2025 World Championships: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
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• LCM (50m)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Day 4 Prelims Heat Sheet

Well, Swim Friends, I have some good news and some bad news.

The Bad News is that after today, we will be halfway over with the meet as Day 4 marks the midpoint of this eight-day meet.

The Good News is that today is brimming with talent as Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh take to the water and start their chase of two of the more legendary World Records on the book, the men’s 200 IM and the women’s 200 butterfly. But before we get to those events, we have a very appetizing set of sprints as the women’s 50 backstroke and men’s 100 free start off this preliminary session.

Katharine Berkoff, fresh off a bronze medal last night in the women’s 100 back, returns to the pool in the 50 back.  Berkoff set a new PB and American record of 26.97 at the US Nationals in June. The time is just .11 off the World record and makes her the top seed by .16 over Canadian Kylie Masse and by .18 over Great Britain’s Lauren Cox. Berkoff will be joined in the 7th and final heat by her compatriot Regan Smith, who led in last night’s 100 back, but was chased down by the 50 World Record holder, Kaylee McKeown. The Australian chose not to compete in this event this year, after having won the event in 2023. In her absence, the Frenchwoman Analia Pigree may see this as her best chance to earn a spot on the podium, after having done so in 2022, but so too likely is 2024 medalist Ingrid Wilm.

Once the backstroke flags get taken down, it’s time for the men’s 100 free to take center stage. The top seven finishers from Paris make their return to the event with World Record holder Pan Zhanle leading the way at 46.40. Call it luck, but the seeding has worked out so that Zhanle will be flanked on one side in the last heat by the Olympic silver medalist, Kyle Chalmers. The Australian who was over a second back in Paris has been on fire this year and has already out split his Chinese rival twice this meet. The fireworks are going to come from the last heat alone, as the other two circle seeded heats are chock-full of talent. Heat 20 sees Gui Caribe look to assert himself as the man to beat against the Olympic 4th and 5th place finishers, Nandor Nemeth and Maxime Grousset, the latter of whom has already tasted victory this week, climbing to the top of the podium in the 50 fly.

The penultimate heat, too, sees a strong line-up as former World Record holder David Popovici will look to take on Jack Alexy. The pair are the only two to break 47 this season, and each has looked strong this meet with Alexy posting the fastest lead-off leg on the 4×100 free and with Popovici winning the 200 free last night.

We stick with the men’s events as the 200 IM takes to the water. Olympic Champion Leon Marchand starts his meet seeded just 0.06 away from the 14-year-old world record of 1:54.00, set by Ryan Lochte in 2011. The only swimmer seeded in 1:55, Marchand, who suffered numerous injuries early in the season, is looking to win this event for the third time. Seeking to deny him that accolade are the Olympic silver and bronze medalists from Paris, Great Britain’s Duncan Scott and China’s Wang Shun. With 2024 World Champ, Finlay Knox, and the #3 seed Carson Foster in the mix as well, expect there to be some fast times this morning.

The final individual event of the morning sees a similar story to the men’s 200 IM as Olympic Champion Summer McIntosh chases down the legendary WR in the women’s 200 fly.  Set in 2009, right before the ban on supersuits, Liu Zige’s 2:01.81 has stood for nearly 16 years, but McIntosh became the first swimmer to come with two seconds off it at the Olympics and then at Canadian Trials, came tantalizing close, setting a new PB of 2:02.26. While McIntosh is likely to be out quickly, American Regan Smith is unlikely to be. Despite being an Olympic silver medalist, Smith will have already swum the 50 back prelims and could be called upon to swim in the finals of the mixed medley relay, as the US men’s backstroke corps has been underwhelming. With just three heats and 27 entrants in the event, don’t necessarily expect fast times from the other top seeds like Elizabeth Dekkers, Caroline Briker, and Helena Rosendahl Bach, but the fight for the 12th-16th spots is sure to be intense.

The day concludes with four heats of the mixed medley relay. The United States, anchored by Torri Huske, held off a late charge from China to set a new world record in Paris. However, the US entered the meet with questions about their male backstrokers and breaststrokers, and based on their performances so far, they are by no means a favorite. China, too, faces uncertainty, especially in the backstroke, but with the Australians and French having question marks for their breaststroke legs, this relay likely will come down to who can cover their weaknesses best.

Women’s 50 Backstroke – Prelims

• World Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 27.49 – Minna Atherton, Australia (2016)
• Championship Record: 27.06 – Jing Zhao, China (2009)
• 2023 World Champion: Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 27.08

Top 16 Qualifiers

1. Kylie Masse (CAN) – 27.46
2. Alina Gaifutdinova (NAB) – 27.57
3. Letian Wan (CHN)/ Katharine Berkoff (USA) – 27.59
5. Regan Smith (USA) – 27.67
6. Analia Pigree (FRA) – 27.73
7. Seungwon Kim (KOR) – 27.75
8. Ingrid Wilm (CAN) – 27.76
9. Maaike de Waard (NED) – 27.82
10. Danielle Hill (IRL) – 27.84
11. Fanny Teijonsalo (FIN) – 27.85
12. Roos Vanotterdijk (BEL) – 27.87
13. Mary-Ambre Moluh (FRA) – 27.93
14. Theodora Drakou (GRE) – 27.94
15. Anastasia Gorbenko (ISR) – 27.95
16. Lauren Cox (GBR) / Celia Pulido Ortiz (MEX) – 27.97 Swim-off required

Through the first four heats, the fastest time recorded belonged to Andrea Berrino, the 31st seed. The Argentine was a little off her entry time of 28.68 as she stopped the clock in 29.05.

2023 Fukuoka bronze medalist Lauren Cox of Great Britain got things off to a fast start in the 5th heat, but the field very quickly closed in on her, and it was a very close finish with the top five all under 28 and separated by just .13. Roos Vanotterdijk, who won a surprise silver medal in the 100 fly on night 2, looked strong into the finish, but it was Ireland’s Danielle Hill who had the better finish, as she took the win by just .03, 27.84 to 27.87. Behind those two were Mary-Ambre Moluh and Anastasia Gorebenko at 27.93 and 27.95, with Cox just fading back to 5th at 27.97 and now must endure an uncomfortable wait with two heats remaining.

The penultimate heat featured Canada’s Kylie Masse in lane 4, but the early lead went to Alina Gaifutdinova of the Neutral Athlete B team from lane 6. Masse, who won this event in 2022, used her experience to pull herself through the field and took the heat win in 27.46. Overall, a much faster heat than the first, Gaifutdinova held on for 2nd, stopping the clock in 27.57, just .02 ahead of China’s Wan Letian. Three other swimmers joined them under the 28-second barrier, meaning that with one heat remaining, 11 swimmers have been sub-28.

The American pair of Katharine Berkoff and Regan Smith pulled themselves through the field and took the top two spots in the last heat as they touched the wall in 27.59 and 27.67. The two earned a spot on the podium last night in the 100 back, finishing with the bronze and silver medals. Behind them in the heat, Korea’s Kim Seungwon got the better of Canada’s Ingrid Wilm, with Kim stopping the clock at 27.75 just .01 ahead of Wilm, who made the podium in this event in Doha.

Swim-offs seem to be the name of the game in the women’s backstroke as Great Britain’s Lauren Cox tied for 16th with Mexico’s Celia Pulido Ortiz with a time of 27.97.

MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – Prelims

• World Record: 46.40  – Pan Zhanle, China (2024)
• World Junior Record: 46.86 – David Popovici, Romania (2022)
• Championship Record: 46.80 – Pan Zhanle, China (2024)
• 2023 World Champion: Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – 47.15
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 46.40

Top 16 Qualifiers

1. David Popovici (ROU) – 47.41
2. Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – 47.48
3. Egor Kornev (NAB) – 47.51
4. Flynn Southam (AUS) – 47.73
5. Maxime Grousset (FRA) – 47.84
6. Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 47.86
7. Matthew Richards (GBR) – 47.89
8. Sunwoo Hwang (KOR) – 47.94
9. Patrick Sammon (USA) – 48.04
10. Nandor Nemeth (HUN) /Jack Alexy (USA) – 48.07
12. Manuel Frigo (ITA) – 48.08
13. Josha Salchow (GER) – 48.13
14. Luca Hoek le Guenedal (ESP) – 48.23
15. Guilherme Caribe (BRA) – 48.27
16. Rafael Fente-Damers (FRA) – 48.33

Hong Kong’s Ian Ho took out the first 50 in heat 6 very fast, opening in 23.63, but started to fade over the last 25 with Antoine Destang of St. Lucia closing what had been a gap of 1.06 seconds to one of just .32 as he touched in 51.11, with Ho taking the heat win at 50.79 and currently occupying the top of the leaderboard halfway through the event.

The Bahamas’ Lamar Taylor wins heat 9 in 48.52 to take over the top of the leaderboard as the University of Tennessee product sets a new national record, bettering his 48.84 from the Olympic last summer.

Taylor’s Tennessee teammate, Gui Caribe, got things out to a fast start in heat 10, but was just inched out at the halfway mark as Hungary’s Nandor Nemeth got his feet to wall first, opening up in 22.81. Caribe back by just .03 tried to fight back and overtake the Hungarian, but ended up falling back through the field as the 50 fly winner Maxime Grousset surged on the backhalf to take the win with a time of 47.84. Also breaking the sub-48 barrier was Great Britain’s Matthew Richards, who was 6th at the turn, back by .44, but made his way through the field to touch second with a time of 47.89. Caribe wound up taking 5th in 48.27 with Nemeth and Manuel Frigo touching ahead of him at 48.07 and 48.08.

The second-to-last heat saw another University of Tennessee product shine in the heat as Nikoli Blackman got off to a fast start and led after the first 25 meters, but was overtaken at the 50-meter turn by his NCAA rivals, Patrick Sammon and Jack Alexy. Sammon, who swims for ASU, flipped in front of his compatriot 22.95 to 23.02, but it was David Popovici who got his hand onto the wall first as he pulled his way up from 4th at the 50. The former World Record holder got his hand onto the wall by a wide margin as he stopped the clock at 47.41, with the American pair a ways back at 48.04 and 48.07.

The last heat saw a massive showdown between the Olympic gold and silver medalists, Pan Zhanle of China and Kyle Chalmers of Australia. However, neither had the front-end speed, as it was Egor Kornev of the NAB team, who flipped first at the wall opening up in 22.47 with Chalmers in second, .18 back. Pan, the World Record holder, was in 7th at the turn, flipping in 23.20, but used a strong last 50 to pull himself back into the field, and he finished 4th overall with a time of 47.86. 4th in a prelims would normally be a cause for concern, but such was the speed of the last heat that the top five in the heat all ranked amongst the top eight semifinalists. Chalmers took the heat in 47.48, .03 ahead of Kornev, with Chalmers’ compatriot Flynn Southam having another strong performance to finish 3rd in the heat at 47.73 and 4th overall.

Men’s 200 IM – Prelims

• World Record: 1:54.00 – Ryan Lochte, United States (2011)
• World Junior Record: 1:56.99 – Hubert Kos, Hungary (2018)
• World Championship Record: 1:54.00 –  Ryan Lochte, United States (2011)
• 2023 World Champion: Leon Marchand (FRA) – 1:54.82
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Leon Marchand (FRA) – 1:54.06

Top 16 Qualifiers

1. Leon Marchand (FRA) – 1:57.63
2. Kosuke Makino (JPN) – 1:57.74
3. Shaine Casas (USA) – 1:57.76
4. Hubert Kos (HUN) – 1:57.93
5. Duncan Scott (GBR) – 1:58.00
6. Ilia Borodin (NAB) – 1:58.01
7. Alberto Razzetti (ITA) – 1:58.14
8. Carson Foster (USA) – 1:58.17
9. Lewis Clareburt (NZL) – 1:58.19
10. Tomoyuki Matsushita (JPN) – 1:58.28
11. Shun Wang (CHN) – 1:58.43
12. Tristan Jankovics (CAN) – 1:58.61
13. William Petric (AUS) – 1:58.63
14. Lucas Pierre Henveaux (BEL) – 1:58.92
15. Alexey Glivinskiy (ISR) – 1:59.00
16. David Schlicht (AUS) – 1:59.50

The first of the circle seeded heats saw the USA’s Carson Foster open things up in 25.05, but was just .10 ahead of Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita, who ran down Foster for the silver medal in Paris in the 400 IM. Things were very much status quo after the backstroke as Foster had extended his lead by .01 over Matsushita, making the transition to the breaststroke with a time of 54.81. Foster, who is set to swim the 200 fly semifinals tonight, opened up his lead at the 150 to nearly half a second, but it looked like it might have been a repeat of Paris as Foster started to flag. A surging Lewis Clareburt looked to take the lead over with 5 meters remaining, but Foster’s lunge to the wall made all the difference as he took the heat win in 1:58.17, just .02 ahead of the Kiwi and .11 in front of his rival Matsushita. The Olympic Bronze medalist Wang Shun of China joined the trio under 1:59 as did Canada’s Tristan Jankovics, with the pair touching in 1:58.43 and 1:58.61

The 2nd of the three circle seeded heats was a similarly tight affair after the first 50 as Hungary’s Gabor Zombori opened things up in 24.86, .15 ahead of Great Britain’s Duncan Scott. Scott quickly erased that lead as he pulled his way to the front of the back and flipped from back to breath at 54.55, a little faster than Foster in the first heat. Scott’s move coincided with the 2024 Doha champion Finlay Knox‘s move, as he too pulled ahead of Zombori to sit second of Scott, albeit back by .73.

Knox, who swam the 100 breaststroke earlier in the week, was a little off on the leg, and his competitors made he most of it as he slid from 2nd to 6th with Italy’s Alberto Razzetti making the most of the move and now trailed Scott, who turned in 1:29.01 by .35. Over the last 50 of the race Razzetti tried his best to run down Scott for the win, but it was the NAB Ilya Borodin who got closet to the lead of the Scot Scott, as he took the win in 1:58.00 with Borodin a hair’s width back at 1:58.01 and Razzetti too joining them under 1:59.00 as he hit the wall in 1:58.14.

The final heat saw the Olympic Champion make his debut in Singapore. Leon Marchand, occupying lane 4, hit the 50 wall first in 24.27, but was closely shadowed by Texas training partners Shaine Casas of the United States and Hubert Kos of Hungary, who opened in 24.33 and 24.54. Both Casas and Kos, who are both strong backstrokers, could not bridge the gap to Marchand, who blew open the lead on the backstroke, splitting 28.88 to touch at the halfway point at 53.15, nearly a full second ahead of Casas.

The Frenchman was flirting with WR after the 100 turn, but started to fall back to the field as Casas and Kos both brought themselves back to be trailing by half a second. Marchand certainly slowed on the last 50 closing in 29.94, but still won the heat and posted the fastest overall time as he stopped the clock in 1:57.63, .13 and .30 ahead of Casas and Kos, but the pair were outtouched by Japan’s Kosuke Makino of Japan, who used a strong 28.38 to make up more than a second and half on Marchand to touch 2nd in the heat with a time of 1:57.74.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – Prelims

• World Record: 2:01.81  – Liu Zige, China (2009)
• World Junior Record: 2:03.03– Summer McIntosh, Canada (2024)
• Championship Record: 2:03.41 – Jessicah Schipper, Australia (2009)
• 2023 World Champion: Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2:04.06
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2:03.03

Top 16 Qualifiers

1. Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2:07.07
2. Brittany Castelluzzo (AUS) – 2:07.84
3. Regan Smith (USA) – 2:08.17
4. Elizabeth Dekkers (AUS) – 2:08.45
5. Zidi Yu (CHN) – 2:08.95
6. Yonghui Ma (CHN) – 2:08.96
7. Ellen Walshe (IRL) – 2:09.15
8. Caroline Bricker (USA) – 2:09.23
9. Keanna MacInnes (GBR) – 2:09.24
10. Georgia Damasioti (GRE) – 2:09.34
11. Helena Rosendahl Bach (DEN) – 2:09.36
12. Yasuki Fujimoto (JPN) – 2:09.70
13. Lilou Ressencourt (FRA) – 2:09.86
14. Laura Cabanes Garzas (ESP) – 2:09.89
15. Emily Richards (GBR) – 2:09.98
16. Sujin Park (KOR) – 2:10.17

With just 27 entrants on the heat sheet, all three heats of the prelims were circle-seeded. Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers was the top seed in the heat, but trailed at the 50 turn as it was the Chinese sensation Yu Zidi who took things out the fastest, with the 12-year-old opening things up in 28.49. It was a tenous lead of just .03, and Dekkers quickly asserted her authority on the field as she made her way into the lead and hit the 100 wall in 1:00.92, .64 ahead of Yu and .88 ahead of the Frenchwoman Lilou Ressencourt. Dekkers remained in front for the last 100 as well and took the win with a time of 2:08.45. Yu held on to take 2nd with a time of 2:08.95, holding off her surging compatriot Ma Yonghui, who touched for 3rd just .01 back.

The second of three heats saw Regan Smith complete her double with the 50 back, having already been completed. The #2 seed opened things up in 28.55, with a lead of .12 on Great Britain’s Keanna MacInnes, but it was the 2024 Doha Silver medalist who made the turn at the halfway point in 3rd as the Dane touched in 1:01.56, .02 ahead of Smith and .30 ahead of MacInnes.

Smith quickly retook the lead and by the 150 mark had a lead of .15 and never looked back as she used a strong last turn to open a massive lead on a struggling Bach, who started to falter and would wind up finishing 4th overall in a time of 2:09.36, 1.19 back of Smith’s 2:08.17. Ireland’s Ellen Walshe and Macinnes just outtouched Bach to finish 2nd and 3rd with times of 2:09.15 and 2:09.24.

Summer McIntosh opened up her quest for her 3rd individual gold medal of the meet as the top seed in the last heat. The Olympic Champion turned at the 50 wall expectedly in first at 27.94, but Australia’s Brittany Castelluzzo was very close, trailing by just .02, with hometown favorite Quah Jing Wen back by just .19. The Canadian started to pry open the lead as she made the turn at the 100 meter mark in 1:00.36, .46 ahead of Quah, who had overtaken the Australian Castelluzzo for 2nd place.

Quah’s time in 2nd place was rather short-lived as she paid for her early speed, and the Singapore native fell to finish 7th overall with a time of 2:13.50. The Aussie, however took full advantage of her position and kept a strong pace to finish within a second of MacIntosh who cruised home the last 100 to touch the wall in 2:07.07. The USA’s Caroline Bricker, who was out in the front half, too, passed Quah and moved herself into 3rd in the heat, stopping the clock at 2:09.23.

Mixed 400 Medley Relay – Prelims

• World Record: 3:37.43 – USA (R. Murphy, N. Fink, G. Walsh, T. Huske), 2024
• World Junior Record: 3:44.84 – USA (W. Grant, J. Matheny, T. Huske, G. Walsh) – 2019
• Championship Record: 3:38.56 – USA (M. Grevers, L. King, C. Dressel, S. Manuel), 2017
• 2023 World Champion – China (Xu J., Qin H., Zhang Y., Cheng Y.) – 3:38.57
• 2024 Olympic Champion – USA (R. Murphy, N. Fink, G. Walsh, T. Huske) – 3:37.43

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Italy – 3:42.19
2. Netherlands – 3:42.56
3. China – 3:42.81
4. Australia – 3:43.11
5. Canada – 3:43.47
6. Japan – 3:43.57
7. Neutral Athletes B – 3:44.14
8. Poland – 3:44.22

The Neutral Athlete B team, comprised of athletes from Russia, set a blistering pace from the 2nd heat. As the team has no recognized times from World Aquatics over the qualifying period, the team was forced to enter with no time and found themselves seeded in lane 9. Backstroker Miron Lifintsev opened in 52.08, and his team had a lead of 2.33 over the Argentines in lane 5. His time which would have been 4th in the individual 100 back final, was too insurmountable for any team to catch, and the lead only grew as the rest of the team, Danil Semianiov (), Daria Klepikova (57.6) and Aleksandra Kuznetsova (54.7) produced a time of 3:44.14, winning the heat by over five seconds with the team from Mexico finishing in 2nd at 3:59.34.

The 3rd heat saw the Olympic Silver medalist China take to the water, flanked by the Netherlands and the French. China opened with Xu Jiayu, the Olympic silver medalist in the 1oo back, who has been struggling this week, and they touch just in 4th after the backstroke as he split 53.45. South Africa led at the first takeover as World Champion Pieter Coetze touched first, albeit over a second back of his winning time, as he stopped the clock in 53.01, with the French in hot pursuit at 53.08. The French and Chinese, who opted to use a male breaststroker, pulled away from the field while the South Africans, who used a female breaststroker, started to slip back. By the halfway point, China’s Dong Zhihao had pulled his country into a lead of 0.69 ahead of the French, with his team making the transition to the butterfly with a time of 1:52.19.

Yu Yiting pulled her team away from the French, but she faced a new challenge as the Dutch Team opted to go FMMF, and Nyls Korstanje made up what had been a gap of 6.28 to trail the Chinese by just .16 with the Dutchman splitting 51.04 on his leg. The Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Poles and French, who were all close at the 300, anchored with female freestylers, and China’s Cheng Yujie held a lead of just .03 on the Dutch anchor of Milou van Wijk. But the Dutchwomen had something in reserve, and she flew home to take the win in 3:42.56, .25 ahead of the Chinese at 3:42.81 and the Japanese who finished in 3rd at 3:43.57.

The last heat saw the Olympic champions, the United States, opt for a MMFF order and called upon 200 backstroker Keaton Jones to kick things off. Jones touched in 3rd at 54.20 but was well behind Italy’s Christian Baccio, who opened up in 52.68 to touch 1.00 ahead of the Greeks and 1.52 ahead of the Americans. The Italians who were also using a MMFF order continued to lead as Ludovico Viberti split 58.67 to give himself a lead of nearly two seconds over the Americans.

The Italians, now with two females on the end, had to contend with the two Americans, Torri Huske and Simone Manuel, but also with Canada, which went FMMF, and the Australians who went FMFM. The Italians would hold on to win, posting a time of 3:42.19 with Costanza Cocconcelli (57.71) and Sara Curtis (53.13) holding off the flying Josh Liendo (49.85) and the Australian anchor of Kai Taylor (47.30). The Australians took 2nd in 3:43.11, just ahead of the Canadians at 3:43.47. The US team finished 4th in the heat, but with the speed of the previous heat and with the NAB team’s time from heat two, the USA’s team of Jones (54.20), McKean (59.07), Huske (58.47) and Manuel (52.76) wound up finishing 10th with a time of 3:44.50, .28 out of 8th. The French, who finished 4th in Paris, also missed the final, finishing 9th overall at 3:44.31, .09 back of the Poles, whose 3:44.22 is a new national record by .98.

Women’s 50 Back Swim-Off

1. Lauren Cox (GBR) – 27.64
2. Celia Pulido Ortiz (MEX) – 28.30

Cox, the 2023 Bronze medalist, quickly pulled away from Pulido Ortiz and easily took the swim-off in a time of 27.64. The two women, who tied for 16th at 27.97, were fighting for a spot in tonight’s semifinals but the win went the way of the Englishwomen, whose time would have been the 4th fastest this morning, but instead she will be in lane 9 in the first heat and hope to conjure up some outside smoke.