WATCH: Team USA Dominates Both 4×100 Free Relays At WUGs (Day 1 Race Videos)

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
  • Prelims: Day 1

Missed the opening night of the 2025 World University Games? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Full race videos of the finals are available on FISU’s YouTube channel. Semifinal footage is not currently available.

Men’s 400 Freestyle – Final

• World Record: 3:39.96 – Lukas Märtens (GER), 2025
• World Junior Record: 3:44.31 – Petar Mitsin (BGR), 2023
• World University Games Record: 3:45.96 – Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR), 2017

Top-8 Finishers:

1. Nikolai Kolesnikov (AIN) – 3:46.66 (GOLD)
2. Khiew Hoe Yean (MAS) – 3:47.38 (SILVER) *Malaysian National Record*
3. Ryan Erisman (USA) – 3:47.52 (BRONZE)
4. Davide Marchello (ITA) – 3:47.88
5. Eduardo Oliveira De Moraes (BRA) – 3:47.97
6. Leonardo Barbieri Alcantara (BRA) – 3:49.96
7. Alec Enyeart (USA) – 3:50.06
8. Kyo Nakayama (JPN) – 3:52.45

American Cal commit Ryan Erisman burst out to an early lead, splitting 26.01 through the first 50 and maintaining that lead through the 100 in 54.47. Russian native Nikolai Kolesnikov, competing as a Neutral Athlete, was close behind in 54.54, with Team USA’s Alec Enyeart third at 54.59.

Kolesnikov took over the lead at the 150-meter mark with a 28.70 split, while Erisman slipped into the 29-second range. Kolesnikov continued to pull ahead from there, hitting the 200 turn in 1:52.02 to Erisman’s 1:52.41. By the 250, Brazil’s Eduardo Oliveira De Moraes made a big move, clocking a 28.31 split to turn just a tenth behind Kolesnikov—and he surged into the lead over the next 100.

Heading into the final 50, Kolesnikov found another gear, firing off a strong kick to retake the lead and win gold in 3:46.66, closing in 27.87. Malaysia’s Khiew Hoe Yean (3:47.38) rocketed home with a 27.38 split to climb from 4th to 2nd, while De Moraes faded badly, tightening up to a 29.21 finish and falling to 5th. Erisman held strong to grab bronze in 3:47.38, just ahead of Italy’s Davide Marchello, who finished fourth in 3:47.52 with a strong final 50, similar to Hoe Yean.

Hoe Yean’s swim is historic, as he becomes the second Malaysian swimmer to win a medal at the World University Games (Jeffrey Ong became the first in 1991). Hoe Yean also shattered his own national record of 3:48.36 by nearly a full second.

Erisman was well off his 3:46.01 17-18 National Age Group record from U.S. Nationals last month, where he narrowly missed a spot on the World Championship team behind 2nd-place finisher Luka Mijatovic.

Women’s 50 Butterfly – Semifinals

• World Record: 24.43 – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2014
• World Junior Record: 25.46 – Rikako Ikee (JPN), 2017
• World University Games Record: 25.20 – Zhang Yufei (CHN), 2023

Advancing to Final:

1. Caroline Larsen (USA) – 26.06
2. Viola Scotto Di Carlo (ITA) – 26.16
3. Daryna Nabojcenko (CZE) – 26.24
4. Josephine Crimmins (AUS) – 26.27
5. Ella Welch (USA) – 26.48
6. Kalia Antoniou (CYP) – 26.51 *Cypriot National Record*
7. Ciara Schlosshan (GBR) – 26.55
8. Julia Ullmann (SUI) – 26.55

Team USA’s Caroline Larsen had an exceptional swim in the women’s 50 butterfly semifinals, touching in 26.06 to win the second heat and qualify first overall for tomorrow’s championship final. The time marked a significant personal best, undercutting the 26.24 she posted at U.S. Nationals last month, where she placed 5th overall. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native recently wrapped up her freshman season at Louisville and is also set to feature on the American 4×100 freestyle relay later in the session.

Viola Scotto Di Carlo of Italy, who finished 2nd to Larsen in semifinal two, qualified second overall with a time of 26.16. That swim was just off her 25.89 career best from the Sette Colli meet late last month — a time that, if matched, could be enough to earn her gold tomorrow.

Czech swimmer Daryna Nabojcenko clocked 26.24 to win semifinal one, securing the 3rd seed for the final. She swam 25.90 just a few weeks ago at the European U23 Championships, which stands as both her personal best and the Czech national record. Like Scotto Di Carlo, Nabojcenko will be a serious gold medal threat if she can dip back under the 26-second threshold.

Australian Josephine Crimmins had herself a swim, logging her second best time of the day with a 26.27. That followed her 26.33 from prelims, which was a two-tenth drop from her previous best of 26.58 set in April.

American Ella Welch, a training partner of Larsen’s at Louisville, came close to her lifetime best of 26.41, notching 26.48 to qualify 5th.

Men’s 50 Butterfly – Semifinals

• World Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2018
• World Junior Record: 22.96 – Diogo Ribeiro (POR), 2022
• World University Games Record: 22.90 – Andrii Govorov (UKR), 2017

Advancing to Final:

1. Simone Stefani (ITA) – 23.23
2. Ole Mats Eidam (GER) – 23.24
3. Eldorbek Usmonov (UZB) – 23.31 *Uzbekistan National Record*
4. Lorenzo Gargani (ITA) – 23.36
5. Pawel Uryniuk (POL) – 23.63
6. Matthew Klinge (USA) & Bjoern Kammann (GER) – 23.67
7. N/A
8. Ihor Troianovskyi (UKR) – 23.71

An exciting battle is brewing for the men’s 50 butterfly as the top four are separated by just 0.13 heading into the final.

Italian Simone Stefani leads the way with his 23.23 winning performance from the second semifinal. Germany’s Ole Mats Eidam sits just one hundredth behind in 23.24, also posted in that same semifinal heat, while Stefani’s Italian teammate Lorenzo Gargani hit 23.36 for 3rd in the heat and 4th overall.

The first semifinal was won by Uzbekistan’s Eldorbek Usmonov in 23.31. He won the heat by over three tenths, and it looks like the three medals will likely come from these four swimmers tomorrow. He lowered his own national record of 23.41 by exactly a tenth.

The 25-year-old Stefani crushed his previous best of 23.59 from the Setti Colli meet last month, with Eidam shattering his 2024 lifetime best of 23.77 as well. Gargani clipped his 2022 best time of 23.38 by two hundredths.

Women’s 200 Backstroke – Semifinals

• World Record: 2:03.14 – Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2023
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 – Regan Smith (USA), 2019
• World University Games Record: 2:07.91 – Lisa Bratton (USA), 2019

Advancing to Final:

1. Leah Shackley (USA) – 2:06.93 *World University Games Record*
2. Kennedy Noble (USA) – 2:06.97
3. Camila Rebelo (POR) – 2:09.50
4. Delia Lloyd (CAN) – 2:10.10
5. Lee Eunji (KOR) – 2:10.45
6. Hannah Pearse (RSA) – 2:10.45
7. Adela Piskorska (POL) – 2:10.85
8. Sum Yuet Cindy Cheung (HKG) – 2:11.08

American teammates Leah Shackley and Kennedy Noble dominated the women’s 200 backstroke semifinals, finishing 1st and 2nd in semi two with times of 2:06.93 and 2:06.97, respectively. Shackley’s time set a new World University Games record and solidified her status as the favorite to win this event and potentially sweep all three backstroke races. The NC State freshman recently posted a personal best of 2:06.66 at U.S. Nationals last month. She finished 3rd overall there and narrowly missed the World Championships team by about a second.

Noble, who owns a career best of 2:06.54 from the 2023 U.S. Nationals, crushed her season best with this swim. She had placed fifth at the U.S. Nationals last month in 2:08.04.

Shackley edged Noble after the first 50, 29.74 to 29.75. Noble then took the lead at 100 meters, turning at 1:01.48, (31.73) compared to Shackley’s 1:01.70 (31.96). Shackley fought back on the third 50, splitting 32.61 to Noble’s 32.63, but Noble held a slim lead at 1:34.11 to Shackley’s 1:34.31. Shackley closed strongly with a 32.62 final split compared to Noble’s 32.86 to narrowly out-touch her teammate.

Canada’s Delia Lloyd was 3rd in semi #1, logging 2:10.10 to advance 4th overall. The Ohio State swimmer crushed her prior best time of 2:11.15.

In semifinal one, Portugal’s Camila Rodrigues Rebelo won the race with a 2:09.50, the only sub-2:10 swim in that semifinal. The 22-year-old pushed close to her own national record of 2:08.95 from the 2024 European Championships, aiming for both a medal and possibly that record in tomorrow’s final. South Korea’s 18-year-old Lee Eunji (2:10.29) and Poland’s 21-year-old Adela Piskorska (2:10.85) also advanced from the first semifinal. Lee holds the South Korean record at 2:08.81, while Piskorska’s best is 2:09.40.

While Noble may challenge Shackley’s hopes of sweeping the backstroke events, an American 1-2 finish in the final seems all but certain.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke – Semifinals

• World Record: 56.88 – Adam Peaty (GBR), 2019
• World Junior Record: 59.01 – Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA), 2017
• World University Games Record: 58.42 – Qin Haiyang (CHN), 2023

Advancing to Final:

1. Dawid Wiekiera (Poland) – 59.88
2. Nate Germonprez (USA) – 59.96
3. Benjamin Delmar (USA) – 1:00.07
4. Alessandro Fusco (ITA) – 1:00.20
5. Denis Petrashov (KGZ) – 1:00.27
6. Carl Kaci (FRA) – 1:00.47
7. Nicholas Cheung (HKG) – 1:00.50
8. Ivo Kroes (NED) – 1:00.53

Poland’s Dawid Wiekiera emerged as the top qualifier for tomorrow’s men’s 100 breaststroke final, touching the wall in 59.88 from the faster second semifinal. The Polish swimmer will be flanked by two Americans in the middle of the pool, with Nate Germonprez (59.96) and Benjamin Delmar (1:00.07) securing the second and third seeds.

Germonprez, who swims for Texas, broke the minute barrier for the second time in his career tonight, just missing his 59.89 from U.S. Nationals last month where he finished 3rd. North Carolina’s Delmar has been on a tear this meet, breaking 1:01 for the first time in prelims earlier today with a 1:00.72 and nearly breaking into the 59-second realm tonight.

Don’t sleep on Italy’s Alessandro Fusco, who posted a lifetime best of 59.96 in this morning’s prelims before clocking 1:00.20 in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan’s Denis Petrashov can’t be discounted for tomorrow’s final with his season best of 59.23 set at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series in May, making him a serious gold threat despite his 5th-place semifinal showing (1:00.27).

France’s Carl Kaci (1:00.47) and Hong Kong’s Nicholas Cheung (1:00.50) also advanced, with the Netherlands’ Ivo Kroes (1:00.53) rounding out the eight-man final. Cheung’s time represented a new Hong Kong national record. You can read more about the swim here.

Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay – Final

• World Record: 3:27.96 – Australia, 2023
• World Junior Record: 3:36.19 – Canada, 2017
• World University Games Record: 3:37.51 – China, 2023

Top-8 Finishers:

1. United States – 3:36.21 (GOLD)
2. China – 3:38.70 (SILVER)
3. Italy – 3:39.86 (BRONZE)
4. Japan – 3:42.55
5. Spain – 3:43.67
6. Canada & South Africa – 3:44.18
7. N/A
8. Chinese Taipei – 3:46.77

Team USA dominated the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay, leading from the very first stroke and never relinquishing it.

Maxine Parker, a World Championships silver medalist in this relay back in 2023, led the squad off in 54.28. Though well off her season-best 53.56 posted at U.S. Nationals for 7th, as well as her best time of 53.51, it gave her team the lead by nearly a full second.

Caroline Larsen handled duties over the second leg, splitting 54.16 to follow up her 50 fly earlier in the session where she advanced first into tomorrow’s final. Julia Dennis (54.01) and Isabel Ivey (53.76) swam the final two legs to help the Americans hit a time of 3:36.21, breaking the World University Games meet record by over a second and winning the race by 2.5 seconds.

China picked up the silver medal, largely due to Ai Yanhan‘s 53.38 anchor leg split, the fastest in the field. Italy safely nabbed bronze by over three seconds, with Federica Toma‘s 54.57 third leg split the fastest from their quartet.

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:

1. United States – 3:12.36 (GOLD)
2. Japan – 3:14.19 (SILVER)
3. Brazil – 3:15.02 (BRONZE)
4. Italy – 3:15.21
5. South Africa – 3:15.70
6. Germany – 3:16.07
7. Australia – 3:16.39
8. Sweden – 3:19.59