2025 World University Games: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

2025 World University Games

• July 17th-23rd, 2025
  • Prelims: 9 a.m. local time (3 a.m. EST)
  • Finals: 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. EST)
• Berlin, Germany
• LCM (50 Meters)
• Meet Central
• Entries List
• Live Results
• How To Watch
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Welcome to day 4 of the 2025 World University Games in Berlin! This morning sees preliminary heats of six events, five of which are individual.

Pieter Coetze is entered in both the 50 back and 100 free after his heroics on the 100 back yesterday, as he became the first African swimmer to break 52 seconds. He is the second seed in both, but it would not be a stretch to mark him as the favorite. Ella Welch moved up to the second seed after Paula Juste‘s scratch in the women’s 100 fly, giving the U.S. a 1-2 punch as Leah Shackley is the top seed. Kate Hurst and Matt King also bring top-seeded entries in the women’s 1500 free and men’s 100 free respectively, and the U.S. team are in lane 4 of the final heat of the women’s 4×200 free relay at the end of the session.

The men’s 50 back sees Korean Record holder Jihwan Yoon as the top seed ahead of Coetze and Will Modglin, who took gold and silver in the 100 respectively, with those three the only swimmers entered under 25 seconds. Meanwhile Japan’s Yumeno Kusuda leads the women’s 200 breast by more than a second and a half, ahead of USA’s Katie Christopherson.

Women’s 1500 FREESTYLE– HEATS

• World Record: 15:20.48 – Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)
• World Junior Record: 15:28.36– Katie Ledecky, USA (2014)
• World University Games Record: 15:57.90 – Simona Quadarella, ITA (2023)

Top-8 Advancing to the Final:

1. Gena Jorgenson (USA) – 16:23.82
2. Kate Hurst (USA) – 16:26.26
3. Rebecca Diaconescu (ROU) – 16:29.18
4. Noemi Cesarano (ITA) – 16:33.79
5. Niko Aoki (JPN) –  16:35.85
6. Fleur Lewis (GBR) – 16:40.49
7. Marian Ploger (GER) – 16:41.65
8. Nora Fluck (HUN) – 16:46.80

Just like the men’s 1500 free yesterday, there are only 11 men contesting the 1500 free at the World University Games this year, but despite that the meet is still running a prelims/finals format, rather than timed finals.

Gena Jorgenson was locked in a tight battle with Rebecca Diaconescu for much of the first heat, with the two separated by just 0.21 seconds at the 800-meter mark. The American swimmer began to pull away at on the final third, holding 33-lows compared to Diaconescu’s 33-mids, as she finished just four seconds off her entry time and personal best from the start of June. The Michigan swimmer ended up slicing two seconds from her best with her swim of 16:29.18.

Kate Hurst was out in front of the second heat, and was slightly off her teammate’s pace throughout the race as she finished in 16:26.26. She will be in lane 5 in the final tomorrow, with 2023 bronze medalist Noemi Cesarano next to her in lane 6 after she held off a fast charging Niko Aoki, who closed with a 1:04.06 final 100.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – HEATS

• World Record: 23.55 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2023)
• World Junior Record: 24.00 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2018)
• World University Games Record: 24.46 – Zane Waddell, RSA (2019)

Top-16 Advancing to Semifinals:

1. Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 24.69
2. Jihwan Yoon (KOR) – 24.74
3. Will Modglin (USA) – 24.82
4. Daniel Diehl (USA) – 24.93
5. Simone Stefani (ITA) – 25.27
6. Jules Andre (FRA) – 25.42
7. Ruard van Renen (RSA) – 25.50
8. Pablo Navarro (ESP) & Chuang Mu-lun (TPE) – 25.58
9.  –
10. Srihari Nataraj (IND) – 25.59
11. Yusuke Sato (JPN) & ALexandre Desangles (FRA)  – 25.61
12. –
13. Yuga Nushimura (JPN) – 25.65
14. ALeksei Tkachev (AIN) – 25.67
15. Cornelius Jahn (GER) – 25.73
16. Michal Pruszynski (POL) – 25.78

Srihari Nataraj was just four-tenths off his Indian Record in heat 4 as he took the heat win by over half a second. The first of the circle seeded heats saw Will Modglin take over preliminary top spot as he came within 0.06 seconds of his best in 24.82, the first swimmer of the morning to break the 25-second barrier.

Behind him Ruard van Renen shaved two-hundredths off his entry time to take second in 25.50, giving South Africa a second semi-finalist and outtouching Spain’s Pablo Navarro by eight-hundredths.

Pieter Coetze wasted no time in establishing his credentials in the penultimate heat, throwing down a time of 24.69 to come within 0.13 seconds of his best of 24.56. He will be chasing the African record in the semi-finals later, which currently stands at the super-suited 24.34 Gerhard Zandberg swam in 2009.

Sione Stefani and Jules Andre dropped time to place 2nd and 3rd in the heat respectively, with Stefani hacking seven-tenths off his entry time, as Ohio State’s Cornelius Jahn ended up taking the 15th after adding six-tenths to his entry time of 25.11.

The final heat saw a big swim out of lane 7 for Daniel Diehl as he hacked eight-tenths of a second off his entry time to place second in 24.93. Ahead of him was Korea’s Jihwan Yoon who took the second seed into tonight’s semi-finals, just 0.05 seconds behind Coetze’s time. He owns a best of 24.48 from March this year, which also standas as the Korean Record. Diehl was the fourth and final man under 25 seconds, with  the fourth-fastest entrant to the heats, ALeksei Tkachev, adding half a second to sneak into the final in 14th.

Lorenzo Dato was a no-show in the final heat, with Italian swimmer likely focusing on the 100 freestyle later in the session. He split 48.20 on the 4×100 free relay on Day 1, so could fancy his chances of being in the mix there.

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY– HEATS

• World Record: 54.60 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)
• World Junior Record: 56.33 – Mizuki Hirai, JPN (2024)
• World University Games Record: 56.57– Zhang Yufei, CHN (2023)

Top-16 Advancing to Semifinals:

1. Ciara Schlosshan (GBR) – 58.65
2. Josephine Crimmins (AUS) – 58.97
3. Leah Shackley (USA) – 59.12
4. Beatrix Tanko (HUN) – 59.27
5. Ella Welch (USA) – 59.43
6. Uran Noda (JON) – 59.44
7. Julia Ullmann (SUI) – 59.47
8. Paola Borrelli (ITA) – 59.80
9. Julia Maik (POL) – 59.91
10. Mariana Cunha (POR) – 1:00.04
11. Giulia Caprai (ITA) – 1:00.12
12. Sarah Dumont (BEL) – 1:00.12
13. Poppy Stephen (AUS) – 1:00.36
14. Gaia Rasmussen (SUI) – 1:00.52
15. Liu Pei-yin (TPE) – 1:00.64
16. Gabriela Krol (POL) – 1:00.86

Ella Welch took the win in the first circle-seeded heat in 59.43 as she won a thrilling battle with Uran Noda (59.44) and Julia Ullmann (59.47). Welch was out quickest of that trio in 27.35 and then just managed to hold off down the stretch. Her best stands almost a second quicker at 58.57, although Ullmann did slice a tenth off her entry time. Paola Borelli of Italy made it four under 60 seconds in the heat with a swim of 59.80.

We were missing lane 4 in the penultimate heat, as Spain’s Paula Juste scratched the event after being entered with a time of 58.48. In her stead it was Great Britain’s Ciara Schlosshan who took the win as she dropped six-hundredths from her entry time to dominate this heat, winning by well over a second. She stormed home in 31.16, the fastest second 50 of the heats, to come within 0.3 seconds of her best from just last month and take the top seed for tonight’s semi-finals.

A surprise winner emerged from the final heat as Australia’s Josephine Crimmins held on to take the heat ahead of Leah Shackley, 58.97 to 59.12. Shackley will have the 100 backstroke final tonight as well as the semi-finals of the 100 fly, and still made it into the next round as the third-fastest seed. Hungary’s Beatrix Tanko was the third and final swimmer to break 1 minute, dropping just over a tenth to go 59.27

Latvia’s Ieva Maluka, who swims for Georgia in the NCAA, just missed out on advancing from heat 1, as her time of 1:00.94 placed her 18th.

MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 46.40 – Pan Zhanle, CHN (2024)
• World Junior Record: 46.86– David Popovici, ROU (2022)
• World University Games Record: 47.62– Vladimir Morozov, RUS (2013)

Top-16 Advancing to Semifinals:

1. Patrick Dinu (ROU) – 48.49
2. Aleksandr Schegolev (AIN) – 48.57
3. Marcus Da Silva (AUS) & Takaki Hara (JPN) – 49.00
4. –
5. Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 49.02
6. Matt King (USA) – 49.06
7. Ole Eidam (GER) – 49.14
8. Kaique Alves (BRA) – 49.18
9. Illia Linnyk (UKR) – 49.40
10. Dmitrii Zhavoronkov (A)N) – 49.43
11. Camden Taylor (USA) – 49.44
12. Srihari Nataraj (IND) – 49.46
13. Vinicius Assuncao (BRA) – 49.52
14. Charlie MacMillan (SWE) – 49.53
15. Dominik Dudys (POL) – 49.56
16. Gabriel Gorgas (AUS) – 49.58

Srihari Nataraj backed up making the 50 backstroke semi-finals just 20 minutes ago with a fantastic swim in the 100 freestyle to shave a hundredth from Virdhawal Khade‘s Indian Record that had stood for 17 years. Nataraj now owns four indiviudal National Records, adding this event to the 200 free, 50 back and 100 backmarks he already owns. His time of 49.46 held up through the circle seeded heats to put him through to tonight’s semi-finals.

Aleksandr Schegolev dominated the first of those, winning by over half a second in a time of 48.57. Ole Eidam was 49.14 to take second, with the USA’s Camden Taylor falling to fifth from lane 4 in 49.44, three-quarters of a second off his entry time Great Britain’s Maddox Roberts was 6th, and ended up missing the semi-finals by just tw0-hundredths of a second. .

Lorenzo Dato, who scratched the 50 backstroke to focus on this race and split 48.20 on the 4×100 free relay three days ago, finished seventh in the heat in 49.63, adding four tenths of a second.

Patrick Dinu won the second circle-seeded heat in a new best time of 48.49, taking two tenths of a second off his best form this year’s Romanian Championships. Marcus Da Silva and Takaki Hara, both of whom had stunning splits on the 4×100 free relay, tied for 2nd in the heat in 49.00, almost matching each of their respective PB’s which stood at 49.03 and 48.99.

Pieter Coetze, doubling up after taking the top spot in the 50 backstroke heats, was 4th in 49.02. He was 47.88 leading off the 4×100 free relay on Day 1, so should be much faster tonight.

Matt King won the final heat in 49.06, just over a second off his entry time of 47.94 and season best of 48.00. Kaique Alves took second in 49.18, although after a 47.96 split on Day 1 can be faster tonight, and is joined in the semi-finals by Brazilian teammate Vinicius Assuncao.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – HEATS

• World Record: 2:17.55 – Evgenia Chikunova, RUS (2023)
• World Junior Record: 2:19.64– Victoriya Gunes, TUR (2015)
• World University Games Record: 2:22.32 – Rie Kaneto, JPN (2009)

Top-16 Advancing to Semifinals:

1. Yumeno Kusuda (JPN) – 2:28.37
2. Kim Herkle (GER) – 2:29.22
3. Yuyumi Obatake (JPN) – 2:29.32
4. Katie Christpherson (USA) 2:29.55
5. Francesca Zucca (ITA) – 2:29.57
6. Anna Pirovano (ITA) – 2:29.88
7. Abigail Herscu (USA) – 2:29.96
8. Simone Moll (RSA) – 2:30.10
9. Aliz Kalmar (HUN) – 2:30.33
10. Maria Erokhina (CYP) – 2:30.65
11. Sara Hozso (HUN) – 2:30.69
12. Aina Dernandez Gonzalez (ESP) – 2:30.84
13. Lisa Nystrand (SWE) – 2:30.94
14. Anna Morgan (GBR) – 2:31.41
15. Kate Meyer (RSA) – 2:31.76
16. Martina Lucia Barbeito (ARG) – 2:31.95

Yuyumi Obatake took the win in the first of the circle seeded heats, moving from 3rd to 1st with a second 100 split of 1:17.31. The leader at halfway, Anna Morgan, came home in 41.18 to drop to 4th in the heat and ended up 14th overall, falling behind Aliz Kalmar and Maria Erokhina on the final 50.

Katie Christpherson won a tight battle with Francesca Zucca in heat 4, closing four-tenths faster to outtouch the Italian swimmer by just 0.02 seconds. She came home in 1:16.28, the fastest out of anyone in the heats this morning.

Lisa Nystrand led at the halfway mark, but fell to 5th in the heat aith 1 1:19.00 second 100.

The top seed took a comfortable win in the final heat to go into the semi-finals in first place, touching in 2:28.37. She led wire-to-wire, and won by nearly a second over German Kim Herkle, with Anna Pirovano and Abigail Herscu also joining the top two in breaking 2:30.

WOMEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY– HEATS

• World Record: 7:37.50 – Australia (2023)
• World University Games Record: 7:53.88 – USA (2015)

Top-8 Advancing to the Final:

1. USA – 7:59.50
2. Spain – 8:06.21
3. Canada – 8:07.68
4. China – 8:10.05
5. Japan – 8:11.49
6. Italy – 8:12.31
7. Switzerland – 8:18.18
8. South Africa – 8:20.12

The U.S. will head into tonight’s final as the favorites after a statement swim in the heats this morning. They were the only team to break eight minutes, and had both the fastest leadoff – 1:58.60 from Leah Hayes – and the fastest flying split with a 1:58.81 from Cavan Gormsen.

Spain had beaten out Canada in the first heat, with China touching in 3rd behind those two. They had both Ge Chutong and Ai Yanhan on this relay, the top two seeds in the individual 200, but each of them looked reserved this morning, with Ge leading off in 2:00.43 and AI closing in 2:04.20.

South Africa made yet another final, keeping their streak alive of making all the relay finals so far .