2025 World Championships
- July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
- Singapore, Singapore
- World Aquatics Championships Arena
- LCM (50m)
- Meet Central
- How To Watch
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Entry Book
- Live Results
- Live Recaps
Men’s 50 Fly – Semifinals
- World Record: 22.27 – Andriy Govorov, Ukraine (2018)
- World Junior Record: 22.96 – Diogo Ribeiro, Portugal (2022)
- World Championships Record: 22.35 – Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
- 2023 World Champion: Thomas Ceccon, Italy (22.68)
Top 8 Qualifiers:
- Maxime Grousset (FRA) – 22.61 *French Record*
- Noe Ponti (SUI) – 22.72
- Ben Proud (GBR) – 22.74 *British Record*
- Nyls Korstanje (NED) – 22.79
- Diogo Ribeiro (POR) – 22.83
- Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 22.84
- Gui Caribe (BRA) & Luca Armbruster (GER) – 22.91
- –
The Greek, Austrian, German, British, and French records all fell in the men’s 50 butterfly semifinals, with multiple 22-point swims failing to make the final.
26-year-old Maxime Grousset took the top seed in 22.61, clipping his previous French record of 22.70 set at last month’s French Elite Championships. He finished 0.11 seconds ahead of short course world record holder Noe Ponti, with 2017 world champion Ben Proud of Great Britain qualifying third.
Grousset, the 2023 world champion in the 100 fly, moves from 10th to 5th on the all-time performer list. He placed 9th in this event at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest (23.10), then rose to bronze in 2023 at 22.82. Now, he looks primed to challenge for gold tomorrow night, with Ponti shaping up to be his biggest threat.
Updated Top 10 Performer Rankings:
- Andrii Govorov, Ukraine – 22.27 (2018)
- Caeleb Dressel, USA – 22.35 (2019)
- Rafa Munoz, Spain – 22.43 (2009)
- Nicholas Santos, Brazil – 22.60 (2023)
- Maxime Grousset, France — 22.70 (2025) *NEW*
- Oleg Kostin, Russia – 22.62 (2023)
- Noe Ponti, Switzerland – 22.65 (2024)
- Milorad Cavic, Serbia – 22.67 (2009)
- (TIE) Thomas Ceccon, Italy – 22.68 (2024) & Ilya Kharun, Canada — 22.68 (2025)
- N/A
Ponti has been as fast as 22.65, set last year, so he’s within striking distance of that standard. He finished 13th at both the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, posting 23.29 in 2022 and 23.26 in 2023.
For Proud, his swim tonight marked his first personal best in the event since 2017, when he won the world title. That remains the only time the 50 freestyle specialist has medaled in the 50 fly, but that could change tomorrow. Regardless, it bodes well for his upcoming showdown in the 50 free with Cameron McEvoy later this week. At the Paris Olympics, Proud was narrowly out-touched by McEvoy, the reigning world champion, for gold by just 0.05 seconds.
The Netherlands’ Nyls Korstanje clocked 22.79 to move through to the final in fourth, just shy of his 22.72 national record from May. He’ll be aiming for his first individual Worlds medal after earning relay silver in 2024 and bronze in 2022. In this event, he placed 9th at the 2024 Worlds (23.25), 12th in 2023 (23.23), and 10th in 2022 (23.14).
World junior record holder and reigning world champion Diogo Ribeiro nearly matched his lifetime best of 22.80, touching in 22.83. Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, the 2023 world champion, also advanced safely in 22.83, just off his best of 22.68.
Seven of the eight finalists for tomorrow are European, with Brazil’s Gui Caribe the lone non-European in the field. Better known for his 50 and 100 free, Caribe dipped under his April career best of 22.95, hitting 22.91. He advanced in 7th, just ahead of Germany’s Luca Armbruster (22.91), who trimmed 0.01 off his national record from May.
The biggest miss came in 9th, as Canadian Ilya Kharun added slightly to his heats swim and finished just outside the final by one-hundredth, logging 22.92. Both Americans missed the cut, with Dare Rose placing 12th and Michael Andrew 16th. Neither swimmer broke the 23-second barrier, and both own a best time of 22.79.
Canadian Josh Liendo took more time off his personal best, notching 23.11, but did not advance and finished 13th.
Austria’s Simon Bucher (22.95) and Greece’s Stergios Marios Bilas (23.00) also missed the final, finishing 10th and 11th respectively. However, both broke their own national records. Bucher dropped exactly a tenth from the 23.05 he set at the 2023 Worlds, while Bilas edged under the 23.04 he posted earlier today in prelims.
