2023 World Cup – Berlin: Day 3 Finals Live Recap

2023 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – BERLIN

• October 6-8, 2023
• Berlin, Germany
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Full Entry List
• Live Results

After two full days of fast swimming, we’ve reached the final session of the Berlin stop of the 2023 World Cup. As with all previous session, finals are streaming live on Youtube at the link below.

Watch:

Day 3 Finals Schedule:

• Men’s 400 IM — Fastest Heat
• Women’s 800 Freestyle — Fastest Heat
• Women’s 100 Butterfly — Final
• Men’s 50 Butterfly — Final
• Women’s 200 Backstroke — Final
• Men’s 100 Backstroke — Final
• Women’s 50 Breaststroke — Final
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Final
• Women’s 100 Freestyle — Final
• Men’s 200 Freestyle — Final
• Women’s 200 IM — Final

The session kicks off with the fastest heat of the men’s 400 IM. There, 2021 World Cup series winner Matthew Sates aims for his third victory of the weekend. On Day 2, he won both the 200 IM and 200 fly, swimming a personal best in the latter.

Racing in front of a home crowd, Angelina Köhler posted the fastest time (57.34) of the morning. That puts her half-a-second clear of Torri Huske (57.85) and Zhang Yufei (57.94), the last two world champions. Zhang in particular has been swimming well in Berlin, notably coming within a tenth of her Asian record in the 50 fly, so it would be quite an upset if Köhler walked away with the win.

Yesterday’s 100 breaststroke winner Eneli Jefimova set a new WC record in the 50 breaststroke heats. She leads a field that includes world record holder Ruta Meilutyte. The young Estonia’s 30.23 from the heats puts her just .15 seconds off her personal best from Fukuoka.

Men’s 400 IM — Fastest Heat

• World Record: 4:02.50 — Léon Marchand, France (2023)
• World Cup Record: 4:11.41 — Daiya Seto, Japan (2019)
• World Junior Record: 4:10.02 — Ilya Borodin, Russia (2021)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Brendon Smith (Australia) — 4:13.59
• SILVER: Matthew Sates (South Africa) — 4:13.61
• BRONZE: Kaito Tabuchi (Japan) — 4:15.78

The final got underway with an incredible back-and-forth race between Brendon Smith and Matthew Sates. The two were separated by a hundredth after the fly leg, 57.09 to 57.10. Smith took over on the backstroke leg, separating himself from the field–including Sates–with a 1:04.53 split. Sates split 1:08.11 on backstroke, and was over three seconds behind at the halfway point.

But, much like he did in the 200 IM yesterday, Sates exploded on the breaststroke leg. He erased the deficit to the Tokyo bronze medalist with a 1:10.61 split and turned for the freestyle leg in the lead. Smith battled back on the freestyle leg, and the two were stroke for stroke coming under the flags. At the wall, Smith had just enough to get ahead of a fading Sates, and earned the win by two-hundredths, 4:13.59 to 4:13.61.

Behind the fight for the win, Kaito Tabuchi took third with a 4:15.78.

Women’s 800 Freestyle — Fastest Heat

• World Record: 8:04.79 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2016)
• World Cup Record: 8:22.24 — Kiah Melverton, Australia (2019)
• World Junior Record: 8:11.00 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2014)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Lani Pallister (Australia) — 8:16.82 (World Cup record)
• SILVER: Erika Fairweather (New Zealand) — 8:21.23
• BRONZE: Katie Grimes (United States) — 8:25.16

Lani Pallister earned the win in the women’s 800 freestyle with a new World Cup record and personal best time. Pallister and Erika Fairweather took the race out together, as we’ve often seen them over the weekend. At the 500 mark, Pallister began making her push. She extended the lead to nine-tenths and kept growing it from there; a 100-meters later, it was up to 2.69 seconds.

Pallister charged home for a new World Cup record of 8:16.82, breaking fellow Australian Kiah Melverton‘s record from 2019. The time is also a new personal best for Pallister, bettering the 8:17.77 she swam in 2022. According to USA Swimming’s records, the time moves her up to 16th on the all-time top performers list.

Katie Grimes made a charge on the back-half of the race, but it wasn’t enough to catch Fairweather, who earned silver in 8:21.23 to Grimes’ 8:25.16.

Women’s 100 Butterfly — Final

• World Record: 55.48 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2016)
• World Cup Record: 56.46 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2018)
• World Junior Record: 56.43 — Claire Curzan, United States (2021)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Zhang Yufei (China) — 56.74
• SILVER: Angelina Köhler (Germany) — 57.18
• BRONZE: Torri Huske (United States) — 57.32

This year’s world champion Zhang doubled up on butterfly wins here in Berlin. Earlier in the meet she won the 200 butterfly, and now she is the 100 butterfly winner in Berlin. She took the race out hard, splitting under world record pace at the 50 in 25.96.

Perhaps a mark of her busy fall schedule, Zhang faded down the stretch, and both Köhler and Huske came battling back. Zhang held on to get the win in 56.74, the only swimmer in the field under 57 seconds. Köhler finished second, giving the home crowd something to cheer about. It was a great swim for Köhler, as 57.18 is just .13 seconds off her personal best from Worlds.

Huske finished third in 57.32 and has another race coming up this session.

Men’s 50 Butterfly — Final

• World Record: 22.27 — Andriy Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
• World Cup Record: 22.82 — Andriy Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
• World Junior Record: 22.96 — Diogo Ribeiro, Portugal (2022)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Ben Armbruster (Australia) — 23.05
• SILVER: Dylan Carter (TTO)/Michael Andrew (USA) — 23.17
• BRONZE: (tie)

It was a tight race in the men’s 50 fly, and at the wall, it was Australia’s Ben Armbruster. Armbruster posted 23.05 to take the win–a strong swim for him espeically consdiering that he was forced to withdraw from Australian World Trials with a rib injury. The swim ties his lifetime best that he swam in April, which marked a new All Comers Record.

He got his hands on the wall nine-hundredths ahead of Dylan Carter and Michael Andrew, who tied for silver in 23.17.

Women’s 200 Backstroke — Final

• World Record: 2:03.14 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• World Cup Record: 2:06.94 — Emily Seebohm, Australia (2015)
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Kaylee McKeown (Australia) — 2:06.47 (World Cup record)
• SILVER: Katie Grimes (United States) — 2:08.08
• BRONZE: Kylie Masse (Canada) — 2:10.32

Kaylee McKeown completed her backstroke Triple Crown in Berlin in style, breaking her third World Cup record of the weekend. McKeown blasted away from the field early, flipping at the halfway mark in 1:01.73, just a second off her own world record pace. She stopped the clock at 2:06.47, taking down Emily Seebohm‘s World Cup mark of 2:06.94, which like her former 100 back WC record, had stood since 2015.

About 20 minutes removed from the 800 freestyle final, Grimes logged a new personal best via her 2nd place finish. Grimes held on for a 2:08.08, which is a personal best by 1.44 seconds. It betters the 2:09.52 she swam at the Mission Viejo PSS in 2022. She finished ahead of Canada’s Kylie Masse, who clocked 2:10.32 for bronze.

Men’s 100 Backstroke — Final

• World Record: 51.60 — Thomas Ceccon, Italy (2022)
• World Cup Record: 52.11 — Mitch Larkin, Australia (2015)
• World Junior Record: 52.53 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2018)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Thomas Ceccon (Italy) — 52.27
• SILVER: Ryosuke Irie (Japan) — 54.05
• BRONZE: Ksawery Masiuk (Poland) — 54.20

Thomas Ceccon left nothing to chance in the men’s 100 backstroke. He lead from start to finish, earning his third win of the weekend in 52.27. He seemed slightly unimpressed with the time, potentially because he was aiming for the World Cup record. However, it’s a solid outing for the Italian at this point in the season–he’s already just .11 seconds off the time he went to win silver at 2023 Worlds.

Ryosuke Irie charged home, moving from 4th at the 50 (26.31) up into silver with a 27.74 split on the second 50. He had enough to get his hand on the wall ahead of Poland’s rising backstroker Ksawery Masiuk, who took third in 54.20.

Women’s 50 Breaststroke — Final

• World Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• World Cup Record: 30.23 — Eneli Jefimova, Estonia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 29.30 — Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Ruta Meilutyte (Lithuania) — 29.56 (World Cup record)
• SILVER: Eneli Jefimova (Estonia) — 30.35
• BRONZE: Dominika Sztandera (Poland) — 30.61

Yesterday, Meilutyte was out hard in the 100 breaststroke and paid for it coming home. There was no worry about that about fading on the back-half in today’s 50 breast. The newly-minted world record holder made a statement with her win here in Berlin, obliterating the World Cup record Jefimova set in prelims with a 29.56.

Meilutyte won the race handily; she was the only swimmer to break 30 seconds. Jefimova easily slid in for the silver medal, swimming 30.35. She was .13 seconds off the WC record that she swam in prelims, but it was still a solid swim for her given the amount of racing that she’s done this year.

Like in the 100 breast, Dominika Sztandera earned bronze. Her time of 30.61 gave Poland two bronze medals in back-to-back events.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke — Final

• World Record: 2:05.48 — Qin Haiyang, China (2023)
• World Cup Record: 2:07.59 — Anton Chupkov, Russia (2018)
• World Junior Record: 2:08.04 — Dong Zhihao, China (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Qin Haiyang (China) — 2:07.45 (World Cup record)
• SILVER: Dong Zhihao (China) — 2:08.60
• BRONZE: Caspar Corbeau (Netherlands) — 2:08.82

Qin Haiyang completed his Berlin triple crown, winning the 200 breaststroke in a new World Cup record of 2:07.45. It was Qin and McKeown who swam triple crowns at Worlds, becoming the first two swimmers to do so at a World Championships. Now, they’ve both done the same here in Berlin and each swam World Cup records in all three events.

It looked like Qin might take a run at his world record; he was a tenth under his pace at the halfway point, and on his third 50 looked to have half a body length on the projected line. He fell off his own pace at and after the final turn, but had established enough of a lead that he won by over a second.

His country-mate Dong Zhihao earned silver, just off the junior world record he swam in Fukuoka. Caspar Corbeau turned in a 2:08.82 for third, also touching just off his personal best of 2:08.42.

Women’s 100 Freestyle — Final

• World Record: 51.71 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
• World Cup Record: 52.34 — Cate Campbell, Australia (2019)
• World Junior Record: 52.70 — Penny Oleksiak, Canada (2016)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Siobhan Haughey (Hong Kong) — 52.02 (World Cup record)
• SILVER: Cate Campbell (Australia) — 53.26
• BRONZE: Sarah Sjostrom (Sweden) — 53.39

Siobhan Haughey just keeps getting better this fall. Less than two weeks removed from resetting her Asian record at Asian Games with a 52.17, Haughey crushed that time with a monster swim of 52.02. It’s a huge personal best for her–not only is it both a World Cup record and an Asian record, it makes her the #3 performer all-time, moving her up from 7th. Now, she’s behind only Sarah Sjostrom and Emma McKeon, who are the only two women in history to break 52 seconds.

Cate Campbell was close to Haughey at the halfway point, flipping in 25.23 to Haughey’s 25.18. Haughey powered away from her with a 26.94 back-half, but Campbell was able to hold on for silver ahead of Sarah Sjostrom. Campbell clocked 53.26, touching ahead of Sjostrom’s 53.39.

Men’s 200 Freestyle — Final

• World Record: 1:42.00 — Paul Biedermann, Germany (2009)
• World Cup Record: 1:44.38 — Danas Rapsys, Lithuania (2019)
• World Junior Record: 1:42.97 — David Popovici, Romania (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Danas Rapsys (Lithuania) — 1:45.75
• SILVER: Maximillian Guiliani (Australia) — 1:46.18
• BRONZE: Kieran Smith (United States) — 1:48.15

This time he was in lane 4 and not outside smoke in lane 8, but Danas Rapsys was still able to earn his second win of the weekend. He opened the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle, and now he takes the 200 freestyle to close out the weekend.

Rapsys led from start to finish, splitting 51.13/54.62 to earn the win in 1:45.75. He held off a late charge from World Cup newcomer Maximillian Guiliani. Guiliani outsplit Rapsys on the final 50, 27.05 to 27.24, but ran out of room to catch the Lithuanian and ended up in silver with a 1:46.18, .43 seconds behind Rapsys.

Kieran Smith rounded out the podium in third. He swam 1:48.15, finishing almost two seconds behind Guiliani.

Women’s 200 IM — Final

• World Record: 2:06.12 — Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2015)
• World Cup Record: 2:08.15 — Katinka Hosszu, Hungary (2019)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.89 — Summer McIntosh, Canada (2023)

PODIUM:

• GOLD: Kaylee McKeown (Australia) — 2:10.76
• SILVER: Sydney Pickrem (Canada) — 2:11.27
• BRONZE: Anastasia Gorbenko (Israel) — 2:11.71

Kaylee McKeown was clearly hurting coming down the stretch on the freestyle leg of the 200 IM. But, she was able to hold on against Sydney Pickrem and earn her second win of the session, consolidating herself as the women’s winner of the Berlin stop on the World Cup.

After flipping in 2nd at the halfway mark, McKeown took over the race on the breaststroke leg with a 37.27 split. Pickrem made her move on breaststroke as well, turning in a 36.94–fastest in the field–to move from 4th to 2nd with 50 meters to go. She outsplit McKeown on freestyle as well, 30.79 to 31.22, but McKeown had done her job on the first half of the race and grabbed her 4th win of the meet in 2:10.76.

Pickrem earned silver with a 2:11.27, ahead of Anastasia Gorbenko, who was  3rd in 2:11.71.