2025 World University Games: Day 4 Relay Analysis

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
• Livestream
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1
  • Finals: Day 1

WOMEN’s 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY– Final

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

Top 8 Finishers:

1. USA – 7:52.56 *WUG RECORD*
2. China – 7:57.91
3. Japan – 7:59.99
4. Italy – 8:00.82
5. Canada – 8:01.53
6. Spain – 8:01.63
7. South Africa – 8:13.23
8. Switzerland – 8:16.40

The U.S. took the win by more than five seconds tonight as they dipped under the WUG record in the women’s 4×200 free. They had three of the five fastest flying splits and the fastest leadoff leg, as they never relinquished the lead after the 300 meter mark.

Leadoff Legs (Flat Start)

1. Leah Hayes, USA – 1:57.87 (1)
2. Julie Brousseau, CAN – 1:58.18 (2)
3. Ruka Takezawa, JPN – 1:58.86 (3)
4. Giulia D’Innocenzo, ITA – 1:59.02 (4)
5. Ge Chutong, CHN – 1:59.25 (5)
6. Ainhoa Campabadal Amezcua, ESP – 1:59.30 (6)
7. Hannah Robertson, RSA – 2:02.87 (7)
8. Julia Balthasar, SUI –  2:03.73 (8)

Leah Hayes was just 5th at the first turn, but split 29.76/29.53/30.30 to soar through the field and touch first at the end of her leg. She set a new best time in addition, breaking 1:58 for the first time. Julie Brousseau was just over half a second off her best to touch second, with China’s Ge Chutong adding more the two seconds to her best as she fell to fifth.

Ruka Takezawa shaved nearly a full second off her best from 2023 to put Japan into third, with six swimmers breaking two minutes on the leadoff.

2nd Legs (Flying Start)

1. Cavan Gormsen, USA – 1:58.05 (1)
2. Emma O’Croinin, CAN – 1:59.25 (2)
3. Rio Suzuki, JPN – 1:59.97 (3)
4. Noemi Lamberti, ITA – 2:00.15 (4)
5. Yu Liyan, CHN – 2:00.59 (5)
6. Paula Juste Sanchez, ESP – 2:01.71 (6)
7. Georgia Nel, RSA – 2:02.48 (7)
8. Gaia Rasmussen, SUI – 2:03.40 (8)

After the top five teams were separated by just under a second at the 300 meter mark, Cavan Gormsen decimated the field on the second 100 to put the U.S 1.51 seconds ahead of Canada in 2nd and nearly three seconds ahead of Japan in 3rd. She closed in 59.76, the only one in the field to close sub-60 on any leg, and almost exactly matched her flat start best of 1:58.07.

Emma O’Croinin kept the Canadians in touch, while China remained in 5th at the halfway point. Rio Suzuki had a big swim to keep Japan third, as Paula Juste Sanchez came home in 1:04.13 to fall back from the leading pack.

3rd Legs (Flying Start)

1. Lindsay Looney, USA – 1:59.41 (1)
2. Liu Shuhan, CHN – 1:59.45 (2)
3. Alba Herrero Lazaro, ESP – 1:59.92 (5)
4. Hanane Hironaka, JPN – 2:01.65 (4)
5. Feredica Toma, ITA – 2:02.23 (6)
6. Delia Lloyd, CAN – 2:02.66 (3)
7. Lisa Coetzee, RSA – 2:04.46 (7)
8. Amelie Bertschi, SUI – 2:07.17 (8)

Lindsay Looney kept the U.S. in the lead on the third leg, extending the advantage to second by more than two seconds as she outsplit Canad’s Delia Lloyd by around three seconds. Liu Shuhan brought China back into the medal conversation with a 1:59.45 split as they distanced themselves from the battle for bronze.

Third through sixth were separated by less than a second as the final swimmers dived in, as Spain’s Alba Lazaro delivered a big split to drag them back into the fight. Federico Toma fell away on the second 100 after competing in the 100 backstroke final at the start of the session.

4th Legs (Flying Start)

1. Isabel Ivey, USA – 1:57.23 (1)
2. Ai Yanhan, CHN – 1:58.62 (2)
3. Noemi Cesarano, ITA – 1:59.42 (4)
4. Kanon Nagao, JPN – 1:59.53 (3)
5. Julia Pujadas Rusinol, ESP – 2:00.70 (6)
6. Julia Strojnowska, CAN – 2:01.44 (5)
7. Hannah Pearse, RSA – 2:03.42 (7)
8. Manon Richard, SUI – 2:02.10 (8)

Isabel Ivey stormed home on the final 200, throwing down the fastest split of the final and the only one under 1:57.23. She has a best of 1:57.88 from earlier this year and looks in that kind of shape ahead of the individual 200 tomorrow, especially after outdueling second seed Ai Yanhan on this leg. Ai did separate China from the rest of the field, guiding them into second place as they finished two seconds ahead of Japan.

Knaon Nagao did enough to hold off Canada and Italy on the anchor leg for Japan, who claimed their second relay medal of the meet.

Notes

• Isabel Ivey has looked fantastic on the relays so far, splitting 53.8/53.7 on the 4×100 free and then 1:57.2 tonight, fastest in the field buy eight-tenths of a second. In her first year since graduating from Florida she is looking stronger than ever, but it was not only her who contributed to Team USA’s win tonight. All four of the women on this relay were on form today, with Ivey and Hayes bookending with 1:57s and Gormsen and Looney swimming mature, controlled races. The relay sweep is still on.
• China may struggle to back up their top seeds in the individual 200 tomorrow, with Ge Chutong‘s swim tonight especially concerning. Ai Yanhan has already won the 100 and delivered another important split tonight after anchoring the 4×100 free relay to silver in 53.38, but she was nearly a second and half off her flat-start best and neither she or Ge may be the favorite now.
• Japan finished 13th in Paris last summer in a time of 7:59.10 that the team tonight nearly matched. None of the swimmers here in Berlin featured at the Olympics, and after three legs broke the 2:00 barrier they could have some depth building for LA 2028 that would propel them back to the final.