2025 World Junior Championships: Day 5 Prelims Live Recap

2025 World Junior Swimming Championships

• August 19-24, 2025
• Otopeni, Romania
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Meet Packet
• Team Leaders’ Guide
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• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

DAY 5 PRELIMS HEAT SHEET

Welcome to Day 5 of the 2025 World Junior Championships! After last night’s final session, where we saw Great Britain’s Filip Nowacki win the 200 boy’s breaststroke in a time faster than won the senior world title in Singapore earlier this summer, we’re in for another short prelims session yet with just seven events this morning and only three longer than 100 meters. Let’s take a look at this morning’s lineup.

DAY 5 PRELIMS SCHEDULE:

• Boys 100 Freestyle
• Girls 100 Butterfly
• Boys 400 IM
• Girls 50 Freestyle
• Boys 50 Breaststroke
• Girls 4×100 Freestyle Relay
• Girls 1500 Freestyle (slower heats)

There are a pair of frontrunners in the men’s 100 freestyle to kick off the morning, with Jacob Mills and Carlos D’Ambrosio separated by just a tenth but seeded more than half a second ahead of the third seed Tajus Juska.

They took silver and bronze respectively in the 50 last night, while D’Ambrosio continued his great form from worlds with a new Italian Record and gold medal in the 200 freestyle. They are also the only two to have split under 48 seconds on a relay here in Otopeni.

The World Junior Record holder in the 100 fly, Mizuki Hirai, will aim to make a statement in that event after taking silver by just three-hundredths in the 50 last night. With her entry time of 56.33, she leads a pair of Americans by more than 1.5 seconds, with Audrey Derivaux (57.99) and Charlotte Crush (58.09) taking lane 4 in the other two circle-seeded heats.

Despite being the World Junior Record holder, Yumeki Kojima only comes into the boy’s 400 IM as the 3rd seed, entered eight seconds slower than his best time in 4:17.42. Local favorite Robert Andrei Badea is the top seed in 4:14.37, a mark which stands as the Romanian Record, with Raito Numata (4:15.90) making it two Japanese swimmers in the top three entrants.

Numata took bronze in the 200 free earlier this week, and anchored the 4×200 free relay last night in 1:45.93 – faster than any flying split on Japan’s relay at the senior world championships.

There are three swimmers entered under 25 seconds in the women’s 50 free, and they are separated by just five-hundredths of a second. Rylee Erisman, who had three huge swims in the 100 free which culminated in a stunning 52.79 in the final that puts her on the Pan Pacs team for next summer, is the joint-top seed in 24.62 alongside compatriot Annam Olasewere, with Croatia’s Virginia commit Jana Pavlovic just behind in 24.67.

Rikako Ikee and Olivia Wunsch‘s Championship record of 24.59 could well be in danger here, with Erisman setting a championship record in all three rounds of the 100 free and looking in great form.

Filip Nowacki and Shin Ohashi will lock horns again in the 50 breast, but it is Turkey’s Nusrat Allahverdi who is the top seed in 27.16. Max Morgan could also be a threat after he broke the British 17-year-old record on his split in the 100 final on day 2, clocking 27.41 on his way to taking bronze.

We then move onto the girls’ 4×100 free relay, where the U.S. will look to claim lane 4 for tonight as they hunt just their second relay gold of the meet.

Finally, we will have the slower two heats of the women’s 1500 freestyle, ahead of the final heat of this heat-defined winner event being swum in tonight’s finals session.

BOYS 100 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• World Record: 46.40 – Pan Zhanle, CHN (2024)
• World Junior Record: 46.86 – David Popovici, ROU (2022)
• Championship Record: 47.07 – David Popovici, ROU (2022)

TOP 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Jacob Mills (GBR) – 48.26
2. Roman Zhidkov (NAB) – 49.34
3. Michael Rice (USA) – 49.49
4. Austin Carpenter (USE) – 49.57
5. Tajus Juska (LTU) – 49.59
6. Neo Dutraix (FRA) – 49.72
7. Gabriel Shepherd (GBR) – 49.75
8. Gabriel Machuco (BRA) / Demir Ozdemir (TUR) – 49.81
9. –
10. Carlos D’Ambrosio (ITA) – 49.83
11. Minkyu Noh (KOR) – 49.89
12. Laon Kim (CAN) – 49.91
13. Kaua Marinho (BRA) – 49.96
14. Ben Luke Cotroneo (AUS) – 49.98
15. Kazusa Kuroda(JPN) – 49.99
16. Koppany Kakuk (HUN) – 50.00

Heat 3 saw Korea’s Minkyu Noh, entered with no time, break 50 seconds for the first time in 49.89. His previous best of 50.24 came back in 2023, when he was just 15 years old, and his time here was enough to make the semi-finals, after also doing so in 2022 at just 14 years old.

We had to wait another nine heats before anyone else joined him under the barrier, although Hungary’s Koppany Kakuk was agonisingly close in heat 11 as he touched in 50.00.

Nikita Sheremet, the 50 free champion and World Junior Record holder, was out fast in the first circle-seeded heat but fell all the way to 9th on the second 50.

USA’s Austin Carpenter matched his best time to take second in that heat in 49.57 behind NAB’s Roman Zhidkov, with 3rd seed Tajus Juska just behind in 49.59.

Mike Rice did take the win for the U.S. just one heat later, as he knocked four-tenths off his best to go 49.49

Carlos D’Ambrosio was 49.83, more than two seconds off his best of 47.78, and will be much faster in tonight’s semi-final having split 47.02 and 47.40 on relays so far here.

Jacob Mills led from the get-go in the final heat, absolutely dominating the field as he led by half a second at halfway. He extended that lead coming home to touch in 48.26, just a quarter of a second off his best.

Mills ended up taking top spot overall by more than a second, and was joined in the top-eight by his teammate Gabriel Shepherd (49.75).

The final spot in tonight’s semi-finals was taken by Hungary’s Kakuk, with a 50-flat required to make it through. That is more than half a second faster than the 50.65 needed in 2023, and nearly a second quicker than the 50.98 from 2022.

Just three tenths of a second separated 6th through 17th, with a single tenth between Canada’s Laon Kim in 12th and Australia’s Campbell Wilson-Moran in 17th.

Abdul Jabar Adama, who has broken the Nigerian Record in the 50 fly twice so far and will be in lane 5 for tonight’s final of that event, was a no-show.

GIRLS 100 BUTTERFLY – PRELIMS

• World Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)
• World Junior Record: 56.33 – Mizuki Hirai, JPN (2024)
• Championship Record: 57.25 – Rikako Ikee, JPN (2017)

TOP 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Mizuki Hirai (JPN) – 57.41
2. Charlotte Crush (USA) – 58.00
3. Gong Zhenqi (CHN) – 58.81
4. Audrey Derivaux (USA) – 58.83
5. Clare Watson (CAN) – 58.92
6. Serafima Fokina (NAB) – 59.23
7. Aliisa Soini (FIN) – 59.24
8. Martine Damborg (DEN) – 59.28
9. Zhou Xinyang (CHN) – 59.30
10. Yeung Hoi Ching (HKG) – 59.61
11. Flawia Kamzol (POL) – 59.64
12. Jungwon Park (KOR) – 59.70
13. Yara Fay Riefstahl (GER) – 59.77
14. Caterina Santambrogio (ITA) – 59.79
15. Umi Ishizuka (JPN) – 59.96
16. Matea Gigovic (CAN) – 1:00.13

Charlotte Crush shaved some time off her PB with a 58.00 as she won the first circle-seeded heat by more than a second. She took gold in the 100 back and silver in the 200 back, so is gunning for a third individual medal in this event

Her teammate Audrey Derivaux, who has won the 200 fly in addition to the 200 back and 200 IM so far in Otopeni, did not quite have it all her own way in the penultimate heat, with China’s Gong Zhenqi taking the win 58.81 to her 58.83

Mizuki Hirai took a comfortable win in the final heat, leading wire-to-wire as she touched in 57.41, winning by nearly two seconds over NAB’s Serafima Fokina and Denmark’s European Junior  Champion Martine Damborg.

The world junior record holder took silver in the 50 fly last night, but is the hot favorite in this event, with her time here, a second off her best, still half a second faster than any other swimmer in the field has ever been.

BOYS 400 IM – PRELIMS

• World Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, FRA (2023)
• World Junior Record: 4:09.38 – Yumeki Kojima, JPN (2025)
• Championship Record: 4:10.97 – Tomayuki Matsushita, JPN (2023)

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. Raito Numata (JPN) – 4:16.96
2. Yi Zheng (USA) – 4:17.20
3. Robert Andrei Badea (ROU) – 4:19.37
4. Gu Enyi (CHN) – 4:20.13
5. Yumeki Kojima (JPN) – 4:21.10
6. Anton Denysenko (UKR) – 4:22.10
7. Aleksandr Shipitsyn (NAB) – 4:22.12
8. Denis Piataikin (NAB) – 4:22.53

Raito Numata had the lead at halfway in the first circle-seeded, just ahead of New Zealand’s record-breaking sensation Ariel Muchirahondo, but it was USA’s Yi Zheng who blasted through the field on breaststroke to touch first with 100 to go.

He split 1:11.41 on the breaststroke, the fastest in the field by more than a second. However, Numata came back on the final 100, showing off his 200 freestyle prowess to take the win, 4:16.96 to 4:17.20.

That was a three second drop for Zheng, as they both finished five seconds ahead of the rest of the heat to take the top two spots in tonight’s final.

The final heat saw Romania’s Robert Andrei Badea take the win in front of his home crows, pulling away from World Junior Record holder Yumeki Kojima on the breaststroke leg.

China’s Gu Enyi split 1:00.66 to take second behind Badea, with Kojima taking 3rd in the heat and 5th overall.

He was more than ten seconds off his best of 4:09.38 from earlier this year, so could be a threat out of lane 2 tonight.

Namibia’s Oliver Durand broke his second IM Namibian Record of the meet as he placed 12th in 4:23.92 to hack two seconds off his own former mark, following on from Ronan Wantenaar’s performances at the senior World Championships earlier in the month.

GIRLS 50 FREESTYLE – PRELIMS

• World Record: 23.61 – Sarah Sjoestrom, SWE (2023)
• World Junior Record: 24.17 – Claire Curzan, USA (2021)
• Championship Record: 24.59 – Rikako Ikee, JPN (2017) / Olivia Wunsch, AUS (2023)

TOP 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Rylee Erisman (USA) – 24.78
2. Theodora Taylor (GBR) – 25.12
3. Jana Pavlovic (CRO) – 25.19
4. Kira Manokhina (NAB) – 25.22
5. Annam Olasewere (USA) – 25.25
6. Jessica Thompson (RSA) – 25.29
7. Li Sum Yiu (HKG) – 25.40
8. Martine Damborg (DEN) – 25.42
9. Skye Carter (GBR) – 25.46
10. Zoe Pedersen (NZL – 25.48
11. Mingyu Luo (CHN) / Vasilisa Malaeva *NAB) – 25.56
12. –
13. Gabriela Bortlisz (POL) – 25.70
14. Alessandra Leoni (ITA) – 25.81
15. Ainslay Trotter (AUS) – 25.84
16. Alessandra Mao (ITA) – 25.94

Wilina Jules-Marthe hacked four-tenths of a second off her own Cape Verdean record set this May to win heat 9, placing 21st in 26.12.

Theodora Taylor was just off her Welsh record of 24.98 as she won heat 11 in 25.12 over Croatia’s Jana Pavlovic. The British swimmer took bronze in the 100 free earlier this week in a National Record, so will look to repeat the trick in this event.

Rylee Erisman was just two-tenths off the Championship Record as she won the penultimate heat in 24.78, looking smooth throughout as she comfortably won the heat in the only time under 25 seconds this morning.

Kira Manokhina of NAB just touched out USA’s Annam Olasewere in the final heat, 25.22 to 25.25, with South Africa’s Jessica Thompson setting another best time as she was 3rd in 25.29.

Thompson became the second-fastest African swimmer in history in the 50 back last night, and will have the final of that event as well as this semifinal tonight.

Martine Damborg will also double up, as she made it safely through in 8th after swimming the 100 fly earlier in the session, where she also placed 8th.

BOYS 50 BREASTSTROKE – PRELIMS

• World Record: 25.95 – Adam Peaty, GBR (2017)
• World Junior Record: 26.97 – Nicolo Martinenghi, ITA (2017)
• Championship Record: 26.98 – Felix Victor Iberle, IDN (2023)

TOP 16 QUALIFIERS:

1. Jan Malte Grafe (GER) – 26.95 *WJR, CR*
2. Filip Nowacki (GBR) – 27.38
3. Max Morgan (GBR) – 27.39
4. Shin Ohashi (JPN) – 27.41
5. Nusrat Allahverdi (TUR) – 27.60
6. Ian Call (USA) – 27/60
7. Efraim Evangelos Ntoumas (GRE) – 27.62
8. Oleg Plotnikov (NAB) – 27.69
9. Jan Gajda (POL) – 27.82
10. Kaua Santos Carvalho (BRA) – 27.83
11. Noah CHang (CAN) – 27.89
12. Danis Volontir (ROU) / Mark Teler (ISR) – 27.95
13. –
14. Daniil Pisetski (NAB) – 28.05
15. Tsui Yik Ki (HKG) – 28.16
16. Aibat Myrzamuratov (KAZ) – 28.19

Filip Nowacki broke Max Morgan’s days-old British Age Group Record in the first circle-seeded heat, touching in 27.38 to edge out Japan’s Shin Ohashi (27.41). The two have locked horns in the 100 and 200 so far this week, with the Jersey swimmer coming out on top against the world junior record holder in both events so far.

Ian Call nearly matched his best of 27.50, which stands as the fastest 15-16 swim by an American in history, to go 27.60 and place 6th overall.

The swims would only get faster, as the very next heat saw Nicolo Martinenghi’s World Junior record go down courtesy of Germany’s Jan Malte Grafe. He stormed clear early on, and touched in 26.95 to shave two-hundredths off the previous mark.

That was a massive best time by the 18-year-old, who hacked more than half a second off his entry time of 27.59 to become Germany’s 5th-fastest performer in history.

Max Morgan very nearly reclaimed his record from Nowacki in the final heat, touching in a new best of 27.39 to finish just a hundredth behind his teammate. Nusrat Allahverdi, the top seed in 27.16, was four-tenths off as he touched in 27.54 to take 2nd in the heat and 5th overall.

Canada’s Oliver Dawson, who also scratched the 200 breast, was a no show in the final heat.

GIRLS 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – PRELIMS

• World Record: 3:27.96 – AUS (2023)
• World Junior Record: 3:36.19 – CAN (2017)
• Championship Record: 3:36.19 – CAN (2017)

TOP 8 QUALIFIERS:

1. USA – 3:39.38
2. NAB – 3:40.52
3. Italy – 3:42.35
4. Canada – 3:43.42
5. China – 3:43.52
6. Australia – 3:43.57
7. Lithuania – 3:44.42
8. Croatia – 3:46.10

The U.S. took the top seed for tonight’s final, thanks to Lily King’s 53.93 anchor leg. They will bring the 100 freestyle champion Rylee Erisman on tonight, and look like the favorites to take gold.

They will have to fight off a strong NAB team to do, who took 2nd this morning with all four splits between 54.99 and 55.28. Italy can bring in Alessandro Mao as they try to cement 3rd place, but Canada, China and Australia were separated by just 0.15 seconds this morning in the battle for fourth.

Croatia took the final spot in the final thanks to Jana Pavlovic‘s 55.66 leadoff, just behind Lithuania.

GIRLS 1500 FREESTYLE – SLOWER HEATS (TIMED FINAL)

• World Record: 15:20.48 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)
• World Junior Record: 15:28.36 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2014)
• Championship Record: 15:58.86 – Lani Pallister, AUS (2019)

TOP 8:

1. Gabriel Diana Stiger (ROU) – 16:39.88
2. Amelie Smith (AUS) – 16:47.10
3. Abigail McLeod (CAN) – 16:47.22
4. Selinnur Sade (TUR) – 17:11.59
5. Kha Ni Nguyen (VIE) – 17:13.94
6. Regina Medina Arcos (MEX) – 17:14.81
7. Thitirat Charoensup (THA) – 17:16.41
8. Kate Ona (SGP) – 17:30.48

Crowd favorite Diana Gabriela Stiger swam away from Amelie Smith and Abigail McLeod in the final quarter of the race in heat two to take top spot out of this morning’s heats, hacking nine seconds from her entry time in the process. There were best times for Smith and McLeod as well, with both shaving around four seconds from their entry times.

A reminder that this is a timed final event. The fastest 8 seeds will be competing in the fastest heat, which will take place at the start of tonight’s finals session. With every swimmer in that heat entered faster than Stiger’s time from this morning, there may well be a completely new top 8 when all is said and done.