2025 World Junior Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2025 World Junior Swimming Championships

• August 19-24, 2025
• Otopeni, Romania
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

DAY 4 FINALS HEAT SHEET

Good [Insert Time of Day Here] and welcome to the Live Recap of the 4th Finals session of the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships. We have had a fast and furious three final sessions already this week, but don’t worry as we are just at the halfway point and still have three more to go (including this one). We have seen championship records fall left and right and World Junior record as well and more could go tonight, in a session that is tailor fit for fans of sprinting as half of the ten events on the schedule are just one length of the pool.

DAY 4 FINALS SCHEDULE:

• Girls’ 50 Backstroke Semis
• Boys’ 200 Breaststroke Final
• Girls’ 50 Butterfly Final
• Boys’ 50 Backstroke Final
• Girls’ 100 Breaststroke Final
• Boys’ 50 Butterfly Semis
• Girls’ 400 Freestyle Final
• Boys’ 50 Free Final
• Girls’ 200 IM Final
• Boys’ 4×200 Freestyle Relay Final

Despite the schedule being dominated by 50s this evening, the Girls’ 200 IM, the last individual event of the evening will be highly anticipated as it pits two of the rising stars for their respective nations against each other, again.

Top seeded American Audrey Derivaux will be seeking her 3rd gold medal in four days as she will look to climb to the top of the podium again, having done so in the 200 Fly and 200 Back. Standing in her way however is Argentina’s Agostina Hein. The 4th seed from this morning’s prelims, Hein has already defeated Derivaux once already this meet, doing so in the 400 IM. However, she has more than just the American and the Japanese pair of Misuzu Nagaoka and Shuna Sasaki standing in her way as the Argentine will have a quick turnaround, swimming the 400 Free just one event prior.

Hein will be aided by two medal ceremonies in addition to the intervening Boys’ 50 Free but will only have around 21 minutes or so between the conclusion of the 400 free and the start of the 200 IM. In the 400, Hein is seeded 2nd behind the USA’ Kennedi Dobson, who was the only swimmer this morning to post a sub-4:10 time, but don’t count out China’s Yang Peiqi, who sits 4th with a 4:11.12, but entered the meet with the top seeded time of 4:02.53.

The session kicks off with the Girls’ 50 backstroke semis, just one of two semi-final events on the schedule, where South Korea’s Kim Seungwon will look to fend off the USA’s Julie Mishler and the NAB swimmer Milana Stepanova in the first semi, while Australia’s Ainsley Trotter will look to do the same against South Africa’s Jessica Thompson and Poland’s Varvara Hlushchenko.

The first final of the session is the boys’ 200 breaststroke. World Junior record holder Shin Ohashi was 2:11.32 this morning to rank 3rd fastest and occupy lane 3 tonight. Next to him in lane 4 is Great Britain’s Filip Nowacki, who blasted a 2:09.76, the only sub 2:11.00 time this morning, to earn the middle lane.

Jessica Thompson returns to the pool very quickly for the finals of the Girls 50 fly where she is seeded 3rd behind top seeds Zoe Pedersen of New Zealand and Mizuki Hirai of Japan. The Kiwi had a great semis last night to nab the top seed but Hirai owns a PB of 25.63 from her 9th place finish at Worlds. There, unsurprisingly, is no overlap between the 200 breaststroke and 50 back for the boys as NAB swimmer Georgii Iakovlev leads the field by nearly half a second with his 24.58 semifinal time. Behind him however there is a tight battled as just .06 separate 2nd from 4th.

The only 100 on tap for the evening is the girls’ 100 breaststroke. Looking to follow in her countrywomen’s footsteps is Lithuania’s Smilte Plytnykaite who was quickest in the semifinals but will be hard pressed by Germany’s Lena Ludwig, who, too, will be looking to emulate her compatriot, Anna Elendt, who won the event at Worlds.

The 2nd and last semi-final of the evening is the men’s 50 butterfly. Great Britain’s Dean Fearn is the top seed with his 23.47 and will occupy lane 4 in the second semifinal while Nigeria’s Abdul Adama will take the lane in the preceding heat. Adama’s 23.61 from this morning was a new national record for Nigeria.

In between the 400 free and 200 IM is the shortest event on the books, the boys’ 50 free. Nikita Sheremet last night tied the World Junior Record of Michael Andrew, but he will look to improve upon that 21.75 and move into sole possession of it. The only swimmer under 22.00, it looks like it may be the Ukrainian’s race to lose, but don’t count out Great Britain’s Jacob Mills and Italy’s Carlos D’Ambrosio, who each split under 48 on last night’s mixed 400 Free Relay.

Speaking of relays, the session ends with the boy’s 800 Free Relay. The USA team DQ’ed this morning, but that by no means makes this final any less exciting as the NAB team occupies the top spot with their time of 7:15.53. Japan, China and Canada join them under 7:20, but don’t count out the Italians who were 5th this morning at 7:20.80 and likely will bring in D’Ambrosio, who alone could drop five seconds off that time.

GIRLS’ 50 BACKSTROKE – Semifinals

• World Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)
• World Junior Record: 27.49 – Minna Atherton, AUS (2016)
• Championship Record: 27.81 – Gabrielle Fa’Amausili, NZL (2015)

Top 8

1. Kim Seungwon (KOR) – 27.77 *** NEW CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD***  
2. Blythe Kinsman (GBR) – 27.91
3. Ainsley Trotter (AUS) – 27.94
4. Jessica Thompson (RSA) – 27.98
5. Milana Stepanova (NAB) – 28.10
6. Varvara Hlushchenko (POL) – 28.14
7. Li Jiawei (CHN) – 28.22
8. Charlotte Crush (USA) – 28.24

Well, that didn’t take long to see a new record.

The first semifinal saw Korea’s Kim Seungwon blast her way out to an early and start and stayed there over the course of the 50, hitting the wall in 27.77. Her time erased the 10-year-old Championship record set by New Zealand’s Gabrielle Fa’Amausili back in 2015 by .04. Kim had a massive lead as she won the semi final by .33 ahead of NAB Milana Stepanova, who was 28.10. Behind her taking 3rd and 4th was China’s Li Jiawei at 28.22 and Charlotte Crush of the USA at 28.24.

The second semifinal was a slower affair but much tighter as Blythe Kinsman of Great Britain won the heat in 27.91, just .03 ahead of Ainsley Trotter and .07 ahead of Jessica Thompson of South Africa. The trio were the only swimmers beside Kim under 28.00 and will surround the Korean in the final tomorrow. Trotter visibly had a poor finish, so if she corrects it, could challenge the new Championship record.

BOYS’ 200 BREASTSTROKE – Finals

• World Record: 2:05.48 – Qin Haiyang, CHN (2023)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.91 – Shin Ohashi, JPN (2025)
• Championship Record: 2:09.40 – Josh Matheny, USA (2019)

Top 8

1. Filip Nowacki (GBR) – 2:07.32 *** NEW CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD***
2. Shin Ohashi (JPN) – 2:07.56
3. Gabe Nunziata (USA) – 2:09.70
4. Doruk Yogurtcuoglu (TUR) – 2:09.97
5. Daniil Pisetskii (NAB) – 2:10.94
6. Darius-Stefan Coman (ROU) – 2:11.89 / Wang Junteng (CHN)
8. Nikita Batuev (NAB) – 2:11.98

WHAT A RACE

Great Britain’s Filip Nowacki and Japan’s Shin Ohashi had an epic duel across four lengths of the pool. Ohashi, the Junior World Record Holder opened up quickest, splitting 28.52 and had over half a second lead (.51) on Nowacki, but the british breaststroke quickly closed the gap and gained the lead, going 32.19 on the 2nd 50 to hit the halfway mark at 1:01.22, with Ohashi splitting 32.75 to sit just .05 back at 1:01.27.

The pair, a second ahead of the rest of the field, continued their control of the race on the 3rd 50, with Nowacki widening the gap from .05 to .86 as he not only pulled away from the Japanese star but started to compete with his WJR line. Ohashi, a strong back-halfer made up a large chunk of time on the last 50, splitting the only sub-33 in the field (32.61) but came up just short and had to settle for the silver as Nowacki held on with at 33.21 to take the Gold.

His time of 2:07.32 not only lowered the six-year-old Championship record by over two seconds but also would have claimed gold in Singapore, as China’s Qin Haiyang won there in 2:07.41.

The USA’ Gabe Nunziata was in 4th at the 150 turn by .31 behind Turkey’s Doruk Yogurtcuoglu, but used a strong turn and pull-out to run him down and claim the bronze medal in a time of 2:09.70.

GIRLS’ 50 BUTTERFLY – Finals

• World Record: 24.43 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2014)
• World Junior Record: 25.46 – Rikako Ikee, JPN (2017)
• Championship Record: 25.46 – Rikako Ikee, JPN (2017)

Top 8

1. Zoe Pedersen (NZL) – 25.63
2. Mizuki Hirai (JPN) – 25.66
3. Martine Damborg (DEN) – 25.80
4. Mariia Osetrova (NAB) – 26.22
5. Olivia Louise Hine (AUS) – 26.23
6. Mena Boardman (USA) – 26.30
7. Jana Pavalic (CRO) – 26.34
8. Jessica Thompson (RSA) – 26.71

Singapore World Semifinalist Mizuki Hirai got things off to a very fast start as she took an early lead thanks to her .58 reaction time. Hirai, who was also a finalist in Paris last summer in the 100 fly, looked strong over the 50 but couldn’t compete with the closing speed of New Zealand’s Zoe Pedersen, who despite being .20 slower off the blocks was right with the Japanese star.

Pedersen on the back of a strong last stroke took the win by .03 as she stopped the clock at 25.63, with Hirai settling for the silver at 25.66. Denmark’s Martine Damborg but in a strong swim from lane 6 to take the bronze medal in a time of 25.80. The USA Mena Boardman finished 6th in the final with a time of 26.30. Boardman was chasing a 25.98, a time that would have put her provisionally on to the Pan-Pac roster.

BOYS’ 50 BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• World Record: 23.55 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2023)
• World Junior Record: 24.00 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2018)
• Championship Record: 24.44 – Ksawery Masiuk, POL (2022)

Top 8

1. Georgii Iakovlev (NAB) / Daniele del Signore (ITA) – 24.91
3. John Shortt (IRL) – 25.06
4. Henry Elmore Allan (AUS) – 25.14
5. Mikhail Shcherbakov (NAB) – 25.20
6. Gavin Keogh (USA) – 25.27
7. Kenneth Barnicle (USA) – 25.36
8. Rio Daodu (GBR) – 26.05

Such was the speed of the boy’s 50 backstroke final that many were staring at the results board for a long time, but when the dust settled, NAB Georgii Iakovlev and Daniele del Signore of Italy tied for the gold in 24.91. Iakovlev entered as the top seed with a semifinal time of 24.58 and while he couldn’t replicate the time, he still walked away from the race with the gold medal. del Signore did drop time as he set a new-PB by .11 and joined the sub-25 club for the first time.

The gold is Iakovlev’s second medal in the backstrokes as he claimed the silver in the 100, an event where del Signore finished 5th. Ireland’s John Shortt who beat the NAB athlete in the 100, took the bronze this evening in 25.06. The USA’s pair of Gavin Keogh and Kenneth Barnacle finished off the podium in 6th and 7th with times of 25.27 and 25.36 respectively.

GIRLS’ 100 BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

• World Record: 1:04.13 – Lilly King, USA (2017)
• World Junior Record: 1:04.35 – Ruta Meilutyte, LTU (2013)
• Championship Record: 1:06.23 – Eneli Jefimova, EST (2023)

Top 8

1. Smilte Plytnykaite (LTU) – 1:06.86
2. Lena Ludwig (GER) – 1:07.60
3. Moon Sua (KOR) – 1:07.86
4. Hayley Mackinder (AUS) – 1:08.19
5. Monique Wieruszowski (NZL) – 1:08.65
6. Lily Koch (AUS) – 1:08.98
7. Viktoriia Tarannikova (NAB) – 1:09.15
8. Mikayla Tan (SGP) – 1:09.72

Emulating the early success of her compatriot Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania’s Smilte Plytnykatie kept her nations breaststroke tradition alive as she claimed the World Junior title in the girl’s 100 breaststroke. Plytnykatie, the top seed, was out quick, hitting the 50 wall first in 31.70. Australia’s Lily Koch, the 6th seed wasn’t too far back at 31.78, but the Lithuanian kept up her blistering pace and pulled herself into the lead by a wide margin on the back half.

Closing in 35.16, the fastest last 50 of the field, Plytnykatie powered into the wall to take the win in 1:06.86. While Koch faded on the last 50, coming home in 37.20, Germany’s Lena Ludwig pulled herself up from 5th into the silver medal splitting 32.21/35.39 to stop the clock in 1:07.60, .26 ahead of Korea’s Moon Sua, who too moved into the medals on the last 50, jumping from 4th to 3rd to stop the clock in 1:07.86.

BOYS’ 50 BUTTERFLY – Semi-Finals

• World Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov, UKR (2018)
• World Junior Record: 22.96 – Diogo Ribeiro, POR (2022)
• Championship Record: 22.96 – Diogo Ribeiro, POR (2022)

Top 8

1. Dean Fearn (GBR) – 23.36
2. Abdul Jabar Adama (NGR) – 23.48
3. Jan Foltyn (CZE) – 23.60
4. L.F. de Paula Filho (BRA) – 23.63
5. Maxim Skazobtsov (KAZ) / Evgenii Shilovskii (NAB) – 23.89
7. Szymon Mroz (POL) – 23.91
8. Rishat Zhumagulov (KAZ) – 23.93

It was the 2nd 50 fly of the day for Nigeria’s Abdul Adama and the 2nd National record as well. After posting a time of 23.61 to earn the 2nd seed into the semifinals, his 23.48 from the first semifinals booked him a spot into the final tomorrow night, as he won the heat by a comfortable margin of .15 over Brazil’s Lucio Flavio De Paula Filho. Kazakhstan’s Maxim Skazobtsov joined the pair under 23.90 as he went 23.89 to secure himself a spot in the final.

The second semifinal was a faster affair as not only did Dean Fearn post the fastest time of the semifinals, but it advanced five swimmers into the final. Fearn, a British star in the making stopped the clock in 23.36, improving upon his 23.47 by .11 to secure lane 4 again in tomorrow’s final. Taking 2nd behind the Brit was the Czech swimmer Jan Foltyn who was .24 back at 23.60. Skazobtsov’s teammate Rishat Zhumagulov snuck into the final in the 9th seed by just .01 with his 23.93, making Kazakhstan the only nation to advance both of their swimmers into the final.

GIRLS’ 400 FREESTYLE – Finals

• World Record: 3:54.18 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• World Junior Record: 3:56.08 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• Championship Record: 4:05.42 – Lani Pallister, AUS (2019)

Top 8

1. Yang Peiqi (CHN) – 4:05.38 ***NEW Championship Record***
2. Yan Tiaoshan (CHN) – 4:05.80
3. Kennedi Dobson (USA) – 4:06.66
4. Agostina Hein (ARG) – 4:07.06
5. Sofia Diakova (NAB) – 4:07.14
6. Ella Cosgrove (CAN) – 4:10.89
7. Kseniia Misharina (NAB) – 4:14.29
8. Brinkleigh Hansen (USA) – 4:15.75

China’s Yang Peiqi had the lead after the 100 and would be the first to touch the wall at the 400 mark, but she took roundabout way to get there. Out in 59.04, the Chinese star led Argentina’s Agostina Hein by .05 and the NAB athlete Sofia Diakova by .22. Yang however quickly slipped to 3rd as the USA Kennedi Dobson asserted her authority over the field.

Dobson was tied for 4th a quarter of the way through the race equal with China’s Yan Tiaoshan with the pair flipping at 59.30. From their the American held 31-lows and and even a 30 high to gain control of the race, opening up a lead of .16 at the 200, 2:01.64 to Diakova’s 2:01.80. By the 300 the lead had opened up to .40 over Diakova but Dobson couldn’t match Yang’s change in pace as she went 30.70 and 30.28 on the last 100 to take the win moving up from 3rd to 1st on the penultimate 50.

Yang’s time of 4:05.38, while slower than her entry time, erased the 6 year old championship record of 4:05.42 set by Australia’s Lani Pallister back in 2019.Her compatriot, Yan, used a similarly strong last 100, splitting 30.82 and 30.34 to move from 4th to 2nd, stopping the clock in 4:05.80. Dobson closing in 31.38 and 31.39 had to settle for the bronze in 4:06.66 after leading for much of the race, but should still be very happy with the result as it appears to be a new PB by nearly three seconds.

BOYS’ 50 FREESTYLE – FINALS

• World Record: 20.91  – Cesar Cielo, BRA (2009)
• World Junior Record: 21.75 – Michael Andrew, USA (2017) / Nikita Sheremet, UKR (2025)
• Championship Record: 21.75 – Michael Andrew, USA (2017) / Nikita Sheremet, UKR (2025)

Top 8

1. Nikita Sheremet (UKR) – 21.99
2. Jacob Mills (GBR) – 22.02
3. Carlos D’Ambrosio (ITA) – 22.14
4. Roman Zhidkov (NAB) – 22.17
5. Joshua Steven Conias (AUS) – 22.23
6. Jan Foltyn (CZE) – 22.38
7. Abdul Jabar Adama (NGR) – 22.39
8. Yury Kuzmenko (USA) – 22.48

It may not have been the time he was hunting for, but it certainly was the medal he was aiming for as Ukraine’s Nikita Sheremet claimed gold in the Boy’s 50 Freestyle. Last night, the Ukraine exploded to a new PB and equal World Junior Record of 21.75, but was unable to match that performance as he won in 21.99.

Living up to the phrase, semi-finals are for records, finals are for medals, Sheremet started his chase for the gold, with an apparently slow start, but soon quickly got himself into contention and in the end had the quickest touch to take the win. Just .03 back at 22.02, Great Britain’s Jacob Mills had to settle for the silver, after looking strong to win the gold medal in the early goings of the race. Behind the pair was the 3rd seed Carlos D’Ambrosio who stopped the clock in 22.14 to add a bronze medal to his win in the 200 free.

The USA’s lone representative Yury Kuzmenko finished 8th in the heat in a time of 22.48, .05 off his semifinal time of 22.43

GIRLS’ 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Finals

• World Record: 2:05.70 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.56 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
• Championship Record: 2:10.24 – Leah Hayes, USA (2023)

Top 8

1. Audrey Derivaux (USA) – 2:10.58
2. Amalie Smith (GBR) – 2:11.07
3. Shuna Sasaki (JPN) – 2:11.84
4. Zhou Yanjun (CHN) – 2:12.47
5. Noelle Benkler (GER) – 2:12.54
6. Misuzu Nagaoka (JPN) – 2:12.69
7. Agostina Hein (ARG) – 2:14.54
8. Heidi Shumack (AUS) – 2:14.88

Gold is certainly her color, especially in 200 distances as the USA’s Audrey Derivaux took the 200 IM title in a time of 2:10.58, adding its gold to the ones she has already collected in the 200 fly and back.

Derivaux led from start to finish and never looked to be under any real pressure as she posted both the fastest 50 fly and 50 back splits of the field, opening up in 27.88 and 32.31 respectively. The only swimmer under 28.00 and 33.00, the American had a lead of 1.93, over Germany’s Noelle Benkler at the halfway mark and never looked back.

With such a lead in hand, her weakest stroke, breaststroke yielded a split of 39.45 (the 6th fastest), but it was quickly followed by a 30.94 last 50 (3rd fastest) to bring her home, stopping the clock in 2:10.58.

If it had been Amalie Smith in 2nd at the 100, then Derivaux’s lead would not have been safe, but the Brit was in dead last after the fly (28.96) and was 6th at the 100 turn (1:02.88), 2.69 back of the lead. That said as weak as her front half is, Smith more than makes up for it with a strong back half as she split 37.51 (fastest BR split) and 30.68 (2nd fastest FR split) to close the gap to just .49 at in the end, as she collected the silver in 2:11.07.

Japan’s Shuna Sasaki occupied the last spot on the podium with her time of 2:11.84, as she too used a strong breaststroke split (37.96) t0 move up from 5th into 3rd.

BOYS’ 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – Finals

• World Record: 6:58.55 – USA (2009)
• World Junior Record: 7:08.37 – USA (2019)
• Championship Record: 7:08.37 – USA (2019)

Top 8

1. NAB (Shcherbakov, Vekovishchev, Babinich, Cherepkov) – 7:10.39
2. Japan (Kuroda, Kojima, Imafuku, Numata)- 7:12.47
3. Italy (Valente, Ferrazza, Zanin, D’Ambrosio) – 7:12.90
4. China – 7:15.77
5. Australia – 7:16.90
6. Brazil – 7:18.15
7. Canada – 7:18.99
8. Türkiye – 7:19.28

Consistency was the name of the game for the swimmers from the NAB team as all four of their legs split between 1:47.20 and 1:48.20 to give them the win by over two seconds as the quartet of Mikhail Shcherbakov, Grigorii Vekovishchev, Egor Babinich, and Andrei Cherepkov with a time of 7:10.39.

Shcherbakov led off in 1:47.28, giving them the lead over Türkiye and Japan who were 1:47:67 and 1:47.80 at the first exchange. Vekovishchev took over and his 1:48.12 despite being the slowest for his team, extended the lead over the Japanese, expanding it from .52 to .95. From there Babinich’s 1:47.51 blew open the race as when he handed things off to the anchor, the NAB were in front by 3.63. Cherepkov’s 1:47.48, was just the 4th fastest split amongst the anchor legs, but such was the lead that despite Japan’s Raito Numata going 1:45.93, the NAB still touched first by 2.08 seconds.

Numata, who was 3rd in the individual event, held off the late charge from the 200 free champion Carlos D’Ambrosio to secure silver for his nation. The Italian produced the fastest split, going 1:45.60 to earn his second bronze medal of the evening, as his nation, which was 8th at the 1st exchange, moved up to 5th and 3rd over the new legs was just too far back to contest for the gold.