2017 FINA World C’ships Day 3 Finals: Hear From Tonight’s Champions

2017 FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 30th
• Budapest, Hungary
• LCM (50m)
• Full Competition Schedule
• Meet Info
• Psych Sheets
• Omega Results
• Pick ’em Contest
• Event-by-Event Previews

Tonight’s session of the 2017 FINA World Swimming Championships was truly one for the history books, as spectators around the globe were treated to three World Records in the span of just a couple of hours. Britain’s Adam Peaty became the first swimmer in history to go sub-26 in the men’s 50m breaststroke, Canada’s Kylie Masse won her nation’s first World Championships gold with a WR in the 100 back and America’s Lilly King crushed a new all-time best mark in the 100 breaststroke. Plus, we got to see Katie Ledecky swim twice, as she won the 1500m free and then jumped back in the pool less than an hour later to take the 200m freestyle top seed.

Among the sights and sounds were the instant reactions of the athletes after their races, which were captured by FINA below. Get a glimpse into the minds of these elite athletes as they continue to amaze us one race at a time.

Men’s 200 Freestyle:

• Sun Yang, China, Gold in (1:44.39), new Asian Record: “It was a great race especially the last 50 metres were pretty good. It is one of the hardest races for me.”
• Aleksandr Krasnykh, Russia, (1:45.23), bronze: “The last 25m was a huge struggle, I cannot even recall how I touched in. I am really happy about clinching a medal, it is hard to believe I managed to beat the Brits. This is my first medal at a major international event so I am really delighted.”

Women’s 1500 Freestyle:

• Mireia Belmonte, Spain, (15:59.89) won silver: “Katie Ledecky is on another planet, so the goal of the race was to win the silver medal. For me, it is gold!”
• Simona Quadarella, Italy (15:53.86), bronze: “This was my first senior tournament and it’s amazing that I can already stand on the podium. I aimed at making it to the final. What happened is just way beyond my imagination, I didn’t think I would obtain a medal at all.”
• Boglárka KAPÁS, Hungary (16:06.27) finished 4th and off the podium: “This time smiling is not as easy as otherwise. I gave it all, this is it. If I had quitted the pool thinking I could not manage to do my very best I wouldn’t be smiling now, but I know I was fighting hard all throughout the race and it was enough for the 4th place now. The problem was that I started to speed up as early as after the first 2-300m, maybe I should have saved my energy for later. I saw fellow swimmers on the other side leaving me behind but unfortunately I was not able to keep up with them. I am able to do 20 seconds better than this, which would have been enough for a medal.”

Men’s 50 Breaststroke:

• Adam Peaty, GBR, newly-minted 50m breaststroke world record holder in 25.95:”It was not really in my radar to swim below 26 seconds but I felt good tonight. Let’s see what comes out tomorrow!”

Women’s 100 Backstroke:

• Kylie Masse, Canada, World Record in women’s 100 back (58.10): “I am really proud of this result, it was quite a surprise for me, I did not even think about touching in world record time, my goal was to breach my personal best. Not a hundredth second potential was unlocked in me.”
• Kathleen Baker, USA, on her silver medal in 100 back (58.58): “I was totally lost before the race, but the crowd was great here. It was a fantastic race and now I am excited for my next races here.”
• Emily Seebohm, Australia, on winning bronze in the 100 back (58.59): “I am so proud to be back on the podium! I could be better if did not get cold, but I am very happy! I am here to swim to do my job and the colour of the medal does not matter.”

Men’s 100 Backstroke:

• Xu Jiayu, China, winner of 100 back in 52.44: “Of course I am happy about becoming a world champion, yet I am not satisfied with my time, I was aiming at breaking the world record. In the semi-final I almost made it hence my hopes for the final. Based on the trainings I did have the potential and I hope I will make it soon.”
• Matt Grevers, USA, 52.48 for silver in 100 back: “I am feel great, even a month ago if somebody said I took the silver I would be OK with it but now I am here, I was in the race, I wanted to win. Usually I am at the winning side of this close heats. I am inspired to get back to my best. Xu swam really well last night, I knew he was gonna go fast, he was between Ryan and I and he did it. It is an incredible atmosphere, beautiful pool, beautiful city, we spend a great time here, really no complains, everything is easy for the athletes.”
• Ryan Murphy, USA 52.59 for bronze in 100 back: “I am not really happy with the result. It is not so super if you are coming out as third.”

Women’s 200 Freestyle, Semifinal:

• Katinka Hosszu, HUN, 5th seed: “It went well. I started off a bit slow but the pace of the entire heat was somewhat slower. Shane was signalling to me that the beginning was not very good. The point is I am in the final with a quite good result, about half a second from my personal best. This year it was my best time, I would like to stand on the podium but even if I just break my personal best I will be content. It would be great to finish better than fifth place, in freestyle I couldn’t yet achieved any better placements than that at World Championships. Tomorrow 200m butterfly starts, I need to do well in the morning, as well, so that I might be racing in two finals in the afternoon. I feel quite relieved after the gold yesterday, I enjoyed swimming and racing. It is easy to get used to this amazing crowd, I guess when it all ends we will be reminiscing about and longing for such an encouraging audience so I really want to enjoy every minute of it now. Ledecky is extremely fast, I focus more on my personal best and we shall see where it takes me.”

Men’s 200 Fly, Semifinal:

• Laszlo Cseh, HUN, top seed in 1:54.22: “The plan was to keep up with Chad le Clos, who started off quite fast but he got exhausted by the end and slowed down. I can be satisfied, really, it is not bad for a second race. I did quite well in the morning, this time it was even better, so far I managed to structure my swimming as I had planned. It would be great to stand on the podium with Tomi but we definitely have to fight hard for it.”
• Tamas Kenderesi, HUN, 3rd seed in 1:54.98: “I could feel that fellow swimmers are racing pretty fast, especially in the first half of the race. If I had done better in the first 100m I might not be feeling as good as I am feeling now. I believe my performance was just right, the result is great, before the race I hoped to do 1:55.9 in the morning and 1:54.9 in the afternoon and I managed to accomplish what I had planned.  The third best time entitles me for a suitable lane in the final tomorrow, and I am glad about it because this way I will have a better picture of chances. I might call the usual fast sprint in the end my tactic, this is what I have been preparing for in the trainings and we have structured my swim accordingly. It’s no gambling, this tactic proved to be effective earlier, as well and it has worked well this time, too. No doubt, my opponents take my final sprint into account but I am capable of changing strategy. Yet as long as it proves to be effective, I will apply this one. I hope this time tomorrow I will be talking to you with a gold-like colour medal in my neck.”

Women’s 100 Breaststroke:

• Lilly King, USA, World Record holder in 1:04.13: “It is amazing how the world gets faster! I was very excited at my first world record! I am really excited now what happens next. It will be cleared in my head in the time of getting home!”
• Katie Meili, USA, silver in 1:05.03: “I reached my time, I was good in my race, so everything is great! I knew it will be a tight race, but I told myself, that I should be happy with any types of results, but the silver medal makes me extra happy! It is always nice to see the US flags in the air!”
• Yuliya Efimova, Russia, with bronze in 1:05.05: “I was very deep into my thoughts and responded a bit late at the start. Yet I am happy with my result because I have the opportunity to race again. The Arena is fantastic. I have never seen anything like this before. The organisation of the World Championships is outstanding, the hotel room is really comfortable and meals are brilliant. Nothing to complain about, the whole World Championships are just perfect.”