2024 SC Worlds Previews: Competitive Field In Men’s Breaststroke Events Despite Absences

2024 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• December 10-15, 2024
• Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
• SCM (25m)
• Meet Central
• Roster Index
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

As with many of the events at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, the men’s breaststroke events are not without notable absences. Only one Paris Olympic breaststroke medalist—200 breast bronze medalist Caspar Corbeau—is in this field.

50 Breast Preview

• World Record: 24.95 — Emre Sakci, Turkey (2021)
• Championship Record: 25.38 — Nic Fink, United States (2022)
• 2022 SC World Champion: Nic Fink, United States — 25.38
• Returning 2022 Short Course Worlds Finalists: Simone Cerasuolo, Qin Haiyang, Michael Andrew, Emre Sakci

World record holder Emre Sakci will take to the block in Budapest, but the person to start with here is Qin Haiyang. He didn’t match his incredible 2023 long-course World Cup performance —where he went 12-for-12 in the breaststroke events—at this year’s short-course meters World Cup circuit, but he was still able to claim the 50 breaststroke Triple Crown in a reasonably competitive field. The bulk of that field will be in Budapest as well—the men’s breaststroke races could turn out to be some of the most competitive events of the championships.

Qin’s fastest 50 breaststroke of the season came at the first World Cup stop in Shanghai, where he swam an Asian record of 25.38. His swims fluctuated after that—he won with a 25.76 in Incheon and a 25.47 in Singapore. Still, he’s one of only a handful of swimmers under 26 seconds already this season, and his Triple Crown gives him arguably the most momentum heading into the meet. He had a disappointing Olympics after a sensational 2023, so we’ll see if he can end 2024 on a high note.

Ilya Shymanovich was one of Qin’s main challengers on the World Cup circuit. Like Qin, he swam his fastest 50 breaststroke of the season in Shanghai (25.51) but has been as fast as 25.25. His swim in Shanghai is his fastest since 2021, which is a strong sign for him heading into these championships as he looks to snap the winning streak Qin is building.

2022 bronze medalist Simone Cerasuolo has also broken 26 seconds this season. He still owns the world junior record in this event (25.85), but his lifetime best is now a 25.66 from his bronze medal effort in Melbourne. He’s gotten close to that standard already this season, clocking a 25.79.

Kirill Prigoda holds the short-course meter 200 breaststroke world record, but he should be a factor in the 50 breaststroke as well, as he returns to international competition as a neutral athlete. Prigoda’s season-best is 25.65, making him one of the fastest men in the field this season as he’s one of five sub-26 second swimmers. His lifetime best is a 25.49, and he’ll be a medal contender in all three distance races. Ludovico Viberti joined the sub-26 club for the first time this season. Last month, he swam a lifetime-best 25.88, vaulting himself into the medal conversation after only swimming 26.58 heading into the meet. In 2022, Italian teammates Nicolo Martinenghi and Cerasuolo won silver and bronze, and Viberti’s recent breakthrough helped make defending two steps on the podium possible.

Caspar Corbeau, Joshua Yong, and Taku Taniguchi have all swum lifetime bests this season as well. The 23-year-old Taniguchi now has the fastest personal best of the three after swimming 26.02 at Japan’s National Championships in October. Based on the in-season swims out there already, it will take more than just breaking 26 seconds to get involved in the medal conversation, but he’s got a strong shot at the final. Corbeau and Yong do as well after swimming lifetime bests of 26.15 and 26.34 during the World Cup. Both find their groove more in the longer breaststroke races, but you shouldn’t overlook them.

Germany’s breaststroke duo of Lucas Matzerath and Melvin Imoudu both have 26.50 as their lifetime best. Matzerath’s comes from 2021, while Imoudou swam his time on Dec. 1. The pair made the 100 breaststroke Olympic final in Paris, and that’s the event where they may be more of a factor, but in a discipline that’s missing so many of it’s biggest stars, it’s names like theirs that you should keep an eye on to take advantage of the opportunity on the table in Budapest.

And let’s not forget about Michael Andrew. His lifetime best sits at 25.81, and he’s already clocked 26.22 this season. Andrew pulled out of the World Cup early due to illness and has also made a training change this fall, trading California for Arizona as he’s joined Herbie Behm and the Sun Devils. This will be an important data point for Andrew and his new coaches as he sets up for the next Olympic quad.

SwimSwam’s Top Four Picks: 

100 Breast Preview

• World Record: 55.28 — Ilya Shymanovich, Belarus (2021)
• Championship Record: 55.70 — Ilya Shymanovich, Belarus (2021)
• 2022 SC World Champion: Nick Fink, United States — 55.88
• Returning 2022 Short Course Worlds Finalists: Qin Haiyang, Simone Cerasuolo, Luas Matzerath
• 2024 Olympic Finalists in the Field: Melvin Imoudu, Lucas Matzerath, Qin Haiyang, Caspar Corbeau

On paper, the men’s 100 breaststroke draws up similarly to the 50 breaststroke. Qin leads the field this season with an Asian record of 55.61 he swam to win the Singapore stop of the World Cup. Per USA Swimming, that time ties him for the fourth all-time performer in the event.

Only one of the three men listed ahead of him is in this field—world record holder Shymanovich. Shymanovich set the world record back during the 2021 ISL season at 55.28, breaking Adam Peaty’s standard of 55.41 by .13 seconds. In his head-to-heads with Qin during the World Cup, he got the better of him in Incheon. However, his season best comes from Singapore, where he swam 55.72. Like the World Cup races, this promises to be another exciting matchup between these two swimmers—though other swimmers are hoping to make this more than just a two-man race.

On paper, it looks like Prigoda is the third man in this race’s equation. He’s the only other swimmer besides Qin and Shymanovich to break 56 seconds this season, posting a lifetime best of 55.95 in November. It was his first time breaking that time barrier; his previous best stood at 56.02 from 2017. Sakci’s broken that barrier before as well (55.74) and will presumably be faster in Budapest than his 59.53 season-best.

Other medal and final contenders from the 50 breaststroke carry over to the 100 breaststroke as well. Cerasuolo and Matzerath were both part of this final in Melbourne. Cerasuolo finished sixth two years ago and recently swam a lifetime best 56.28. Matzerath finished just behind Cerasuolo in seventh. His lifetime best is 57.04 from the semifinal. Like Sakci, we know he’s capable of more than his current season best, which stands at 58.52.

Along with his 50-breaststroke swim, Taniguchi hit a 100-breaststroke lifetime best at the Japan National Championships. He clocked 56.27, which puts him directly in the middle of the conversation for the final.

Again, Corbeau and Yong have also swum lifetime bests this season. Corbeau clocked 56.59 in Incheon, while Yong’s 56.66 from Shanghai marked a new Oceanian record. After making the 200 breaststroke final at the Olympics, Yong has hit the ground running this season and could continue to make noise in Budapest. Both swimmers made the semifinals in 2022, as did 2024 entrants Caio Pumputis, Sakci, and Bernhard Reitshammer.

Aleksandr Zhigalov has also popped a 56-point lifetime best this season, swimming 56.58 at the Russian National SC Championships, which puts him right in there with Corbeau and Yong.

Andrew is seeded further down the psych sheet with a long-course time, though his short-course meters lifetime best stands at 57.24. Other athletes lurking down the psych sheet with long-course times are Denis Petrashov and Finlay Knox. Knox is much more known for his 1M skills but is taking on some secondary events at these championships.

SwimSwam Top Four Picks:

200 Breast Preview

• World Record: 2:00.16 — Kirill Prigoda, Russia (2018)
• Championship Record: 2:00.16 — Kirill Prigoda, Russia (2018)
• 2022 SC World Champion: Daiya Seto, Japan — 2:00.35
• Returning 2022 Short Course Worlds Finalists: Daiya Seto, Qin Haiyang, Erik Persson, Caio Pumputis
• 2024 Olympic Finalists in the Field: Caspar Corbeau, Joshua Yong

Arguably, the fight for a spot in the 200 breaststroke final is less intense than in the 50 or 100 breaststroke. However, there should be a major addition—Daiya Seto. At the 2022 Short Course World Championships, Seto put a serious scare into Prigoda’s world record, blazing a 2:00.35 for gold. According to USA Swimming, that makes Seto the second-fastest performer in event history, .19 seconds behind Prigoda’s 2:00.16 from the 2018 Short Course World Championships.

Unfortunately, the excitement of the head-to-head between the #1 and #2 swimmer in event history has been dulled by Seto’s injury. He cracked a rib shortly before the meet, and while he is in Budapest and there’s video of him doing dryland on social media, it’s hard to know exactly what he’s going to be capable of this week. Will he be able to swim, and if he does, will he be healthy enough to contend for a final lane or a medal? Only time will tell, though with the 200 breaststroke falling on Friday, Dec. 13, we should have a good idea of what Seto’s able to do by this point in the meet.

With Seto’s status in doubt, Prigoda is the clear favorite. He’s the world record holder and has already shown solid form this season with a 2:01.85 (his fastest swim since 2020) in November, which puts him second on the psych sheet behind newly minted Oceanian record holder Yong. The 23-year-old Australian has continued to rise on the international breaststroke scene since making the 200-breast Olympic final, highlighted by winning the event at the Shanghai World Cup stop. He’s made himself a strong podium contender this season and could have more in store for Budapest.

Corbeau is the other Paris Olympic finalist in this field. He won bronze at the Games for the first Olympic medal of his career. He’s had a busy year; he competed at the 2024 Doha World Championships (and won silver in the long-course 200 breaststroke) before the Olympics, so this will be his second Worlds of the year. He’s excelled with such a busy calendar and ended his World Cup tour by winning the 200 breast in Singapore with a lifetime best 2:02.33.

Corbeau will likely need another lifetime best to climb onto the podium in Budapest, as there are several more swimmers with career bests in the 2:01 range. Qin owns a lifetime best of 2:01.15 from 2018 and has swum 2:01.92 from the Shanghai World Cup. Zhigalov’s been a hundredth faster this season, hitting a lifetime best of 2:01.91 at the Russian National Championships. Shymanovich’s been as fast as 2:01.73, though he’s sitting further back in the season-best rankings with a 2:03.19.

After swimming a lifetime best 2:02.97 this season, Yamato Fukasawa is another swimmer to keep an eye on, as is returning Short Course Worlds finalist Erik Persson. His lifetime best is 2:02.18.

Finally, Canadian teenager Oliver Dawson had a breakout in long-course this season and recently committed to Indiana. The 200 breaststroke specialist broke onto the Canadian national scene at the Canadian Olympic Trials, taking huge chunks out of his lifetime best, then ended his summer with a medal at Junior Pan Pacs. If he can make similar drops in short-course meters, he’s a strong dark horse pick for the final, at least.

SwimSwam’s Top Four Picks: