2025 World Junior Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2025 World Junior Swimming Championships

• August 19-24, 2025
• Otopeni, Romania
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  • Prelims: Day 1

Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet

Welcome to the 1st finals session of the 2025 World Junior Championships. There was some fast swimming this morning, and we are in for some exciting races tonight.

On the schedule, we have two individual event finals, four event semifinals, and two relays.

As a reminder, the United States is using this meet as an opportunity for Pan Pac selections, and both event finals this evening will give American swimmers an opportunity to make the team.

We will start the meet with the boys 400 freestyle where Egor Babinich, from the Neutral Athletes ‘B’ delegation is the top seed by just two hundredths over American Aiden Hammer. They will be in lanes four and five tonight, and, as they were both off their lifetime best times, they likely have more in the tank. They will also have Japanese swimmer Kazushi Imafuku to contend with, who has a lifetime best of 3:47.77.

The girls 50 breaststroke will swim next, and Neutral Athlete ‘B’ swimmer Ralina Giliazova earned the top spot this morning by more than two tenths, touching in 30.89 to be the only athlete under 31 seconds.

Henry Allan, of Australia, and Gavin Keogh, from the United States, led the boys 100 backstroke prelims and will be the top seeds in tonight’s semifinal. Allan was first in 54.15, and Keogh came in three hundredths back in 54.18. Their lifetime bests are only separated by a tenth of a second, and both will be trying to earn the middle lane tomorrow.

The girls 400 IM will be the other individual event final tonight, and Agostina Hein from Argentina won the prelims by almost two seconds. She was also just three tenths off the Argentine National Record in the event, a mark she will certainly be chasing this evening. Audrey Derivaux, from the United States, was the only other swimmer under 4:40 in prelims.

The boys 100 breaststroke could be one of the most exciting event finals of the meet, and tonight we will see who will earn their spot. Japan’s Shin Ohashi, the World Junior Record holder, earned the top seed by two tenths ahead of Great Britain’s Filip Nowacki. They were almost half-a-second ahead of the rest of the field, and the only swimmers under that 1:00 mark.

American Charlotte Crush earned the top seed in the girls 100 backstroke in 59.82, exactly half-a-second ahead of 2nd seed Kim Seungwon from Korea.

We will end the session with the boys 4×100 freestyle relay, where Great Britain has the top seed by almost a second over the Americans, and the girls 4×200 freestyle relay, which sees the United States as the favorite by more than three seconds.

BOYS 400 FREESTYLE – Finals

• World Record: 3:39.96 – Lukas Maertens, GER (2025)
• World Junior Record: 3:44.31 – Petar Mitsin, BUL (2023)
• Championship Record: 3:46.06 – Gabor Zambori, HUN (2019)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Grigorii Vekovishchev (NAB)- 3:46.64
2. Egor Babinich (NAB)- 3:47.67
3. Xu Haibo (CHN)- 3:47.73
4. Tex Cross (AUS)- 3:48.17
5. Aiden Hammer (USA)- 3:48.20
6. Kazushi Imafuku (JPN)- 3:48.33
7. Johannes Liebmann (GER)- 3:49.27
8. Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR)- 3:50.80

It was a battle of the NAB swimmers and one side of the pool. At the first 100 mark, the race was led by Xu Haibo from China out of lane 8, with his 54.61 split with Tex Cross from Australia in lane 7 (54.95) and NAB swimmer Grigorii Vekovishchev from lane 6 (54.86) right with him. Babinech was back in 7th place, flipping in 55.57.

Through the 2nd 100, Vekovishchev built a huge lead, flipping more than a body length ahead of anyone else. His first 200 split of 1:51.53 was almost a second ahead of Cross in 2nd (1:52.36), and a second-and-a-half ahead of Babinich’s 1:53.07 in 3rd

At the 300 turn, Babinech cut the lead to only half-a-second, and at the 350, it was only a tenth of a second.

Cross was battling for 3rd with a host of athletes including the American Aiden Hammer and Japan’s Kazushi Imafuku. Xu came back incredibly strong on the final 50, however, moving from 6th to 3rd with his 26.93 split, the fastest in the field.

Grigorii Vekovishchev won the event in 3:46.64, a new Russian Junior National Record in the event, surpassing Egorov Alexander‘s 3:47.36 from 2019

GIRLS 50 BREASTSTROKE – Semifinals

• World Record: 29.16 – Ruta Meilutyte, LTU (2023)
• World Junior Record: 29.30 – Benedetta Pilato, ITA (2021)
• Championship Record: 30.19 – Eneli Jefimova, EST (2023)

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Rachel McAlpin (USA) – 30.78
2. Ralina Giliazova (NAB) – 30.97
3. Elle Scott (USA) – 31.13
4. Irene Burato (ITA) – 31.22
5. Smilte Plytnykaite (LTU) – 31.25
6. Theodora Taylor (GBR) – 31.27
7. Hayley Mackinder (AUS) – 31.34
8. Lena Ludwig (GER) – 31.35

The 2nd semifinal saw most of the speed this morning. American Rachel McAlpin took the 2nd semifinal of the girls 50 breaststroke in 30.78, earning the top seed for tomorrow’s final by just over two tenths.

Ralina Giliazova took 2nd in the heat, and in the event, touching in 30.97 to earn lane 5 tomorrow.

McAlpin and Giliazova were the only swimmers under 31 seconds this morning. American Elle Scott was 3rd in the 2nd semifinal at 31.13, and Lena Ludwig was 4th in the heat at 31.35 to lock up the last spot in tomorrow’s final.

The 4th-7th place qualifiers all came out of the 1st semifinal, separated by just over a tenth of a second. Irene Burato won the heat in 31.22 to qualify 4th overall.

BOYS 100 BACKSTROKE – Semifinals

• World Record: 51.60 – Thomas Ceccon, ITA (2022)
• World Junior Record: 52.08 – Miron Lifintsev, NAB (2024)
• Championship Record: 52.91 –  Ksawery Masiuk, POL (2022)

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Gavin Keogh (USA) – 53.52
2. John Shortt (IRL) – 53.80
3. Georgii Iakovlev (NAB) – 53.90
4. Henry Allan (AUS) – 54.05
5. Daniele del Signore (ITA) – 54.35
6. Aukan Goldin (ISR) – 54.44
7. Liam Carrington (TTO) – 54.54
8. Parker Deshayes (CAN) – 54.90

Gavin Keogh, from the United States, won the first semifinal to take the top seed in the boys 100 backstroke final tomorrow. He touched in 53.52 to lead Ireland’s John Shortt, who also swam in semifinal one, by almost three tenths of a second.

Keogh had the fastest 1st 50 split in the field at 25.61. His 2nd 50 was 27.91, which was the 3rd fastest in the semifinals. Shortt split the fastest final 50 of 27.24, which was less than a second slower than his opening split of 26.56.

Georgii Iakovlev from the Neutral Athletes ‘B’ finished 3rd in 53.90, splitting 25.93/27.97, as the final swimmer in the semifinals in the 53 second range.

Australia’s Henry Allan, the top seed out of prelims, finished 4th in 54.05.

The other American Collin Holgerson was 10th, two spots out of the final, stopping the clock in 55.21.

GIRLS 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Finals

• World Record: 4:23.65 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• World Junior Record: 4:24.38 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
• Championship Record: 4:36.84 – Leah Hayes, USA (2023)

Top 8 Finishers

1. Agostina Hein (ARG) – 4:34.34 CR
2. Amalie Smith (GBR) – 4:35.49
3. Shuna Sasaki (JPN) – 4:38.94
4. Audrey Derivaux (USA) – 4:39.67
5. Kayla Han (USA) – 4:41.18
6. Misuzu Nagaoka (JPN) – 4:41.41
7. Vivien Jackl (HUN) – 4:44.42
8. Amelie Smith (AUS) – 4:44.62

Agostina Hein had an absolutely monster swim in the girls 400 IM to touch in a new Championship Record, South American Record, and Argentine National Record time of 4:34.34.

Hein was out 1st in 1:01.09, leading American Audrey Derivaux‘s 1:01.63 by about half-a-second.

Derivaux took over the lead on the backstroke leg with her 1:08.52 split to Hein’s 1:09.50. The two of them had a near four second lead over the rest of the field, turning in 2:10.15 and 2:10.59 respectively. Vivien Jackl was 3rd at the 200 in 2:14.66.

Great Britain’s Amalie Smith had the fastest 100 breaststroke split in the field of 1:16.22 to move from 5th at the 200 mark (2:16.48) to 2nd after teh 300, less than a tenths back of Hein who split 1:22.02. Derivaux dropped back to 3rd after splitting 1:23.74.

The freestyle leg saw Hein rebuild her lead with a split of 1:01.73 to Smith’s 1:02.79. Japan’s Shuna Sasaki had a very strong final 100 split of 1:02.86 to take over the bronze medal from Derivaux’s 1:05.78.

BOYS 100 BREASTSTROKE – Semifinals

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty, GBR (2019)
• World Junior Record: 58.94 – Shin Ohashi, JPN (2025)
• Championship Record: 59.01 – Nicolo Martinenghi, ITA (2017)

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Filip Nowacki (GBR)- 59.24
2. Shin Ohashi (JPN)- 59.72
3. Evangelos Efraim Ntoumas (GRE)- 59.77
4. Max Morgan (GBR)- 59.93
5. Oliver Dawson (CAN)- 1:00.29
6. Wang Junteng (CHN)- 1:00.32
7. Jan Malte Grafe (GER)- 1:00.61
8. Gabe Nunziata (USA)- 1:00.68

Filip Nowacki dropped the hammer in the 1st 100 breaststroke semifinal, touching in 59.24 to set a new British Age record in the event and take the top seed in tomorrow’s final by almost half-a-second. He was out in 28.20 and came home ion 31.04, which was the fastest split in the field by more than half-a-second.

WJR holder Shin Ohashi qualified 2nd in 59.72, about a tenth slower than his prelims swim of 59.84. Ohashi split 27.83/31.89.

Evangelos Efraim Ntoumas from Greece took the 3rd qualifying spot from the 1st semifinal in 59.77, just ahead of Great Britain’s Max Morgan‘s 59.93.

Amercian Gabe Nunziata was 8th place overall in 1:00.68, earning his spot in the final by just over a tenth-of-a-second. The other American, Drew Eubanks, finished 14th in 1:01.57.

GIRLS 100 BACKSTROKE – Semifinals

• World Record: 57.13 – Regan Smith, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 57.57 – Regan Smith, USA (2019)
• Championship Record: 59.11 – Regan Smith, USA (2017)

Top 8 Qualifiers

1. Charlotte Crush (USA) – 59.21
2. Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu (ROU) – 1:00.31
3. Madison Kryger (CAN) – 1:00.38
4. Zoe Kay Ammundsen (AUS) – 1:00.40
5. Kim Seungwon (KOR) – 1:00.46
6. Aissia Claudia Prisecariu (ROU) – 1:00.50
7. Milan Glintmeyer (NZL)/Milana Stepanova (NAB) – 1:00.56
8. —

American Charlotte Crush won the 2nd semifinal of the girls 100 backstroke in 59.21. This was only a tenth off Regan Smith’s 2017 Championship Record time of 59.11, and earned her the top seed in tomorrow’s final by more than a second.

Crush had the fastest split on both the 1st and 2nd 50, flipping in 28.79 on the first 50 and coming home in 30.42.

Daria-Mariuca Silsteanu, from Romania, took 2nd in 1:00.31 from lane 7 in semifinal two, beating Canada’s Madison Kryger by seven-hundredths. Silstenau was out fast in 28.89 and held onto her 2nd place spot with her 31.42 2nd 50 to Kryger’s 30.97.

American Julie Mishler was 9th overall in 1:00.65, nine-hundredths out of a finals spot.

BOYS 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – Finals

• World Record: 3:08.24 – USA (2008)
• World Junior Record: 3:15.49 – USA (2023)
• Championship Record: 3:15.49 – USA (2023)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. NAB – 3:15.38 WJ, CR
2. Italy – 3:16.03
3. United States – 3:17.06
4. Brazil – 3:17.07
5. Great Britain – 3:18.19
6. Japan – 3:18.40
7. Canada – 3:19.30
8. France – 3:19.31

The NAB team of Mikhail Shcherbakov, Roman Zhidkov, Egor Proshin, and Georgii Zlotnikov set a new World Junior Record in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay, touching in 3:15.38 to overtake the previous record of 3:15.49 set by the United States in 2023.

Shcherbakov was out in 49.13 to touch in 2nd place behind Great Britain’s Jacob Mills, who split 48.27. Zhidkov swam 2nd in 48.37 to take over the lead for the NAB team with the fastest split on the relay.

Proshin was 3rd in 48.98, and Zlotnikov swam the anchor leg in 48.90 to come in just over a tenth under the former record.

Italy’s Carlos D’Ambrosio was 47.20 on the anchor leg to help the Italian team of Francesco Ceolin (50.15), Daniel D’Agostino (49.40), and DAniele Del Signore (49.28) win the silver medal.

The United States won the bronze with Austin Carpenter (49.71), Rowan Cox (48.93), Kenneth Barnicle (49.57), and Mike Rice splitting the fastest leg of 48.85 on the anchor

GIRLS 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – Finals

• World Record: 7:37.50 – Australia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 7:51.47 – Canada (2017)
• Championship Record: 7:51.47 – Canada (2017)

Top 8 Finishers

1. China – 7:51.59
2. United States – 7:52.82
3. Italy – 7:56.86
4. Canada – 7:59.02
5. Neutral Athletes B – 7:59.62
6. Australia – 8:05.02
7. Lithuania – 8:06.72
8. Hungary – 8:17.23

That was an exciting race for the gold medal. China and the United States were neck-and-neck through the final, trading off the lead a few times throughout.

The United States got off to a fast lead with Kennedi Dobson leading off in 1:57.53 to Yan Tiaoshan‘s 1:57.69 for China.

China took over the lead on the 2nd leg with Gong Zhenqi splitting 1:57.91 to Lily King‘s 1:58.39.

The 3rd leg saw American Kayla Han, who was coming off a hard double after her 5th place finish in the 400 IM, swim almost a second faster on the first 100 (58.69) than China’s Luo Mingyu (59.42). Han fell off that pace a little bit, but split 2:00.21 to Luo’s 2:00.45 to make up almost three tenths, and put Rylee Erisman less than a tenth back.

Erisman had a fast first 100 to take over the lead, splitting 55.64 to China’s anchor Yang Peiqi‘s 56.10. She was not able to maintain that speed, however, and dropped off the pace, ultimately splitting 1:56.69 to Yang’s blistering 1:55.54.

Erisman’s 1:56.69 split was faster than the 1:56.72 that Erin Gemmell split on the United States American Record relay from last month’s World Championships.

Italy won the bronze medal in 7:56.86. Bianca Nannucci (1:59.67), lucrezia Domina (1:58.75), Chiara Sama (1:58.72), and Alessandra Mao (1:59.72) made up the only team in the heat with four swimmers under 2:00.