SwimSwam Pulse: 55.9% Think Wellbrock Should Be Favored In Men’s 1500 Free At Worlds

SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.

Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers who they believe the frontrunner should be in the men’s 1500 free this summer in Fukuoka:

Question: If you were an oddsmaker, who would you make the favorite in the men’s 1500 free at the 2023 World Championships?

RESULTS

• Florian Wellbrock – 55.9%
• Gregorio Paltrinieri – 16.9%
• Bobby Finke – 14.5%
• Daniel Wiffen – 11.7%
• Mykhailo Romanchuk – 0.8%

There is no shortage of legitimate title challengers in the men’s 1500 freestyle at this summer’s World Championships.

When Bobby Finke won three consecutive major international finals in the distance events, sweeping the men’s 800 and 1500 free at the Tokyo Olympics and then claiming gold in the 800 free at the 2022 World Championships, he appeared to be seemingly unbeatable with his unmatched closing ability.

However, Gregorio Paltrinieri delivered a monster performance on the final day of competition in Budapest in the 1500 free, winning the world title in the second-fastest time ever, 14:32.80, to top runner-up Finke by nearly four seconds.

As we entered 2023, those two were the clear frontrunners in the event for the World Championships in Fukuoka, but things have been shaken up in recent weeks.

First, we saw Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen drop nearly 15 seconds off his personal best time at the Swim Open Stockholm, becoming the fourth-fastest man in history and #2 among active swimmers in 14:34.91.

It was just one week later that Florian Wellbrock, the 2019 world champion and bronze medalist at both the Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Worlds, one-upped Wiffen with a 14:34.89 swim at the Berlin Open, claiming the #4 spot in the historical rankings.

On top of that, we can’t forget about Ukrainian Mykhailo Romanchuk, the reigning Olympic silver medalist who upset Paltrinieri to win the European title last summer on Paltrinieri’s home turf. Romanchuk also went 14:40.21 racing alongside Wiffen in Stockholm, a time that would normally be regarded as a sizzling in-season swim if it wasn’t for what Wellbrock and Wiffen.

With so many swimmers in contention for gold in Fukuoka, we asked SwimSwam readers who they would make the favorite if they were the oddsmakers, and the majority went with Wellbrock, the current world #1.

The 25-year-old German has shown an impressive level of consistency over the last five years, making trips to the podium in every major international meet he’s contested since 2018, and he also now has five swims sub-14:37, a feat only matched by Paltrinieri.

Romanchuk has two sub-14:37 swims on his resume, while Wiffen and Finke have one apiece.

Trailing Wellbrock, Paltrinieri and Finke both secured their fair share of votes as the reigning world and Olympic champions, while Wiffen also came in at nearly 12 percent after his breakout showing in April.

Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: If there was one, who should a men’s sprint freestyle swimmer of the year award be named after?

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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE

The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.