2025 World Championship Previews: Qin Haiyang Aims To Retake The 50 Breaststroke Throne

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• SwimSwam Preview Index

By The Numbers – Men’s 50 Breaststroke

• World Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2017)
• World Junior Record: 26.97 – Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy (2017)
• Championship Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty, Great Britain (2017)
• 2023 World Champion: Qin Haiyang, China – 26.29

In the post-Olympic year, one of the major storylines in Singapore is the absent big names. There are few fields at this year’s World Championships that are fully loaded, as swimmers take extended breaks after a shortened Olympic cycle, or take on off events. The men’s 50 breaststroke breaststroke field is no exception to this trend. World record holder Adam Peaty is not racing and neither is Nic Fink, who has podiumed in the 50 breaststroke at the last three World Championships.

There are other big names out for other reasons as well. Doha world champion Sam Williamson is out as he recovers from the “excruciating” knee injury sustained in May. Japan’s teenage rising star Shin Ohashi did not qualify for the World Championships as he’d yet to have his full breakout by his nation’s early Trials meet. Similarly, Ludovico Viberti, the fastest man in the world this season, won’t swim this race in Singapore after finishing behind Simone Cerasuolo and Nicolo Martinenghi at Italy’s Trials.

Viberti leads the global rankings with the 26.27 he logged at this year’s Sette Colli, the one time this season faster than the 26.29 Qin Haiyang swam to win the 2023 world title en route to his sweep of the breaststroke events in Fukuoka.

The Top Two

Qin is the second fastest swimmer in the history of the event. He swam 26.20 in the Fukuoka semifinals, establishing a new Asian record and checking in only behind Peaty on the all-time performers list. The world record holder in the 200 breaststroke, Qin’s speed across all three breaststroke disciplines is undeniable. His 2023 sweep of the breaststroke events made him the first man to win the 50-100-200 breaststroke at a World Championships.

Perhaps Qin’s biggest weakness is his struggle for consistency. Though there were extenuating factors at the Paris Games, it was still a shock to see Qin walk away from Paris without an individual medal. He finished 7^th in the 100 breaststroke last summer, then missed the 200 breaststroke final completely by tying for 10^th in the semifinals.

Ilya Shymanovich (photo: Jack Spitser)

He bounced back at the 2024 Short Course World Championships by winning gold in the 50 and 100 breaststroke (25.42/55.47), firing off a Championship and Asian record in the latter. Back in long course, Qin has looked more like his 2023 self this season. He owns the fastest 100 breaststroke time this season (58.24) and sits fourth on the psych sheet in the 50 breaststroke with a 26.54 from May’s Chinese National Championships. At his best, Qin is incredibly difficult to beat—it’s just a question of whether he’ll bring his best to Singapore.

While Qin has struggled to be consistent across the past couple of seasons, Ilya Shymanovich has been a model of it this year (though he did miss this final at the 2024 World Championships). He brings a 26.37 season-best from the Dubai International Aquatics Championships to the World Championships. After hitting that time, he swept the 50 breaststroke at the three-stop Mare Nostrum Tour, swimming 26.59 twice and only going above the 27-second barrier once across seven swims.

Shymanovich is the short-course 100 breaststroke world record holder and the third fastest long course 50 breaststroker in history. He swam 26.28 at the 2023 Belarus Open Nationals before he was approved to race at international competitions under a neutral flag in January 2024. With Viberti not racing, he holds the fastest season-best of the Singapore field and should be stiff competition for Qin.

Italian Holiday

As mentioned above, it’s Cerasuolo and Martinenghi who kept Viberti from a World Championship berth in this event at the Italian Championships. Cerasuolo has the edge on the reigning 100 breaststroke Olympic champion in season-bests, holding a 26.59 from April in Riccione. The time is just six-hundredths from the lifetime best 26.53 that he swam at last year’s Italian Championships, becoming the 11^th fastest performer in history.

Nicolo Martinenghi (photo: Jack Spitser)

Cerasuolo is a sprint breaststroke specialist and is especially dangerous in the short course meters pool, where he is the current 100 breaststroke world junior record holder (and former 50 breaststroke record holder). He made the World Championship final in 2022 and 2024. He’s a strong threat for the final, though will likely need to take another step forward in order to push for a medal.

Martinenghi is no stranger to the podium. Focusing on this event specifically, he’s a two-time long-course World Championship silver medalist, earning that accolade in 2022 and 2024. He owns a lifetime best of 26.33 that ties him with Felipe Lima as the fifth-fastest man in history, which he swam for gold at the 2022 European Championships.

He cleared the 26.40 barrier for the first time since that 2022 effort at last year’s World Championships, stopping the clock at 26.39 for his second 50 breaststroke silver medal in two years. He’s a major threat for the podium and will be much faster than his 26.78 season-best.

Back At Long Course Worlds

While there are some major absences from the field this year, there are some intriguing additions to the field we’ve come to expect at World Championships over the last couple of years. That’s because there’s been an influx of Russian athletes granted Neutral Athlete status, with many making their first appearance on the international stage in years at the 2024 Short Course World Championships.

Kirill Prigoda (photo: Mike Lewis)

Kirill Prigoda returns to the World Championships and his ‘Neutral Athletes B’ teammate Ivan Kozhakin will also race. Kozhakin is the newly minted Russian record holder in this race, swimming a 26.46 in the Russian Championships semifinal in April. With that swim, he cracked the top-10 performers all-time, slotting between Americans Fink (26.45) and Michael Andrew (26.52).

Kozhakin held a lifetime best of 26.76 from July 2024 before unleashing a lifetime best that would have medaled at every World Championships. While he was briefly the season global leader with that time, he now sits third overall and second among those competing in Singapore.

His teammate Prigoda also swam a lifetime best at April’s Russian Championships, swimming a 26.70 that moves him into the top-20 among all-time performers. Prigoda made an impression in his return to international competition at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, winning silver in the 50/100/200 breaststroke and helping the NAB squad to a gold and world record in the men’s 4×100 medley relay to close out the meet. It’s a strong sign for Prigoda that he’s swimming lifetime bests and continuing to improve now that he’s back on the international scene, though he will likely need another substantial drop to medal in this field.

Young Stars On The Scene

While there are several big names not in the Singapore field, there are several young swimmers looking to take advantage of these absences and reach a new level of their career as the new Olympic cycle begins.

When speaking of rising young stars in breaststroke, many Americans first thought will be Campbell McKean. The Texas commit animated the sprint breaststroke events at the U.S. Nationals last month, seemingly providing an answer to the hole in American men’s sprint breaststroke without Fink. McKean had a breakout meet, including getting under the 27-second barrier in the 50 breaststroke for his national title.

Campbell McKean (photo: Jack Spitser)

He clocked 26.90, which ties him with Houlie for 11^th on the season. McKean’s performance in Indianapolis was sensational and puts him on the bubble for a finals lane. However, we don’t yet know how McKean will respond to the double taper on the senior international stage or how quickly he’ll be able to recover from (so far) the meet of his life. Making this meet was a huge achievement for the teenager, and now he’ll be looking to see how far he can push it.

These questions also hold for the other rising stars making an impression through the early part of the season. Austria got another card to play this year with the emergence of Luka Mladenovic. The 21-year-old World Junior Champion broke Bernhard Reitshammer’s national record in June, swimming a 26.72 to win the 2023 LEN U23 European Championships last month. The Michigan commit has been quickly improving this year; his lifetime best entering the championships was a 27.12 he swam at the AP London International in May. If he can replicate this swim or improve on it further, he’s got a strong shot at the final.

The Netherlands’ Koen De Groot, 21, made waves last month. He swam a 26.78 at the Dutch Long Course Championships, breaking Arno Kamminga’s national record by two-hundredths. De Groot was slightly slower in the final, but still took gold and qualified for Singapore with a 26.84. His national record swim ties him with Martinenghi for 8^th fastest in the world this season and puts him just outside the top 20 all-time performers.

Then, there’s also South Africa’s Chris Smith, who turned heads in the short-course pool last winter. He broke the world junior record in the 50 breaststroke with a 25.66 in the Budapest semifinals. Smith has translated that to a lifetime best in long course as well, clocking 26.89 at the South African Nationals.

Recent LCM Worlds and Olympic Finalists

It’s undeniable that Italy and the Neutral Athletes B have strong one-two punches in this race. But they are far from the only teams boasting two swimmers capable of making the final.

Melvin Imoudu (photo: Jack Spitser)

First, there’s China, which got two men on the podium in this event in Fukuoka. Sun Jiajun edged out Williamson for the bronze medal. Sun’s been faster than that time, logging a 26.61 at the 2023 Chinese Nationals. This season, he’s sitting as the 10^th fastest man in the world with a 26.85 from the Chinese Spring Championships.  

Germany’s got an interesting two-pronged attack from Melvin Imoudu and Lucas Matzerath. Imoudu won gold in the 100 breaststroke at the 2024 European Championships and finished 4^th in the event in Paris after winning a swim-off for the 8th spot. He’s got a season-best 27.14 but has been as fast as 26.62, which he swam last year in the lead up to Paris. Matzerath, 25, hasn’t been as fast (he’s been as fast as 26.80) but has made the 50 breaststroke Worlds final for the last three editions of the championships.

Bernhard Reitshammer has been a consistent finals contender for Austria, finishing 4^th in 2022 with a 26.94 that still stands as his lifetime best. Then, there’s Sun Devil Mikel Schreuders, who represents Aruba. He was a consistent presence in this race during in-season racing across the Pro Swim meets in the United States. He has a season best of 27.08 and has been as fast as 26.97, which earned him 7^th in Doha.

The Paris Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 breaststroke, Caspar Corbeau showed off sprint speed in breaststroke and freestyle during his short-course yards career. So far, he’s been more successful in the longer distances in the long-course pool, also taking silver in the 200 breaststroke at the 2024 World Championships. He broke 27 seconds in the 50 breaststroke for the first time this season, clipping the mark with a 26.99 in June.

More Names

• Emre Sakci, Turkey – The world record holder in the short-course edition of this race, 27-year-old Emre Sakci has been most successful in “the bathtub.” The biggest long-course win of his career came last summer, when he won gold in this race at the 2024 European Championships. He has a lifetime best of 26.83.
• Denis Petrashov, Kyrgyzstan – Denis Petrashov broke 27 seconds for the first time in his career at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim, picking up the win with a lifetime best 26.94. He’s been a Worlds semifinalist before in this race and another lifetime best could put him in the mix for the final.
• Michael Houlie, South Africa – Another solid bet for a semifinal swim, Michael Houlie will also need a lifetime best to challenge for the final. His fastest swim is a 26.82, which he’s already neared with a 26.90 this season.

SwimSwam Picks

Dark Horse: Michael Andrew, United States – Michael Andrew is perhaps the ultimate dark horse in this race. His lifetime best of 26.52 would almost certainly guarantee him a finals lane, and he won bronze in this race in 2022. But Andrew is looking to bounce back on the senior international stage after being absent from the last several championships that had a selection meet. He moved to Arizona State in the last year, and U.S. Nationals was his first major meet with the Sun Devils. Now, he’s back on the Worlds stage. His 26.92 season-best makes him another bubble candidate for the final, but if he finds his 26.52 form he becomes a much bigger threat.