2024 World Championships: Day 7 Finals Live Recap

2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 11th – February 18th, 2024
• Doha, Qatar
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• Day 6 Prelims Recap | Day 6 Finals Recap
• Day 7 Prelims Recap

Day 7 Finals Heat Sheet

Mixed 4×100 Free Relay Lineups 

There are some longer events during Day 7 finals of the 2024 World Championships but mainly, the session will be taken up by the sprint events as we get into not only the men’s 50 freestyle final and semifinals of the women’s splash and dash but also more 50s of stroke for both men and women.

Day 7 Order of Events:

• Women’s 50 butterfly — final
• Men’s 50 freestyle — final
• Women’s 200 backstroke — final
• Women’s 50 breaststroke — semifinals
• Men’s 100 butterfly — final
• Women’s 50 freestyle — semifinals
• Men’s 50 backstroke — semifinals
• Women’s 800 freestyle — final
• Mixed 4×100 freestyle relay — final

The first three finals of the night–women’s 50 fly, men’s 50 free, and women’s 200 back–all have an overwhelming favorite. In the first event of the night, Sarah Sjostrom looks to extend her lead as the swimmer with the most individual world titles in history, a record she claimed from Michael Phelps in Fukuoka. Sjostrom qualified for the final with a 25.08, but swam 24.88 in the heats, showing she’s on sub-25 form in Doha. This will be her first of two events in the session as she’ll feature in the women’s 50 free semifinals later.

Then, the attention turns to Cameron McEvoy in the men’s 50 freestyle final. McEvoy has fired off 21.13 and 21.23 already at this meet. Now, we’ll see what he has in store as he aims for back-to-back titles in the event. McEvoy will be flanked by Vladyslav Bukhov (21.38) who broke the Ukrainian record in the semis and Ben Proud (21.54), who’s aiming to do better than his bronze in Fukuoka.

Claire Curzan owns the top seed in the women’s 200 backstroke (2:07.01) by a comfortable 1.84 second margin. That semifinal time was the third-fastest swim of her career. At 19, she’s hoping to become the third swimmer to sweep the 50/100/200 of any stroke at a single World Championships after claiming the 50 and 100 back earlier in the meet.

Also 19, Diogo Matos Ribeiro comes into the men’s 100 fly final with the top time. He swam 51.30 for a new Portugese record in the semifinals. He won the 50 butterfly earlier in the meet–his first World title–and is now aiming for a second. The top three swimmers–Ribeiro, Jakub Majerski, and Simon Bucher–are separated by just nine-hundredths after semifinals. Then, there’s also Nyls Korstanje and veteran Chad le Clos in the outside lanes who will no doubt push the pace on the first half of the race.

The women’s 800 freestyle is wide open but after her dominant win in the 1500 freestyle, Simona Quadarella comes in with the advantage. But there’s also top qualifier Isabel Gose, who has medaled in both the 400/800 already. Erika Fairweather also has two individual medals to her name and her countrymate Eve Thomas could also surprise.

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY — Final

• World Record: 24.43 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2014)
• Championship Record: 24.60 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
• World Junior Record: 25.46 — Rikako Ikee, Japan (2017)
• 2023 World Champion: 24.77 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden

Final:

1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 24.63
2. Melanie Henique (FRA) — 25.44
3. Farida Osman (EGY) — 25.67
4. Erin Gallagher (RSA) — 25.69
5. Angelina Kohler (GER) — 25.71
6. Alexandria Perkins (AUS) — 25.85
7. Anna Ntountounaki (GRE) — 25.89
8. Brianna Throssell (AUS) — 25.96

Sarah Sjostrom has done it again. She won gold in the women’s 50 butterfly by .81 seconds, securing her 6th World Championship title in the event. She earned her first title in this event in Kazan back in 2015, meaning that she’s been dominant in this event for almost a full decade. Melanie Henique was with Sjostrom for the first few meters but then Sjostrom powered away and didn’t look back.

She challenged her own 24.60 Championship record that she set back at the 2017 World Championships, coming within three-hundredths of the mark. At 30-years-old, this is her 3rd fastest performance ever behind only her world record and that championship record.

Henique grabbed the silver in 25.44, more than two-tenths ahead of Farida Osman, who climbed back onto the World Championship podium for the first time since 2019.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — Final

• World Record: 20.91 — Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2009)
• Championship Record: 21.04 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
• World Junior Record: 21.75 — Michael Andrew, United States (2017)
• 2023 World Champion: 21.06 — Cameron McEvoy, Australia
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 21.96, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 22.07

Final:

1. Vladyslav Bukhov (UKR) — 21.44
2. Cameron McEvoy (AUS) — 21.45
3. Ben Proud (GBR) — 21.53
4. Michael Andrew (USA) — 21.71
5. Isaac Cooper (AUS) — 21.77
6. Kenzo Simons (NED) — 21.81
7. Bjorn Seeliger (SWE) — 21.83
8. Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) — 21.84

Vladyslav Bukhov pulled off the upset of the meet, beating the last two world champions Cameron McEvoy and Ben Proud. Bukhov was last off the blocks and seemed out of the race on the first strokes. It looked like the race would be between McEvoy and Proud, but came charging through the field to get himself back in the mix for the medals.

At the touch, Bukhov got the better of McEvoy by .01 seconds, earning his first world title in 21.44.

On the whole, the field was slower than they were in the semifinals. Yesterday, Bukhov broke the Ukrainian record with a 21.38, slotting in to 2nd seed behind McEvoy’s 21.23. McEvoy earned the silver medal in 21.45 while Proud took bronze .08 seconds behind with a 21.53.

Those three had separated themselves a bit from the rest of the field as Michael Andrew and Isaac Cooper took 4th and 5th in 21.71 and 21.77.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE — Final

• World Record: 2:03.14 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• Championship Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)
• 2023 World Champion: 2:03.85 – Kaylee McKeown, Australia
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 2:10.39, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 2:11.04

Final:

1. Claire Curzan (USA) — 2:05.77
2. Jaclyn Barclay (AUS) — 2:07.03
3. Anastasia Shkurdai (NIA) — 2:09.08
4. Eszter Szabo-Feltothy (HUN) — 2:09.76
5. Laura Bernat (POL) — 2:09.92
6. Gabriela Georgieva (BUL) — 2:10.11
7. Dora Molnar (HUN) — 2:11.01
8. Freya Colbert (GBR) — 2:11.22

Claire Curzan earned a dominant win in the women’s 200 backstroke to complete the backstroke treble. She becomes just the third swimmer in World Championship history to sweep the 50/100/200 distances of a single stroke at Worlds, joining Kaylee McKeown and Qin Haiyang who both achieved the feat in Fukuoka.

Not only is it Curzan’s third individual gold and her fourth of the meet, but it’s also a huge personal best for Curzan. She took the race out hard, flipping at halfway in 1:00.86, just .13 seconds over McKeown’s world record pace. She split 1:04.91 over the second 100 to touch in 2:05.77. That’s well under her previous personal best of 2:06.35 from 2023 U.S. Nationals. She also moves to 11th on the all-time performers list according to USA Swimming, passing Katinka Hosszu.

17-year-old Jaclyn Barclay also swam a big personal best for her silver medal. Barclay clocked 2:07.03, cutting 1.73 second off her personal best time. Her previous standard was 2:08.76 from December 2023. Australia has now claimed silver in all three women’s backstroke distances as Iona Anderson won silver in the 50/100.

The medalists were spread out from a time perspective in this race as Anastasia Shkurdai took bronze in 2:09.08.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE — Semifinals

• World Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• Championship Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• World Junior Record: 29.30 — Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)
• 2023 World Champion: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania

Top 8:

1. Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) — 29.42
2. Tang Qianting (CHN) — 29.80
3. Benedetta Pilatio (ITA) — 29.91
4. Piper Enge (USA) — 30.53
5. Lara van Niekerk (RSA) — 30.56
6. Veera Kivirinta (FIN) / Mona McSharry (IRL) — 30.57
7. (tie)
8. Ida Hulkko (FIN) — 30.69

After disappointments earlier in the meet both Ruta Meilutyte and Benedetta Pilato made their first finals in Doha. In the 100 breaststroke, Meilutyte missed semifinals while Pilato did not make the final.

Meilutyte tied then broke the world record in Fukuoka, bringing the mark down to a blazing 29.16. She didn’t leave anything to chance in the semifinals. She won the second semifinal in 29.42, outpacing Pilato by almost half a second. She’s the top seed heading into tomorrow’s final by .38 seconds.

Tang Qianting, the 100 breaststroke champion, won the second semifinal in 29.80 which held up for the 2nd seed overall. Tang broke the Asian record with that time. It’s her second personal best of the day, beating the 29.93 she swam in prelims by .13 seconds.

American Piper Enge swam a new personal best as well, clocking 30.53 to move through to the final in 4th place. Her previous best was 30.74 from last year’s World Juniors.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY — Final

• World Record: 49.45 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2021)
• Championship Record: 49.50 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
• World Junior Record: 50.62 — Kristof Milak, Hungary (2017)
• 2023 World Champion: 50.14 – Maxime Grousset, France
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 51.67, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 51.93

Final:

1. Diogo Matos Ribeiro (POR) — 51.17
2. Simon Bucher (AUT) — 51.28
3. Jakub Majerski (POL) — 51.32
4. Nyls Korstanje (NED) — 51.41
5. Chad le Clos (RSA) — 51.48
6. Zach Harting (USA) — 51.68
7. Mario Molla Yanes (ESP) — 51.72
8. Josif Miladinov (BUL) — 51.73

Diogo Matos Ribeiro earned his second gold medal of the meet in thrilling fashion. From outside in lane 1, Nyls Korstanje stuck to his strategy of going out hard. He led the field around at the turn in 23.50, .34 second ahead of Ribeiro who turned in second place.

Korstange continued to lead up until the closing meters of the race as swimmers like Ribeiro, Simon Bucher, and Jakub Majerski all closed hard. It looked like Korstanje was going to add another gold for the Dutch team but a rough finish cost him a spot on the podium entirely.

At the wall, it was Ribeiro who got the job done, resetting the Portugese record he swam in semifinals (51.30) with a 51.17. He earned the win by .11 seconds ahead of Bucher, who claimed silver in a 51.28. For his part, Majerski had the fastest 2nd 50 split in the field (27.23), which powered him from 6th at the turn to a 51.32 for bronze.

Korstanje finished 4th .09 seconds behind Majerski with a 51.41, keeping himself ahead of Chad le Clos (51.48).

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — Semifinals

• World Record: 23.61 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
• Championship Record: 23.61 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
• World Junior Record: 24.17 — Claire Curzan, United States (2021)
• 2023 World Champion: 23.62 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 24.70, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 24.82

Top 8:

1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 23.90
2. Kasia Wasick (POL) — 24.01
3. Kate Douglass (USA) — 24.24
4. Shayna Jack (AUS) — 24.44
5. Anna Hopkin (GBR) — 24.51
6. Michelle Coleman (SWE) — 24.65
7. Kornelia Fiedkiewicz (POL) — 24.71
8. Taylor Ruck (CAN) — 24.72

Sjostrom has shown time and again that this 50 butterfly/50 freestyle double is no problem for her and that was the case again in Doha. Sjostrom won the second semifinal in 23.90, claiming the top seed for tomorrow’s 50 freestyle final. The world record holder was the only one in the field to break 24 seconds in the race, though Kasia Wasick came close with her win in the first semifinal.

Wasick clocked 24.01 to secure lane 5 for the final, swimming a new Polish record in the process. That chops a tenth off her old national record, which sat at 24.11 from semifinals at 2022 Worlds. Her countrymate Kornelia Fiedkiewicz also made it back for the final. Wasick and Fiedkiewicz have been trading the Polish 100 freestyle record between them over these Worlds, with Fiedkiwicz currently owning the mark in 54.01.

Kate Douglass swam a personal best as well. She swam 24.24 in the first semifinal, beating her previous best of 24.38 from December’s U.S. Open. The time qualifies her for her first 50 freestyle final at a World Championships.

Veterans of the 50 freestyle final made it back as well. Shayna Jack, Anna Hopkin, and Michelle Coleman secured the 4th through 6th seeds. Coleman’s 24.65 gives Sweden a pair of swimmers in the final as well.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE — Semifinals

• World Record: 23.55 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2023)
• Championship Record: 24.04 — Liam Tancock, Great Britain (2009)
• World Junior Record: 24.00 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2018)
• 2023 World Champion: 24.05 — Hunter Armstrong, United States

Top 8:

1. Isaac Cooper (AUS) — 24.12
2. Hunter Armstrong (USA) — 24.43
3. Ksawery Masiuk (POL) / Pieter Coetzee (RSA) — 24.46
4. (tie)
5. Hugo Gonzalez (ESP) — 24.60
6. Michele Lamberti (ITA) — 24.68
7. Michael Andrew (USA) — 24.70
8. Ole Braunschweig (GER) — 24.74

Despite badly hitting the lane rope, Isaac Cooper is still the top seed heading into the men’s 50 backstroke final. Cooper dropped a 24.12, setting a new Oceanic record. He owned the old standard in 24.38, which he set almost two years ago in March 2022, which makes this a .26 second drop for the 20-year-old.

Defending champion Hunter Armstrong touched 2nd in the first semifinal behind Cooper. Armstrong clocked 24.43, which held up to secure lane 5 for the final as Ksawery Masiuk and Pieter Coetze tied for the win in the second semifinal with a 24.46. That time is just two-hundredths of Masiuk’s Polish record of 24.44, which he’s swum twice in his career.

Hugo Gonzalez continues to have a great meet. Now, he’s made the final in all three backstroke events in Doha. He’ll be looking for his third backstroke medal of the championships tomorrow as he won the 200 back and earned silver in the 100.

Like Cooper, Andrew was on the second swim of his 50 free/50 back. He moved through to the final in 7th (24.70).

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE — Final

• World Record: 8:04.79 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2016)
• Championship Record: 8:07.39 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2015)
• World Junior Record: 8:11.00 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2014)
• 2023 World Champion 8:08.87 — Katie Ledecky, United States
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 8:26.71, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 8:29.24

Final:

1. Simona Quadarella (ITA) — 8:17.44
2. Isabel Gose (GER) — 8:17.53
3. Erika Fairweather (NZL) — 8:22.26
4. Eve Thomas (NZL) — 8:24.86
5. Agostina Hein (ARG) — 8:29.19
6. Ichika Kajimoto (JPN) — 8:29.24
7. Kiah Melverton (AUS) — 8:29.35
8. Ajna Kesely (HUN) — 8:29.83
9. Maddy Gough (AUS) — 8:36.43

Simona Quadarella completed the distance double in Doha with just .09 seconds separating her and silver medalist Isabel Gose. It was a thrilling race between the two the entire way, with Erika Fairweather pushing the pace through the first half of the race.

Fairweather led Gose and Quadarella at the 400-meter mark. But she seemed to quickly hit a wall after that turn with her legs going out. Gose and Quadarella surged ahead of her and Fairweather couldn’t hold contact with the pair. From the 500 turn onwards it was a game of hundredths between Gose and Quadarella. Gose led through the 750-mark but she couldn’t shake Quadarella who was always about a tenth behind the German.

The two were breathing towards each other as they came down the final stretch. At the touch, Quadarella got the better of Gose, 8:17.44 to 8:17.53. Fairweather collected bronze further back in 8:22.26, meaning that both she and Gose medalled in the 400/800/1500 freestyles this week.

Fairweather’s teammate Eve Thomas swam a personal best for 4th place. Thomas, who just turned 23 this month, swam 8:24.86, dropping .12 seconds from the best she swam in May 2023.

MIXED 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY — Final

• World Record: 3:18.83 — Australia (2023)
• Championship Record: 3:18.83 — Australia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 3:24.29 — Australia (2023)
• 2023 World Champion: 3:18.83 — Australia

Final:

1. China (Pan, Wang, Li, Yu) — 3:21.18
2. Australia (Taylor, Cartwright, Jack, Throssell) — 3:21.78
3. United States (Armstrong, King, Curzan, Douglass) — 3:22.28
4. Canada — 3:23.79
5. Italy — 3:24.40
6. Netherlands — 3:25.14
7. Slovakia — 3:29.88
8. Hong Kong — 3:31.13

China’s squad keeps up their strong showing in the relays at these championships. They led the entire way in this mixed freestyle relay, claiming their fourth relay gold medal of the meet. They led things off with world record holder Pan Zhanle. Pan fired off 47.29, faster than he won the individual 100 freestyle title in.

After Pan, it was 18-year-old Wang Haoyu‘s turn. He split 47.41 to maintain the lead, then handed things off to 1500 freestyle silver medalist Li Bingjie. Li split 53.11, holding off Shayna Jack‘s 52.38 split for the Australians. Yu Yiting, who scratched out of the 50 butterfly finals to focus on this relay, brought them home in 53.37. China’s overall time of 3:21.18 earned them gold and a new Asian record, beating their time from the heats.

After Kai Taylor‘s lead-off in a personal best 48.01, Jack Cartwright split 47.90, keeping the Australians in 3rd. Jack’s split moved them into 2nd place, then Brianna Throssell anchored in 53.49, giving the Australians silver in 3:21.78.

The Americans picked up bronze, over a second ahead of the 4th place Canadian team. They were running second after the men’s legs thanks to Armstrong’s 47.83 lead-off which is a personal best time and his first swim sub-48. Matt King split 47.78. Then it was Curzan’s turn and she split 53.82 before Douglass anchored in 52.85.