2025 World Junior Swimming Championships
- August 19-24, 2025
- Otopeni, Romania
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Meet Packet
- Team Leaders’ Guide
- SwimSwam Event Page
- SwimSwam Preview
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Recaps
BOYS’ 800 FREESTYLE – TIMED FINAL
- World Record: 7:32.12 – Zhang Lin, CHN (2009)
- World Junior Record: 7:43.37 – Lorenzo Galossi, ITA (2022)
- Championship Record: 7:55.92 – Evan Pinion, USA (2011)
- Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR), 7:46.52
- Kazushi Imafuku (JPN), 7:48.34
- Grigorii Vekovishchev (NAB), 7:50.04
- Aiden Hammer (USA), 7:51.68
- William Mulgrew (USA), 7:51.99
- Johannes Liebmann (GER), 7:54.83
- Chen Shengxin (CHN), 7:55.63
- Andrei-Thweodor Proca (ROU), 7:56.67
Kazushi Imafuku, who turned 18 in May, broke Shui Kurokawa‘s 4 year old national record of 7:49.55 in the 800 free to win silver at World Juniors behind Turkey’s Kuzey Tuncelli. His 7:48.33 marked his first time under the 7:50 barrier, as he entered the meet with a best of 7:50.01. This PB comes after not swimming the event at senior World Championships earlier this month, instead only swimming the 400 and 1500 frees, where he placed 19th and 15th, respectively.
This is not Imafuku’s first medal on the international stage however, as he was the Junior Pan Pac Champion last year in the 1500 free (14:59.97) and the silver medalist in the 800 free (7:53.99).
Splits Comparison:
| Distance | Imafuku | Split | Kurokawa | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50m | 27.48 | 27.48 | 26.15 | 26.15 |
| 100m | 56.48 | 29.00 | 55.00 | 28.85 |
| 150m | 1:25.89 | 29.41 | 1:24.65 | 29.65 |
| 200m | 1:55.41 | 29.52 | 1:54.14 | 29.49 |
| 250m | 2:25.09 | 29.68 | 2:23.88 | 29.74 |
| 300m | 2:54.66 | 29.57 | 2:53.70 | 29.82 |
| 350m | 3:24.44 | 29.78 | 3:23.45 | 29.75 |
| 400m | 3:54.01 | 29.57 | 3:53.18 | 29.73 |
| 450m | 4:23.85 | 29.84 | 4:22.87 | 29.69 |
| 500m | 4:53.43 | 29.58 | 4:52.69 | 29.82 |
| 550m | 5:23.22 | 29.79 | 5:22.66 | 29.97 |
| 600m | 5:52.96 | 29.74 | 5:52.67 | 30.01 |
| 650m | 6:22.48 | 29.52 | 6:22.71 | 30.04 |
| 700m | 6:51.75 | 29.27 | 6:52.44 | 29.73 |
| 750m | 7:21.21 | 29.46 | 7:21.81 | 29.37 |
| 800m | 7:48.34 | 27.13 | 7:49.55 | 27.74 |
Though Kurokawa was out nearly a second and a half faster, Imafuku slowly inched his way towards the record. He never broke 30 seconds throughout his swim, then finally got underneath the record splits with just 150m to go. He then dropped the hammer, closing in 27.13—over half a second quicker than Kurokawa’s 27.74.
Imafuku has spent the year rewriting Japan’s record books, as this marks his 3rd national record in just 5 months. He broke the short course (14:23.26) and long course (14:50.18) record in the 1500 free in March, just a week apart. The short course record came during the National Japanese Spring Championships, while the long course came from the Japan National Championships.
Earlier this week, Imafuku swam a 3:48.33 in the 400 free for 6th, which was just off his PB of 3:47.77. The final event on his schedule is arguably his strongest; the 1500 takes place on Sunday, the final day of these championships.
Big heart on this guy and definitely agree the 1500 probably his best distance. I am guessing a battle royal between he and Tuncelli this Sunday (at least, that’s what I am hoping for anyway). Get after it K.
What a name
The Kid got attention in the World Cups (short course) in Seoul/Singapore.
Tuncelli was NOT trying to get caught by this guy