Elijah Winnington Misses 400 Free Final on Day 1 of the 2025 World Championships

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 
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In a surprise result, Australia’s Elijah Winnington is out of the final of the men’s 400 free at the 2025 World Championships. He posted a time of 3:46.37 to finish 10th during the prelims session today, with .49 separating him from 8th-place qualifier Marco de Tullio (3:45.88).

Winnington came into the meet as the #3 seed and one of the top contenders for a medal, having brought home the silver medal in the 400 free at the Paris Olympics last summer with a time of 3:42.21. He also recently posted a season-best time of 3:43.99 at the Australian Swimming Trials in June, which at the time marked the 5th-fastest performance in the world this season.

The 400 free was Winnington’s only individual event at the competition, so his individual campaign has ended much earlier than anticipated.

Winnington was not the only Olympic finalist to miss out on making it to the final of the 400 free; Brazil’s Guilherme Costa and China’s Fei Liwei, who took 5th and 6th respectively in Paris, are out of the top 8 as well.

Costa turned in a 3:48.94 to finish 22nd in prelims, adding over six seconds to his lifetime best (3:42.76) from the Olympics last summer. Fei, meanwhile, took 25th in 3:49.68 and added over five seconds to personal best (3:44.24).

As the competition continues over the next week, the pair will both see two more chances to make it to the top 8; Costa is set to race the 200 free and 800 free, while Fei will take on the 800 and 1500 free.