NBC Sports’ Swimming World Championships Week Begins on May 18th

Following their “Olympics week(s)” earlier in the coronavirus pandemic, NBC Sports will now launch “2019 World Championships Week – Swimming” where they’ll re-air over 50 hours of coverage of the 2019 World Aquatics Championships throughout the week.

The move is part of NBC’s attempts to deal with the lack of live programming that is plaguing sports networks across the country and world.

The event will feature Dan Hicks introducing coverage and full replays of sessions from the most recent World Championships, focused on semi-finals and finals coverage.

Coverage begins Monday, May 18 at 8:00 PM Eastern, concluding with a 15-hour marathon on Saturday, May 23rd and Sunday, May 24th.

In future weeks, NBC Sports will do the same with gymnastics (week of May 25) and diving (week of June 1).

Among the top storylines of the meet:

• Caeleb Dressel becoming the first swimmer to win 8 gold medals at a World Championship meet
• Regan Smith‘s international breakthrough, which included World Records in the 100 back, 200 back, and as part of the American 400 medley relay.
• Adam Peaty becoming the first man to flat-start sub-57 in the 100 breaststroke (56.88 in the semi-finals).
• Kristof Milak taking out Michael Phelps’ vaunted World Record in the 200 fly.
• Matthew Wilson tying the World Record in the 200 breaststroke in the semi-finals, and then Anton Chupkov crushing it in finals.
• Mack Horton (400 free) and Duncan Scott (200 free) podium protests of Chinese swimmer Sun Yang‘s presence at the meet.
• Katie Ledecky getting sick, having to pull out of the 1500 free and 200 free, and then fighting back to win the 800 free.
• The Australian women with an upset in the 800 free relay, breaking an unexpected World Record.
• Federica Pellegrini winning her second-straight World Championship in the 200 free, which marked her record 8th-straight podium in that event.

Complete Schedule and day-by-day breakdown below

MONDAY, MAY 18 – 2019 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 1 & 2 SEMIFINALS & FINALS

On the opening day of competition, Ledecky placed second in the 400m freestyle final, and Dressel and five-time Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian led the U.S. men to victory in the 4x100m free relay. Dressel won the 50m fly (a non-Olympic event), claiming his first individual title of the 2019 World Championships.

Monday’s coverage from Gwangju is highlighted by strong performances by international swimmers such as Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu and Great Britain’s Adam Peaty.

TUESDAY, MAY 19 – 2019 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 3 & 4 SEMIFINALS & FINALS

King won her second consecutive world title in the women’s 100m breaststroke on the third day of competition, besting rival Yulia Efimova of Russia.

On day four, American swimmers had several strong showings in semifinals: Dressel posted the fastest time in the men’s 100m freestyle semifinals; Hali Flickinger and Katie Drabot were the top two qualifiers to the women’s 200m butterfly final; and defending world champion Chase Kalisz had the fourth-fastest time in the men’s 200m individual medley. 19-year-old Kristof Milak of Hungary won the men’s 200m butterfly with a time of 1:50.73, breaking Michael Phelps’ world record.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 – 2019 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 5 & 6 SEMIFINALS & FINALS

On the fifth day of competition, Dressel broke his own American record in the men’s 100m freestyle with a time of 46.96 seconds, winning his third world title of the competition, and Ledecky returned to the pool in the 4x200m freestyle relay after scratching from two events earlier in the week. Americans won four additional medals on day five: Flickinger (silver) and Drabot (bronze) in the women’s 200m butterfly, Kalisz (bronze) in the men’s 200m individual medley, and Olivia Smoliga (gold) also broke her own an American record in the women’s 50m backstroke, a non-Olympic event.

On day six, Dressel broke Phelps’ 10-year world record in the men’s 100m fly semifinals by finishing in 49.50 seconds, and also placed as the top qualifier in the men’s 50m freestyle semifinals. Manuel won her second straight world title in the women’s 100m freestyle, setting an American record with a time of 52.04 seconds, and became the second swimmer to win multiple world titles in the event. In the women’s 200m backstroke semifinals, Regan Smith broke Missy Franklin’s world record with a time of 2:03.35, while Murphy picked up a silver medal in the men’s 200m backstroke finals.

THURSDAY, MAY 21 – 2019 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 7 & 8 SEMIFINALS & FINALS

Ledecky, after dealing with an illness all week, won her fourth consecutive world title in the women’s 800m freestyle in dramatic fashion, surging ahead in the final 50m to capture the gold. Ledecky became the only woman to win four career gold medals in the 800m freestyle. Dressel, who won three gold medals on day seven to bring his total to six for the week, became the first swimmer to win six or more gold medals at two different world championships (six in 2019, seven in 2017). Smith claimed the gold medal in the women’s 200m backstroke, finishing with the second-fastest time in the event’s history (2:03.69).

On the final day of competition, Dressel earned his eighth medal of the 2019 World Championships, becoming the only swimmer to win eight medals at a single world championships. Manuel claimed the gold medal in the women’s 50m freestyle and King won the gold in the women’s non-Olympic 50m breaststroke, becoming the second woman to win the event at successive world championships. Smith, King, Manuel and Kelsi Dahlia shattered the world record in the 4x100m medley to earn gold (Smith also set the world record in the 100m backstroke in the process), and American Jay Litherland earned his first individual medal at a world championships with a silver in the men’s 400m individual medley.

FRIDAY, MAY 22 – 2019 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 2, 3 & 4 SEMIFINALS & FINALS (ENCORES)

SATURDAY, MAY 23 – 2019 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 1-8 (ENCORES)

Weekend marathon coverage of the 2019 Swimming World Championships begins Saturday, May 23, with encore presentations of all eight days of competition. More than 15 hours of coverage begins at 10:30 a.m. ET.

SUNDAY, MAY 24 – 2019 SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 1-8 (ENCORES)

Encore coverage of the 2019 Swimming World Championships on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA concludes next Sunday, May 24, with all eight days of competition beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET.