78.

Winnington has been as fast as 3:37.45 in short course, and has been sub-3:40 five separate times, but hasn’t raced the format since 2020. In long course, he’s been sub-3:42 twice, doing so en route to the 2022 world title (3:41.22) and then clocking 3:41.41 in April at the Australian Open Championships. He followed up by winning silver in Paris.

The other swimmers yet to be mentioned who could do some damage in this event are American Carson Foster and Switzerland’s Antonio Djakovic.

Foster is fresh off unofficially breaking the American Record in the 500 free in short course yards (though it only lasted an hour or so), and it’s possible we could see him get down into the 3:37 type of range given he went 4:05.81 in yards.

Djakovic is flying under the radar coming in but could easily snag a medal, which he did at the 2021 edition in Abu Dhabi, claiming bronze in a time of 3:36.83. He then went 3:37.86 en route to placing 5th two years ago in Melbourne, and then he was 4th last December at SC Euros.

Bulgarian Petar Mitsin, the World Junior Record holder in the LCM 400 free, is also in the field, with his SCM best time sitting at 3:41.19 from last year’s SC Euros.

Hungarians Zalan Sarkany and David Betlehem were both 3:40 in 2023, so a small drop could see them challenging for a spot in the final.

Update: Betlehem has withdrawn from the meet.

SwimSwam’s Picks – Top 4

MEN’S 800 FREE PREVIEW

• World Record: 7:20.46, Daniel Wiffen (IRL) – 2023
• World Championship Record: 7:29.99, Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) – 2022
• 2022 SC World Champion: Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), 7:29.99
• Returning 2022 SC World Finalists (Top 8): Charlie Clark
• 2024 Olympic Finalists In The Field: Ahmed Jaouadi, Sven Schwarz, Luca De Tullio, Elijah Winnington

The men’s 800 free field is nowhere near as deep as the 400 free, but there are several of the main players in the mix headlined by Elijah Winnington, and there’s also the addition of Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, the world record holder in the SCM 1500 free.

Winnington doesn’t have any SCM 800 free swims on record, but is coming off setting back-to-back lifetime bests in the long course pool, first clocking 7:42.95 to win silver at the 2024 Worlds before clocking 7:42.86 in Paris to qualify for the Olympic final.

Wellbrock is one of the fastest swimmers in history in the SCM pool, having set a best time of 7:27.99 back at the 2021 SC European Championships, one month before he set the world record in the 1500 free at SC Worlds.

He’s been a bit unpredictable and not at his best as of late, including missing the final in both the 800 and 1500 free at the Paris Olympics, and then finishing 8th in the open water 10km after winning gold in Tokyo.

Wellbrock will factor into this event whether he’s at his best or not, but if he’s just a tick off there are several men who are waiting in the wings and could steal one of the podium spots.

His countryman Sven Schwarz is in a similar scenario, though he has been closer to his best times recently. Schwarz’s PB of 7:33.85 was set in 2021, but he was 7:34.05 last year and 7:37.02 last month. He also made the Olympic final in Paris, tying for 5th in 7:43.59.

Tunisian Ahmed Jaouadi might be one of the favorites coming in after he broke through and placed 4th in this event at his debut Olympic Games. The 19-year-old fired off a time of 7:33.84 last month, just shy of Ahmed Hafnaoui‘s National Record to rank 1st in the world this season. The next-fastest swimmer in the field this year is Schwarz at 7:37.02.

There are a handful of men who were in the 7:33-7:35 range in 2023, making them contenders for the podium. That includes Sweden’s Victor Johansson (7:33.11), Italy’s Luca de Tullio (7:34.08) and Hungary’s Zalan Sarkany (7:34.41), while Frenchman Damien Joly (7:36.59) and Hungary’s David Betlehem (7:37.28) also posted sub-7:38 times last year.

Youngsters Kuzey Tuncelli and Kazushi Imafuku are two names who could shake things up here, though both are better in the 1500. Tuncelli set a best time of 7:41.42 last year, while Imafuku was 7:40.77 in October during the World Cup.

Russian natives and individual neutrals at this competition, Saveliy Luzin (7:33.97) and Kirill Martynychev (7:34.08) are coming off strong showings at the Russian SC Championships and could challenge for medals.

Update: Betlehem has withdrawn from the meet.

SwimSwam’s Picks – Top 4

MEN’S 1500 FREE PREVIEW

• World Record: 14:06.88, Florian Wellbrock (GER) – 2021
• World Championship Record: 14:06.88, Florian Wellbrock (GER) – 2021
• 2022 SC World Champion: Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), 14:16.88
• Returning 2022 SC World Finalists (Top 8): Damien Joly, Charlie Clark
• 2024 Olympic Finalists In The Field: David Betlehem, Kuzey Tuncelli, Ahmed Jaouadi, Damien Joly

Towering over the men’s 1500 field is Wellbrock, whose world record of 14:06.88 from 2021 has remained untouched for the past three years, with Daniel Wiffen the only man to have come remotely close with his 14:09.11 clocking last year.

Since then, Wellbrock’s fastest time is the 14:25.41 he produced in 2022, and as mentioned in the 800 free preview, it’s hard to gauge where his form will be in Budapest. If he’s anywhere close to his 2021 form, however, the race is his.

France’s Damien Joly is firmly in the medal hunt here after finding success both at the Olympics in Paris, making the 1500 final, and winning silver in the event at the 2022 SC Worlds, clocking 14:19.62 to break the French Record.

At 32, Joly is a veteran in this youthful field, and he’ll have to be right around the form he showed two years ago if he wants to return to the podium.

Hungarians David Betlehem (14:23.27) and Zalan Sarkany (14:23.31), along with Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi (14:24.68), have posted times in the last 13 months that make them imminent medal contenders.

Both Betlehem (4th) and Jaouadi (6th) were in the Paris Olympic final, and Jaouadi’s 14:24 swim came just last month, so he’s on the rise and could easily win gold if Wellbrock is off.

Turkey’s Kuzey Tuncelli was 5th at the Olympics, and despite being just 17, could factor into the medals. He set a long course PB of 14:41.22 in the Olympic final, and hasn’t raced the SCM event since then, so he should be dropping from his 14:38.61 best time set last year.

After winning gold at Junior Pan Pacs, Japan’s Kazushi Imafuku placed 1st in the 1500 free during the final leg of the World Cup series in Singapore, clocking 14:36.32. Also 17, it might be early for him to challenge for a medal, but a spot in the top eight seems imminent.

Other swimmers who should be in the mix will be Sven Schwarz, Luca De Tullio, Victor Johansson and Charlie Clark.

Russian native Kirill Martynychev is an unexpected entry as an individual neutral athlete. He set a lifetime best of 14:25.24 just over one week ago at the Russian SC Championships.

Update: Betlehem has withdrawn from the meet.

SwimSwam’s Picks – Top 4