2025 World Junior Swimming Championships
- August 19-24, 2025
- Otopeni, Romania
- LCM (50 meters)
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The World Junior Swimming Championships wrapped up on August 24 in Otopeni, Romania.
Among the highlights, U.S. swimmer Rylee Erisman collected eight medals—more than any athlete in a single edition. China’s Yang Peiqi claimed four individual gold medals, a feat previously managed only by Ruta Meilutyte (2013), Mack Horton (2013), and Viktoria Zeynep Gunes (2015). Erisman and Italy’s Carlos D’Ambrosio, who earned seven medals, were named Swimmers of the Meet.
However, we can also evaluate each swimmer’s individual performance in their respective events. Below are the event winners and their position in the 2025 world rankings. If a swimmer’s fastest time occurred in the semifinals, that time is the one used.
Individual girls’ winners at the 2025 Junior Worlds and their corresponding world ranking
| Event | Winner | Time | World ranking | Age |
| 50 free | Rylee Erisman (USA) | 24.70 (24.69 semis) | 24 | 16 years, 146 days |
| 100 free | Rylee Erisman (USA) | 52.79 | 5 | 16 years, 143 days |
| 200 free | Yang Peiqi (CHN) | 1:56.25 | 19 | 18 years, 106 days |
| 400 free | Yang Peiqi (CHN) | 4:05.38 | 12 | 18 years, 104 days |
| 800 free | Yang Peiqi (CHN) | 8:22.93 | 11 | 18 years, 102 days |
| 1500 free | Yang Peiqi (CHN) | 16:08.37 | 13 | 18 years, 105 days |
| 50 fly | Zoe Pedersen (NZL) | 25.63 | 13 | 18 years, 128 days |
| 100 fly | Mizuki Hirai (JPN) | 56.87 | 11 | 18 years, 170 days |
| 200 fly | Audrey Derivaux (USA) | 2:07.57 | 16 | 16 years, 13 days |
| 50 back | Ainsley Trotter (AUS) | 27.88 | 31 | 17 years, 345 days |
| 100 back | Charlotte Crush (USA) | 59.52 (59.21 semis) | 24 | 17 years, 163 days |
| 200 back | Audrey Derivaux (USA) | 2:06.99 | 11 | 16 years, 14 days |
| 50 breast | Rachel McAlpin (USA) | 30.78 | 36 | 17 years, 274 days |
| 100 breast | Smilte Plytnykaite (LTU) | 1:06.86 | 22 | 18 years, 226 days |
| 50 fly | Zoe Pedersen (NZL) | 25.63 | 13 | 18 years, 128 days |
| 100 fly | Mizuki Hirai (JPN) | 56.87 | 11 | 18 years, 170 days |
| 200 fly | Audrey Derivaux (USA) | 2:07.57 | 16 | 16 years, 13 days |
| 200 breast | Sua Moon (KOR) | 2:24.77 | 21 | 16 years, 275 days |
| 200 IM | Audrey Derivaux (USA) | 2:10.58 | 22 | 16 years, 15 days |
| 400 IM | Agostina Hein (ARG) | 4:34.34 | 6 | 17 years, 117 days |
Individual boys’ winners at the 2025 Junior Worlds and their corresponding world rankings
| Event | Winner | Time | World ranking | Age |
| 50 free | Nikita Sheremet (UKR) | 21.99 (21.75 semis) | 19 | 18 years, 133 days |
| 100 free | Carlos D’Ambrosio (ITA) | 47.88 (47.86 semis) | 18 | 18 years, 200 days |
| 200 free | Carlos D’Ambrosio (ITA) | 1:45.15 | 12 | 18 years, 196 days |
| 400 free | Grigorii Vekovishchev (NAB) | 3:46.64 | 24 | 17 years, 85 days |
| 800 free | Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR) | 7:46.52 | 13 | 17 years, 356 days |
| 1500 free | Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR) | 14:48.81 | 11 | 17 years, 359 days |
| 50 back | Georgii Iakovlev (NAB) | 24.91 (24.58 semis) | 16 | 18 years, 28 days |
| 100 back | John Shortt (IRL) | 53.86 (53.80 semis) | 44 | 18 years, 194 days |
| 200 back | John Shortt (IRL) | 1:56.19 | 21 | 18 years, 198 days |
| 50 breast | Nusrat Allahverdi (TUR) | 26.98 | 24 | 17 years, 248 days |
| 100 breast | Filip Nowacki (GBR) | 59.20 | 14 | 17 years, 323 days |
| 200 breast | Filip Nowacki (GBR) | 2:07.32 | 3 | 17 years, 325 days |
| 50 fly | Dean Fearn (GBR) | 23.54 (23.36 semis) | 76 | 17 years, 194 days |
| 100 fly | Tajus Juska (LTU) | 51.83 | 50 | 16 years, 216 days |
| 200 fly | Kris Mihaylov (RSA) | 1:56.16 | 32 | 17 years, 290 days |
| 200 IM | Mikhail Shcherbakov (NAB) | 1:57.25 | 11 | 17 years, 92 days |
| 400 IM | Raito Numata (JPN) | 4:11.37 | 11 | 16 years, 291 days |
In this context, the greatest standout was Great Britain’s Filip Nowacki. In the boys’ 200 breaststroke, he claimed victory in 2:07.32, which is the third-fastest time in the world in 2025. Interestingly, the current World Junior Record holder, Japan’s Shin Ohashi, tops the season ranking with 2:06.91, though in Otopeni he finished a close second in 2:07.56. Their duel was so impressive that Nowacki’s time would have won gold at the senior World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where China’s Qin Haiyang won the title in 2:07.41, while Ohashi’s performance would have placed just behind Qin.
In the girls’ 100 freestyle, Erisman’s winning time of 52.79 ranks her fifth in the world for 2025 and would have earned her a bronze medal at the senior Worlds in Singapore. She finished just 0.09 seconds short of the World Junior Record set by Penny Oleksiak in 2016.
Argentina’s Agostina Hein won the girls’ 400 IM in 4:34.34, making her the sixth-fastest swimmer globally this year. Her time smashed the South American record of 4:37.51, set by Georgina Bardach in 2004 when she won the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics.
Interestingly, Hein’s time would have secured her the bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Only two other juniors achieved comparable Olympic-level results: Filip Nowacki and Shin Ohashi would both have stood on the podium in the 200 breaststroke in Paris.
The Championships witnessed two new World Junior Records— remarkable within the junior field, albeit less competitive in the senior global rankings:
- Ukraine’s Nikita Sheremet equaled the boys’ 50 freestyle junior world record with 21.75 seconds in the semifinals, matching Michael Andrew’s 2017 time and setting a Championship Record. He went on to win gold in 21.99 seconds. That junior record time places him 19th in the senior global rankings and would place him 8th at the Singapore Worlds.
- Germany’s Jan Grafe broke the junior world record in the 50 breaststroke with 26.95 in the heats and claimed silver. This time positions him 23rd in the senior rankings and would correspond to a 12th-place finish in Singapore.
