2022 World Junior Championships: Day 1 Finals Highlights/Swims You May Have Missed

2022 FINA WORLD JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• August 30-September 4, 2022
• Lima, Peru
• Long Course Meters (50m), Prelims/Semis/Finals
• Meet Site
• Event Schedule
• Live Results
• Entries List
• Top 5 Girls’ Storylines
• Top 5 Boys’ Storylines
• Click here to download an Excel sheet with events by swimmer
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• FINA YouTube Link (USA, Canada)
• How to Watch

The first night of the 2022 World Junior Championships is in the books, so let’s take a look at today’s action. We saw 4 Championship Records go down today, an impressive tally, considering so many “major” swimming countries have sat out of these World Junior Championships.

Day 1 Highlights

The first World Junior Championship Record to go down today actually came in prelims, where 17-year-old David Popovici led Romania’s boys 4×100 free relay off in 47.37. That time shattered the previous CR in the boys 100 free by roughly a second. Popovici, the newly minted World Record holder in the 100 free (46.86) then lowered the record again in finals, leading Romania’s team off in 47.07. Popovici will have 3 more shots at the record this week, with prelims, semifinals, and finals of the boys individual 100 free still on his schedule.

Romania would go on to win gold in the boys 4×100 free relay, swimming a 3:18.84. That performance marks Romania’s first relay gold medal at a World Junior Championships.

Another showstopping performance came in semifinals of the boys 100 back, where South Africa’s Pieter Coetze blasted a new lifetime best by a second, roaring to a 52.95. Not only does that swim give Coetze the top seed heading into tomorrow’s final, he also broke the African Record and the World Junior Championship Record with the performance. That ought to be one of the most exciting finals of the meet, as Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk was 53.12 in semifinals tonight but has been 52.5 already this summer at the World Championships.

Japan’s Mio Narita won her 2nd 400 IM gold medal in the past handful of days, breaking the Championship Record tonight with a 4:37.78 to touch 1st by over 6 seconds. Narita was about a second faster when she won Junior Pan Pacs gold last weekend, but her performance tonight is displaying excellent sub-4:40 consistency in the event.

Day 1 Swims You May Have Missed

The boys 400 free final was a thrilling race, but it was also historic for a few swimmers in the field. Brazil’s Stephan Steverink won gold in 3:48.27, becoming the #3 Brazilian performer all-time in the event. Similarly, Romania’s Vlad Stefan Stancu touched 2nd in 3:48.38, also becoming the #3 Romanian all-time in the event. Coincidentally, David Popovici is the #2 Romanian all-time in the event with the 3:47.99 he swam in prelims at the European Championships a few weeks ago.

Speaking of Romania, 14-year-old Aissia Claudia Prisecariu finished 4th in semifinals of the girls 100 back tonight, swimming a 1:02.59. Impressively, with the performance, the 14-year-old is now already the #2 Romanian performer all-time in the event. The Romanian Record is held at 1:00.21, a tall order for Prisecariu in tomorrow’s final, but nonetheless, her swim tonight was incredible.