Sean Ryan Wins 1500 freestyle, Breaks 15 min Barrier at WUG

Thursday is the 3rd day of the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia, and the action was again split basically between the Russians and the Americans, though the Japanese contingent started to show some good signs of life.

Men’s 1500 Freestyle

In the first event of the evening at the World University Games American Sean Ryan of the University of Michigan provided a brilliant performance in the 1500 freestyle, winning the event in a time of 14:57.33, breaking the 15 minute barrier for the first time in his swimming career. Ryan’s time currently ranks him fifth in the world and is a lifetime best by four seconds. He becomes the third American this year to go under 15 minutes.

Kohei Yamamoto of Japan finished second in a season’s best time by more than five seconds posting a 15:00.15, which currently ranks tenth in the world. Earlier in the meet Yamamoto finished second to Ryan Napoleon in the 400 freestyle recording a time of 3:49.03.

Sergii Frolov of the Ukraine finished third in a time of 15:02.63, which is also a season’s best for Frolov who posted a 15:06.93 at the Mare Nostrum meet in Barcelona earlier this month.

Men’s 200 freestyle

Russians Danila Izotov and Nikita Lobintsev are used to tight head to head battles and that is exactly what happened in the men’s 200 freestyle. Lobintsev took the first 100 meters out in a time of 51.67 34 one-hundredths of a second ahead of Izotov. Izotov had an incredible surge of speed in the third 50 and took over the lead, which he never gave up winning the event in a new games record time of 1:45.48. Izotov’s winning time also ties Yannick Agnel for the second fastest time in the world and with both Agnel and Sun Yang bypassing the event at the world championships, Izotov will be the favourite in Barcelona.

Lobinstev finished second in a time of 1:46.30, which is a season’s best and currently ranks tenth in the world this year. Pawel Korzeniowski of Poland finished third in a time of 1:46.91.

All three men were under American Adam Ritter’s World University Games record time of 1:47.42.

Women’s 100 breaststroke

Yulia Efimova dominated the women’s 100 breaststroke winning the event in a time of 1:05.48. Efimova, who finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke in London, now has the second fastest 100 breaststroke time in the world with only Ruta Meilutyte having gone faster in Monaco in early June. Efimova’s time bettered Italian Chiara Boggiato’s the games record of 1:07.14 and was just off her own Russian national record of 1:05.41 which was set in the shiny suit era.

Fiona Doyle of Ireland finished second in a time of 1:07.66 breaking her own Irish national record of 1:08.23 which she set in April at the Irish National Championships. Doyle, who trains at the University of Calgary has had an incredible year where she won the 100 breaststroke at the Canadian University Championships and has improved her lifetime best long course time by almost a second and a half.

American Laura Sogar finished third in a time of 1:07.78. The University of Texas swimmer, who finished fifth at the US World Championship Trials, was just off her season’s best of 1:07.57, which she recorded in May at the Charlotte Grand Prix.

Women’s 100 freestyle

Aleksandra Herasimenia of Belarus took the women’s 100 freestyle in a time of 53.50. Herasimenia, who won the 50 butterfly on the second evening of the competition, posted the third fastest time in the world this year with only Australian Cate Campbell (52.83) and American Missy Franklin (53.43) having gone faster. Her time was also a new games record breaking Chinese swimmer Tang Yi’s record of 54.24.

Veronika Popova of Russia finished second in a time of 54.12, breaking her own national record of 54.22, which she set in 2011.

American Megan Romano, who swam an amazing 52.90 anchoring the 4 x 100 freestyle relay on the first night of the competition, finished third in a time of 54.45. Though a 54.4 by no means is a bad time, it again reaffirms what American fans know: there is such a thing as a relay star.

Canada’s Sandrine Mainville put in another best time of 54.87 in the final, extending her lead as the fastest Canadian in the event this year.

Russia’s Margarita Nesterova was 5th in 55.01, and Britain’s Rebecca Turner was 7th in 55.46. Her countrymate Caitlin McClatchey, who was an Olympic finalist in the 200, missed out on the finals here.

Men’s 200 IM

After slow-playing the first two rounds, Australia’s Justin James swooped in, knocked a second off of his lifetime best, and won the men’s 200 IM in 1:58.35. He’s very much a Chase-Kalisz type of swimmer with a big-back half, only he’s got a little more to give on his backstroke leg.

Japan’s Hiromasa Fujimori was 2nd in 1:58.76, and his countrymate Takahiro Tsutsumi was 3rd in 1:59.54. All of a sudden in Japan, these IM races have become somewhat of a focus, and there’s a lot of great new talent rolling through the ranks.

Meanwhile, American Kyle Whitaker, who was the fastest swimmer in the prelims of this race, wound up 4th in 2:00.42. That was his slowest swim of the three rounds of this race, which is not a surprise given that it was swum 15 minutes after the 200 fly semi-final. He ended up making the final in that 200 fly, but still has little chance of medaling, and may have sacrificed one in this 200 IM in its favor.

Dmitry Zhilin was 5th in 1:01.13, and Australian Daniel Lester was 6th in 2:01.20.

Full, live meet results available here.

Semi-Finals

In the men’s 200 fly semi-final, Bence Biczo from Hungary, the big favorite, put on a little more gas than he did in prelims with a 1:57.83. He was followed by a pair of Japanese swimmers Kenta Hirai (1:58.19) and Yuta Kimura (1:58.46). There’s a big group of swimmers in the 1:58-range, with Spain’s Carlos Peralta, Greece’s Stefanos Dimitriadis, and American Michael Flach all sitting there. The 2nd American, Kyle Whitaker, also made it through to finals, even with the 200 IM final coming shortly after.
Canada’s Zack Chetrat was 8th in 1:59.44.
 
In the women’s 200 IM semi-final, Russia’s Viktoriiya Andreeva rushed to the front with a big front-half, taking the top seed in 2:12.88. American Melanie Margalis, who was easily the top seed in prelims, was second here in 2:13.32, and her teammate Sarah Henry sits 3rd in 2:14.01. Those three all came from the same heat, which left heat 1 winner Sakiko Shimizu in 4th with a 2:14.18.
 
This is still a fairly wide-open race in the final, as all of those swimmers dropped time (some, significant amounts) to move into the top 8.
 
After a ruse-cruise through prelims, that nobody quite believed, Russia’s Vyatcheslav Sinkevich took the top seed in the 200 breaststroke semi-finals in 2:10.88, winning his heat by a second-and-a-half. Sinkevich is ranked number two in the world this year, and he still looked like he backed off on the last 50 of this swim, so watch for a sub-2:10 in finals.
 
The next two spots went to Japan’s Yukihiro Takahashi in 2:11.49, and American Cody Miller with a big jump from prelims to sit 3rd in 2:12.11. Mike Alexandrov, the other American, will also be in the final with a 2:12.89 that put him 8th.
 
Australian Madison Wilson, who had a bit of an upset win in the 200 backstroke on Thursday, moved into the top position in the semi-finals of the women’s 100 backstroke on Friday with a 1:00.42 – another new personal best. Anastasia Zueva was right on the time she swam in prelims, but this time it was good for only the 2nd seed in 1:00.55. Hayle White, Daryna Zevina, and Megan Romano were all tightly-bunched around 1:01.2, and a pair of Cal Bears (Cindy Tran and Stephanie Au) also made the A-Final.
 
That was Romano’s second swim on the session.
 
And finally, in the last swim of the session, Russia’s Vlad Morozov demonstrated that this 50 backstroke is worth keeping on his schedule for Worlds, as he took the top seed in 24.88. Italy’s Stefano Pizzamiglio (24.96) and Australia’s Ben Treffers (24.98) were the only other two under 25 seconds.
 
That swim for Morozov is within a tenth of his 9th-ranked swim from the Russia Cup, at this same pool, in early April.
 
Medal Standings
 
The medal table after 3 days of competition in Kazaan looks as follows:
 
The Australians continue to build on some 2013 momentum, with 3 golds here. That’s a good indicator ahead of the upcoming World Championships, though the two are distinct groups of swimmers.
 
The Americans finally picked up their first gold medal on the meet’s 3rd day, though they probably won’t end up at the end of this medal table (and they’ll really need to pick things up to even finish in the top 3).
 
 
Rank 
Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Russia 5 2 0 7
2  Australia 3 2 1 6
3  Belarus 3 0 0 3
4  Japan 2 3 3 8
5  United States 1 3 3 7
6  Ukraine 1 1 1 3
7  Canada 0 1 1 2
8 Ireland 0 1 0 1
9  Italy 0 0 5 5
10 Poland 0 0 1 1
  Total         

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bobo gigi
10 years ago
MomoJamo
10 years ago

Typical…………this article is mainly about Sean Ryan going sub-15 in the 1500 at WUGS (which is HUGE) and instead turns into a discourse all about Megan Romano, relays AND SPRINTERS!!!!!!

Kudos to Jeff Grace for even reporting on this event…..he apparently doesn’t know that USA Swimming (and apparently most of the rest of the world too, as evidenced by the comments section) doesn’t care about distance events or distance swimmers.

GREAT JOB SEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s okay, some of us still appreciate REAL swimmers, and of course that means those that swim the distance events!

bobo gigi
Reply to  MomoJamo
10 years ago

Sorry but this article is about the day 3 of the world university games. Not just the men’s 1500 free. And I appreciate the performance of Mr Ryan like you. When you go under 15 minutes it’s always a great accomplishment. But he isn’t a real swimmer when the sprinters are false swimmers. All are swimmers.

bobo gigi
Reply to  bobo gigi
10 years ago

And about the men’s 1500 free, you can watch the race below.

PAOLO
10 years ago

I can’t really imagine what they can make in two years in the same city, are they able to rank first in the medal table? I do think so

bobo gigi
Reply to  PAOLO
10 years ago

Moscow 2013 in track and field, Sochi 2014 at the winter olympic games and Kazan 2015 in swimming. It’s a little scary!

PAOLO
Reply to  bobo gigi
10 years ago

I fear you’re not a Russian fan Bobo. Isn’t it?

bobo gigi
Reply to  PAOLO
10 years ago

It’s not a question of fan or not. I’m just not naive.

aswimfan
Reply to  PAOLO
10 years ago

No, Russia will never top USA is swimming medal tabel.

bobo gigi
10 years ago

I still wonder why Kyle Whitaker doesn’t confirm his junior performances full of promises.
In 2009 at the US junior nationals there are 2 big stars who destroy the competition. Missy Franklin on the women’s side and Kyle Whitaker on the men’s side. One is now the best female swimmer in the world while the other is a good NCAA swimmer. At this meet Kyle has won 5 gold medals! The 200 fly in 1.56.95. The 400 IM in 4.17.95. The 100 fly in 53.31. The 200 free in 1.49.87. And the 200 IM in 2.00.07. Perhaps the magical suits have helped him more than most of the others. I don’t know. Perhaps he has had injuries. I don’t… Read more »

Reply to  bobo gigi
10 years ago

Apples an oranges. And the suit.

bobo gigi
Reply to  Paul McCall
10 years ago

And I have just realized he has swum today the 200 fly semi-finals a few minutes before his 200 IM final. Wow! What a great decision which has ruined his final! It’s crazy to see so many guys who believe they are Michael Phelps.

liquidassets
Reply to  bobo gigi
10 years ago

I don’t think it’s a mystery. They should throw 2009, and for some, 2008, out when comparing and assessing past performances in relation to 2013. The effect of techsuits on different swimmers was just too variable those years.

schwimmer
10 years ago

Dr. Josh White has done an amazing job with the men of Michigan! Can’t wait to see how his distance swimmers do at Worlds as well! What a great coach – he deserves huge props. Go Blue!

JM90
10 years ago

“with both Agnel and Sun Yang bypassing the event at the world championships, Izotov will be the favourite in Barcelona.” I thought Agnel had said he would swim it? Has this still not been confirmed?

bobo gigi
Reply to  JM90
10 years ago

About Agnel, we are still waiting for the official announcement of his presence in the 200 free. He must still think. But it looks on the good way. The French national director looked confident. Perhaps he keeps the secret until the last moment. He knows a sub 1.45 will be enough to win so I think he isn’t very worried. It would be a pity if he didn’t swim it. He has a so big margin over the others.
Anyway, without Agnel; I don’t see Izotov as the big favorite. He is in the same category as Fraser-Holmes or Lochte.

liquidassets
Reply to  bobo gigi
10 years ago

I don’t think just sub-1:45 will be enough to win it, one or more will bust out in the big race and go a bit faster than that.

aswimfan
Reply to  liquidassets
10 years ago

sub 1:45 is 1;44

So you think a 1:44.00 will not win in Barcelona?

Who can swim 1:43+ in Barcelona aside from Agnel?

john26
10 years ago

The Russians are on fire. Both Izotov and Efimova took a second off their textile bests!

aswimfan
10 years ago

It may be safe to say that Megan Romano is the female version of Frederic Bousouet:

Extremely fast in relay, but their individual swims are just mediocre

bobo gigi
Reply to  aswimfan
10 years ago

Bousquet has won some medals on individuals. I wouldn’t say Miss Romano is mediocre on individual. She has won the 200 free in NCAA last year and she has swum 53.90 in Indianapolis in the 200 free. But yes it’s a little disappointing.

bobo gigi
Reply to  bobo gigi
10 years ago

Sorry. 53.90 in the 100 free.

Tea
Reply to  aswimfan
10 years ago

Always trolling for a response, aren’t you? hahaha… I would have been thrilled to have the swimming career of either.

I always considered it a badge of honor when you can outperform your individual results on a relay.

bobo gigi
Reply to  Tea
10 years ago

She looks transcended in the relays. She’s a perfect team player.

aswimfan
Reply to  Tea
10 years ago

No one said either doesn;t gave great swimming career so far, it’s just that both Romano and Bousquet turn into different animals when they swim relays.

Reply to  aswimfan
10 years ago

Aswimfan
I think romano looks more like a Lezak than a Bousquet..

aswimfan
Reply to  Rafael Teixeira
10 years ago

Yes, lezak is maybe a more apt comparison.

ArtVanDeLegh10
Reply to  aswimfan
10 years ago

Bousquet was an individual WR holder. He has had two really great relay swims, that’s it.

Romano performs a lot better on relays, but still has an NCAA record in the 200 Free. I’d say she’s much much more of a relay swimmer than Fred was. Remember, when Fred went 18.7, for some reason, he went 2nd on the 200 FRR at night, and only swim 18.4-18.5–something really slow for him. I’m pretty sure CAL even beat them that year.

Cal Fan
Reply to  aswimfan
10 years ago

I’m hoping Romano has resumed some training during WUGs to prepare for Worlds. Hopefully she’ll have an effective second taper for Worlds and do great things on the relay.

About Jeff Grace

Jeff Grace

Jeff is a 500 hour registered yoga teacher who holds diplomas in Coaching (Douglas College) and High Performance Coaching (National Coaching Institute - Calgary). He has a background of over 20 years in the coaching profession, where he has used a unique and proven teaching methodology to help many achieve their …

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