2025 World University Games: Day 5 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

MIXED 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY– FINAL

• World Record: 3:18.83 – Australia, (2023)
• World University Games Record: 3:25.38 – CHN (2023)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. USA – 3:24.27 *WUG Record*
2. Japan – 3:26.86
3. South Africa – 3:28.51
4. Italy – 3:28.57
5. Poland – 3:30.38
6. Cyprus – 3:30.73
7. Portugal – 3:31.22
8. Switzerland – 3:31.40

The U.S. set yet another relay record, their third of the meet, en route to winning the mixed freestyle relay tonight. That is the fifth gold medal from five relays, and with just the men’s 4×200, where the men went 1-3, and the medley relays to go a relay sweep is very much a possibility. There were some fast swims tonight, so lets take a look through the field.

Leadoff Legs (Flat Start)

1. Matt King, USA – 48.28 (1)
2. Takumi Mori, JPN – 48.84 (2)
3. Lorenzo Dato, ITA – 49.31 (3)
4. Dominik Dudys, POL – 49.47 (4)
5. Guy Brooks, RSA – 49.55 (5)
6. Tiago Behar, SUI – 49.59 (6)
7. Nikolas Antoniou, CYP – 49.62 (7)
8. Diogo Ramos Tavares Lebre, POR – 50.28 (8)

Matt King swam his fourth 100 freestyle of 48.2 or better at this meet, and followed up his 100 free win at the start of the session (where he was 48.01) to give the U.S. a lead of over half a second over Japan. Mori did not swim the 100 free individually, but swam a time that would have qualified him for the final, as the 200 IM champion set a new best time and broke 49 seconds for the first time.

The field was tight behind those two, with just 0.31 seconds separating 3rd through 7th. Guy Brooks was 49.55 leading off for south Africa, slower than his 47.95 anchor from the men’s 4×100 free relay on Day 1, as South Africa opted not to use Pieter Coetze on this relay. Lorenzo Dato was 0.32 seconds faster than his individual time for Italy, and would have made it through to the semifinals with this swim.

Nikolas Antoniou, who swims for Cal in the NCAA, was just a tenth of a second off his Cypriot record from last month with the seventh-fastest leadoff, and Switzerland’s Tiago Behar matched to the hundredth the 49.59 he swam in the heats of the 100 free yesterday.

2nd Legs (Flying Start)

1. Takaki Hara, JPN – 48.13 (2)
2. David King, USA – 48.35 (2)
3. Robin Yeboah, SUI – 49.09 (4)
4. Ruard van Renen, RSA – 49.20 (5)
5. Giovanni Caserta, ITA – 49.33 (3)
6. Kacper Klimczak, POL – 49.68 (6)
7. Gustavo Carvalhais, POR – 49.78 (7)
8. Nikolas Kostas, CYP – 50.79 (8)

Takaki Hara had the fastest split in the field for a third relay in a row, after throwing down the fastest freestyle legs in the men’s 4×100 free (47.70) and mixed medley relay (48.35). He was out fast again as well, splitting 22.55 on the first 5o before closing in 25.80.

David King had the only other split on this leg under 49 seconds, as he split 22.97-25.38 en route to a 48.35 that gave the U.S>a lead of four-tenths of a second at halfway. That is slower than he was in the final of the men’s 4×100 free, where he anchored in 47.75, and slower than Mitchell Schott‘s 48.05 from this morning.

Robin Yeboah was much quicker than the 49.82 he swam in the individual 100 to bring Switzerland up to 4th at halfway, while Ruard van Renen was 49.20 in his third swim in an hour to keep the South Africans in touching distance in 5th.

3rd Legs (Flying Start)

1. Isabel Ivey, USA – 54.13 (1)
2. Kalia Antoniou, CYP – 54.47 (5)
3. Olivia Nel, RSA – 54.72 (3)
4. Federica Toma, ITA – 55.12 (4)
5. Ayu Mizoguchi, JPN – 55.27 (2)
6. Aleksandra Polanska, POL – 55.83 (7)
7. Angelique Brugger , SUI – 56.21 (6)
8. Anna Fomina, POR – 56.38 (8)

Isabel Ivey extended the United States’ lead, as she had the fastest split on the third leg and one of only three under 55 seconds. This was actually her slowest 100 free split of the meet so far, but came on the heels of the 200 free semifinals where she placed 8th, and was still plenty to keep the U.S. looking comfortable at the front.

Kalia Antonou, the Cypriot Record holder with her best of 54.23 from last summer, had the second-fastest split in 54.47 to drag Cyprus up into 5th at the final changeover. She was a quarter of a second faster than Olivia Nel, who has broken the South African record in the 50 backstroke twice today, and owns a best of 54.32 from the 100 free final last night. She was 53.69 anchoring the bronze-medal-winning mixed medley relay last night so was a little slower here, but kept South Africa just ahead of Italy.

Ayu Mizoguchi improved by more than a second from her 56.51 in the 100 free heats on Day 3, helping Japan maintain a solid hold on second place.

4th Legs (Flying Start)

1. Maxine Parker, USA – 53.51 (1)
2. Rio Suzuki, JPN – 54.62 (2)
3. Francisca Soares Martins, POR – 54.78 (7)
4. Agata Ambler, ITA – 54.81 (4)
5. Michaela de Villiers, RSA – 55.04 (3)
6. Julia Maik, POL – 55.40 (5)
7. Anna Hadjiloizou, CYP – 55.85 (6)
8. Manon Richard, SUI – 56.51 (8)

Maxine Parker outsplit the field by more than a second on the anchor, as the U.S. ran away to win by more than two seconds over Japan. They got a handy 54.62 split from Rio Suzuki, a second and a half faster than the 56.13 which placed her 17th individually, as they finished two seconds off their National Record in 3:26.86.

Michaela de Villiers swam her fastest relay split of the week so far to take bronze for South Africa by just 0.06 seconds. She was 55.44 and 55.38 in heats and finals of the 4×100 free on Day 1, so was around four tenths faster tonight. She managed to rally past Agata Ambler of Italy in the final meters after they had both rocketed out, 25.93 for de Villiers and 25.39 for Ambler.

Portugal’s Francisca Soares Martins had the 3rd-fastest split on this leg, overtaking Switzerland’s Manon Richard in the closing meters to put Portugal into 7th.

Notes

• The U.S. have run away with all five relays so far, and have managed to get quality splits out of names you may not have expected. Parker has been 53.5 on a pair of anchor legs now, and Ivey has been consistently 53-high/54-low. The men have overperformed in a good way on their legs, with Mitchell Schott and David King, both better known for stroke 200s, dropping 48.05 and 47.75 splits respectively. That is world class from King, realistically good enough to make it onto almost any nation’s relay at Worlds, and shows of just how versatile the NCA system makes swimmers. Ruard van Renen, another NCAA star, has split 48.8 and 49.2 her in Berlin, more than solid splits for a swimmer whose true strength is backstroke underwaters.
• Japan may have been overshadowed by the U.S so far, but are having themselves a very good meet. Their medals have come in their traditional strengths of breaststroke and IM, but they also have a pair of bronzes from the women’s distance freestyle events. This relay medal was their fourth of the night after bronze in the women’s 1500 and going 1-2 in the women’s 200 breaststroke, and they have finished no lower than 5th in any of the five relays so far. They’ve netted two silvers and a bronze on those relays, and more importantly they have several legs that look like they could not just make the jump to the full senior team, but really make a difference when they are there.
• This appears to be Cyprus’ first relay final at a World University Games. Kalia Antoniou won bronze in the 50 and 100 free two years ago in Chengdu, but with her brother and fellow Cypriot record holder Nikolas Antoniou now aged up into this age group they have team success to add to that. The team had set their National Record in prelims, before the same quarter dropped more than half a second tonight break it once again, with all four members swimming faster than this morning.