2025 World University Games
- July 17th-23rd, 2025
- Prelims: 9 a.m. local time (3 a.m. EST)
- Finals: 7 p.m. local time (1 p.m. EST)
- Berlin, Germany
- LCM (50 Meters)
- Meet Central
- Entries List
- Live Results
- Livestream
- Live Recaps
Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Final
- World Record: 3:08.24 – United States, 2008
- World Junior Record: 3:15.49 – United States, 2023
- World University Games Record: 3:10.88 – Russia, 2013
Top-8 Finishers:
- United States – 3:12.36 (GOLD)
- Japan – 3:14.19 (SILVER)
- Brazil – 3:15.02 (BRONZE)
- Italy – 3:15.21
- South Africa – 3:15.70
- Germany – 3:16.07
- Australia – 3:16.39
- Sweden – 3:19.59
The U.S. took their second gold medal of the night in the men’s 4×100 free and completed a relay sweep on Day 1. Although they were locked in a tight battle for the first 200 meters, they pulled away from the field in the second half and ended up winning by a comfortable 1.83 second margin. Lets dive in and take a look at the splits on each leg.
Leadoff Legs (Flat Start)
- Pieter Coetzee, South Africa – 47.88 (1)
- Matt King, USA – 48.00 (2)
- Takumi Mori, Japan- 49.11 (3)
- Lucas Peixoto, Brazil – 49.38 (4)
- Gabriel Gorgas, Australia – 49.48 (5)
- Charlie MacMillan, Sweden – 49.59 (6)
- Luca Serio, Italy – 49.63 (7)
- Moritz Schaller, Germany – 49.84 (8)
Pieter Coetzee was the only man to break 48 seconds on the leadoff leg, as he dipped under the barrier for the first time ever to go 47.88, just a tenth off the African record. He was out half a second slower than Matt King, 22.99 to 22.46, but stormed home in 24.89 to outtouch the Indiana sprinter by just over a tenth of a second as he split 48.00.
Those two were well clear of the rest of the field, with Japan’s Takumi Mori the next quickest with a time of 49.11.
2nd Legs (Flying Start)
- Takaki Hara, Japan – 47.70 (3)
- Kaique Alves, Brazil – 47.96 (4)
- Mitchell Schott, USA – 48.15 (1)
- Lorenzo Dato, Italy – 48.20 (5)
- Ruard van Renen, South Africa – 48.86 (2)
- Philipp Peschke, Germany – 48.97 (7)
- Stuart Swinburn, Australia – 49.11 (6)
- Elias Persson, Sweden – 49.86 (8)
Ruard van Renen maintained the lead for the first 50 of the second leg, but couldn’t live with Mitchell Schott’s back half of 25.17. Both swimmers are better known for other strokes, with van Renen an NCAA finalist in backstroke and Schott a force in the Ivy League in butterfly and IM. Schott took the lead by the end of the leg after a split of 48.15 to van Renen’s 48.86, although the South African had been out in 22.82.
However, neither of those two had the fastest split on this leg. Instead it was Japan’s Takaki Hara, who holds a best time of 48.99, scorching a 47.70 leg to cement Japan’s hold on 3rd. He hit halfway in a stunning 22.17 before closing in 25.53.
Both Brazil and Italy had strong splits as well, with Kaique Alves splitting sub-48 for the South Americans in 47.96, a second quicker than his best, and Lorenzo Dato going 48.20 for the Italians as they jumped from 7th to 5th.
3rd Legs (Flying Start)
- Ole Eidam, Germany – 48.26 (5)
- Owen McDonald, USA – 48.46 (1)
- Yuta Watanabe, Japan – 48.60 (2)
- Vinicius Assunção, Brazil – 48.63 (3)
- Giovanni Caserta, Italy – 48.66 (4)
- Erik Falk, Sweden – 49.65 (8)
- Thomas Nankervis, Australia – 50.07 (7)
- Arno Kruger, South Africa – 51.01 (6)
This leg was a little more reserved, with Ole Eidam giving Germany the fastest split in 48.26. He had the second-fastest swim of the semi finals in the 50 fly earlier in the evening, and backed it up by swimming three-quarters of a second under his best of 49.02 as he moved his team up two places through his leg. Owen McDonald and Yuta Watanabe held serve at the front, as four of the top five teams split within two-tenths of each other.
South Africa fell to 6th with a split of 51.01, falling out of contention after being in the hunt at halfway.
4th Legs (Flying Start)
- Marcus Da Silva, Australia – 47.73 (7)
- David King, USA – 47.75 (1)
- Guy Brooks, South Africa – 47.95 (5)
- Giovanni Guatti, Italy – 48.72 (4)
- Konosuke Yanagimoto, Japan – 48.78 (2)
- Bjoern Kammann, Germany – 49.00 (6)
- Pedro Souza, Brazil – 49.05 (3)
- Vidar Carlbaum, Sweden – 50.49 (8)
David King, better known as a backstroker both in meters and for Virginia in yards, delivered a huge split of 47.75 as the U.S. soared to gold. That is a full 1.2 seconds faster than his flat start time, and extended the margin of victory by more than a second over his leg. It was another NCAA standout that also broke 48 seconds as Louisville’s Guy Brooks split 47.95 to move South Africa into 5th, just 0.68 away from bronze.
Although Australia ended up in 7th, Marcus da Silva had the fastest anchor leg, and second-fastest flying split overall, with a swim of 47.73, 1.3 seconds under his best of 49.03. He could well be a key part of future Australian senior relays if he can replicate that form.
Notes
- The U.S. didn’t put out the lineup we might have expected, with Camden Taylor, Will Modglin and Daniel Diehl being left off. However, those decisions appear to be vindicated, especially so in the case of King. After a longer gap between U.S. Nationals and the major summer meets than in years past, the swimmers look like they have had the time needed to push on – all four swimmers here were faster than at U.S. nationals by some way. It could be a big week for some of the Team USA swimmers.
- South Africa look to have three-quarters of a top-tier relay right now, with Pieter Coetzee, Ruard van Renen and Guy Brooks all looking fantastic tonight. A stronger back half from van Renen and another 48-mid split (Kris Mihaylov?) and they could be in the hunt for the final at LA 2028 or even the 2027 World Championships. The Commonwealth Games next summer look to be an important stepping stone – if this spine can help put a team on the podium the momentum that builds could be rejuvenative for the 2004 Olympic champions.
- Japan has been overshadowed by China in this relay in recent years, but had some encouraging signs. Hara’s 47.7 split would slot straight into the senior team and improve it, and additional splits of 48.6 and 48.7 are a solid platform. Japan has had only one sub-48 split since 2019, Katsuhiro Matsumoto’s 47.97 at the Asian Games in 2023, and Hara could become a foundational piece if he can replicate this result.
Kinda cool that a different country had a the fastest leg and that the US who won be a huge margin didn’t have the fastest on any of the legs. That’s more common when you are a bit farther down on the national depth chart like this. It just makes it a fun to watch in a different way.