2025 World University Games
- July 17th-23rd, 2025
- Berlin, Germany
- LCM (50 Meters)
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Day 2 in Berlin will see a slightly longer prelims session than yesterday, with seven individual events on the docket. The United States is flexing their prowess once again here, holding top seeds in six of the seven events.
Leah Hayes and Teagan O’Dell will be in lanes 4 and 5 in the final heat of the women’s 400 IM, with Hayes the only swimmer in the field entered under 4:40. Italy’s Anna Pirovano is the second fastest entrant, after she set a new best of 4:40.77 at the Italian Championships earlier this year, and NC State’s Lisa Nystrand is the 8th seed in 4:45.02. None of last edition’s podium return, and with Hayes holding a best of 4:36.84 she should be the favorite to claim lane 4 for tonight.
Jake Mitchell is the top seed in the men’s 200 free in a time of 1:46.34, but will have to watch out for 400 free champion Nikolai Kolesnikov, his teammate Baylor Nelson, and a pair of swimmers who split sub-48 on the 4×100 free relay last night, Australia’s Marcus da Silva and Brazil’s Kaique Alves. Da Silva could be one to watch, as the 18-year-old comes in with a time of 1:47.18 but is looking in great form so far here in Berlin. Roman Akimov is the only man other than Mitchell entered under 1:47 with his entry time of 1:46.70. Giovanni Caserta, the bronze medalist from Chengdu, is only seeded 11th.
Team USA’s Maxine Parker and Julia Dennis will swim next to each other in the final heat of the women’s 100 free, but Ai Yanhan could be the swimmer to watch after she split 53.38 on the 4×100 free relay last night to deliver the fastest split in the field. South Africa’s Olivia Nel was also much faster on the leadoff there (54.73 in the heats, 54.96 in the final) than her entry time of 55.46, and Cyprus’s second seed Kalia Antoniou, the bronze medalist in 2023, is coming off setting a 50 fly National Record in the semi-finals last night, giving top seed Maxine Parker plenty to think about.
Pieter Coetzee is the shining light in the men’s 100 backstroke, and leads the entries by six-tenths of a second with the only time under 53 seconds. He was slightly faster than his entry time of 52.71 last summer as he broker the African Record in going 52.58 to finish 5th in the final. Daniel Diehl is the second seed in 53.33, however does own a best time of 53.07 from 2022, and with his 200 backstroke looking fantastic this season will have designs on joining Coetzee under the 53-second barrier. Russia’s Aleksei Tkachev (53.45) and Will Modglin (53.59) should also make it safely through to the semi-finals, while we could see Coetzee’s teammate Ruard van Renen, the 12th seed in 54.77, translate his short course prowess into the long course pool here.
Emma Weber and Piper Enge are the top two seeds for the women’s 50 breaststroke, but have Poland’s Barbara Mazurkiewicz (30.62), Canada’s Shona Branton (30.75) and Great Britain’s Anna Morgan (30.96) join them with entry times under 31 seconds. Only one swimmer broke that barrier in the final at the last edition, and another swimmer who could be a huge threat to also do so is South Africa’s Lara van Niekirk, who owns the African record in 29.75.She is entered in 31.02, but will be a huge threat to those at the front of the field.
The men’s 200 IM sees the top three seeds all entered within 0.23 seconds, with Owen McDonald the fastest with his entry time of 1:57.51. Takumi Mori and Aleksei Sudarev join him under 1:58 and there are a further five men with entry times under 2:00. Mitchell Schott could be a swimmer to keep an eye on after some great splits on the 4×100 free relay yesterday, and is the 5th seed in 1:59.05.
Rounding off the morning will be the women’s 800 free, where Kate Hurst is the only woman entered under 8:30. Her teammate Mila Nikanorov is the seconds seed, with the Americans aiming for a centre lane lockout for tomorrow’s final. Italy’s Noemi Cesarano took bronze two years ago and is the fourth fastest entrant here.
Top Seeds
- Women’s 400 IM: Leah Hayes (USA) – 4:38.46
- Men’s 200 free: Jake Mitchell (USA) – 1:46.34
- Women’s 100 free: Maxine Parker (USA) – 53.56
- Men’s 100 back: Pieter Coetzee (RSA)– 52.71
- Women’s 50 breast: Emma Weber (USA)– 30.43
- Men’s 200 IM: Owen McDonald (USA) – 1:57.51
- Women’s 800 free: Kate Hurst (USA) – 8:28.92
