Several national records tumble in men’s 1500 free prelims

Several athletes ripped off National Records in preliminary action of the Men’s 1500 Free this morning.

Turkey’s Ediz Yildirimer crushed his own record of 14:57.61 from last month with a 14:50.53 out of the first heat. The twenty-one-year-old is widely considered to be the future of Turkish swimming, and since returning to Turkey in 2013 after a very brief stint in the NCAA with the University of Georgia, Yildirimer has quickly emerged as a promising presence in the distance freestyle events.

Serbia’s Vuk Celic demolished his own national record of 14:47.52 with a 14:36.74 this morning. Celic was actually a part of a thrilling finish in heat 2 as Italy’s Gabriele Detti (14:36.42) and the Czech Republic’s Jan Micka (14:36.70) both touched just in front of the Serbian teenager. Notably, Micka also eclipsed his own national record of 14:38.25 from just two weeks ago.

Finally, Norway’s Henrik Christiansen absolutely crushed his own national record of 14:37.44 with a very quick 14:28.03. Coming off a new national record in the 400 free yesterday, it is not too surprising that Christiansen was able to stay on a roll en route to posting the second fastest time of the morning amongst all competitors.