SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which defending world champion is most likely to win a medal at the 2025 World Championships after missing the podium in Paris:
Question: Which male 2024 world champion who didn’t win an Olympic medal (in the event) has the best chance of being on the podium in Singapore?
RESULTS
- Hwang Sunwoo (200 free) – 34.2%
- Hunter Armstrong (100 back) – 25.6%
- Hugo Gonzalez (200 back) – 9.6%
- Dong Zhihao (200 breast) – 9.6%
- Vladyslav Bukhov (50 free) – 7.7%
- Lewis Clareburt (400 IM) – 7.1%
- Finlay Knox (200 IM) – 4.4%
- Diogo Ribeiro (100 fly) – 1.9%
Reigning 200 fly world champion Tomoru Honda was initially included in the poll but was removed after realizing he was not named to Japan’s World Championship roster.
Coming into a World Championship year as the defending gold medalist has always held a lot of weight, but this year it feels a bit different.
The 2024 World Championships in Doha were held just five months before the Olympics last year, resulting in relatively weak fields. That takes nothing away from the swimmers who did race and took full advantage of the opportunity presented, however.
It just means we’ll see fewer swimmers defend their world titles in 2025 than we have in previous years. It is strange for the likes of Katie Ledecky, Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh to not be the defending world champions, and for someone like Ledecky, her run of six straight world titles in the 800 free came to an unceremonious end when she didn’t race in Doha.
Looking strictly at the men’s field, nine of the 14 Doha world champions in Olympic events didn’t win a medal in that event at the Olympics. The ones who did were Pan Zhanle in the 100 free, Kim Woomin in the 400 free, Daniel Wiffen in the 800 and 1500 free, and Nic Fink in the 100 breast.
We asked SwimSwam readers which of those defending world champions who didn’t medal in Paris had the best chance of landing on the podium in Singapore, with reigning 200 fly world champ Tomoru Honda out of the picture after missing Japan’s Worlds team.
Leading the poll was South Korean Hwang Sunwoo in the 200 free, which comes as no surprise given he’s won a medal in the event at three straight Worlds, earning silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023 before claiming gold in Doha.
Hwang’s only podium misses in recent years have been at the Olympics, as he took 7th in Tokyo and then finished 9th in Paris, but there’s no questioning his status as one of the best 200 freestylers in the world.
The only other swimmer earning more than 10% of votes was American Hunter Armstrong, who eclipsed a quarter of the votes in the 100 back.
Like Hwang, Armstrong has won three straight World Championship medals in his event, claiming consecutive bronzes in Budapest and Fukuoka before inching out gold in Doha in a tight race with Hugo Gonzalez.
Also like Hwang, Armstrong failed to advance to the final of the 100 back at the Olympics (11th) coming off his world title, but many are backing his chances of being back in the medals in Singapore. He still has to earn his spot there at U.S. Nationals next month, and we also can’t ignore how loaded the men’s 100 back figures to be this year at Worlds, with Russians Kliment Kolesnikov and Miron Lifintsev back in the mix, along with rising British star Oliver Morgan, 200 back Olympic champ Hubert Kos and the usual suspects such as Paris Olympic medalists Thomas Ceccon, Xu Jiayu and Ryan Murphy.
Spain’s Gonzalez in the 200 back and China’s Dong Zhihao in the 200 breast tied for 3rd in the poll with just under 10% of votes, with both swimmers having been within striking distance of a medal last summer in Paris. Gonzalez was 6th in the 200 back but less than a tenth outside of 4th, while Dong was 4th in the 200 breast and, having only recently turned 20, figures to have plenty of improvement to come.
If you have any poll questions you’d like to see in the future let us know in the comments below.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which swim in Fort Lauderdale caught you off guard the most?
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
Go maxime!
Who is this dude 😭 has this man even been revenant post Tokyo. Bukhov is a sleeper build I’m telling you. Fix the start and he’s breaking a wr
We all knew Gretchen Walsh would continue to lower her 100 fly WR (it was a fantastic NWR), but literally no one predicted Ledecky to break her own 800 free WR
Probably will still be the most surprising WR by the end of the year.
Got it take it out 49.7 like in Tokyo to win again buddy
80% more surprised at ledecky breaking the WR in her best event when she’d already had two swims near on her PB before that? Surely it’s the 1500 that’s most surprising with her going her second fastest time ever out of nowhere
yes, going a best time in your best event is more noteworthy than going a second best time in your second best event. in general but especially 13 years into your international career
the poll is about the most surprising results, not the best results. while her 800 was her best swim, it was a continuation of the form she had shown earlier in the meet (with some people even saying she had wr potential in that event after her 3:56), whereas no one had a reference point for her 1500
I’d have to say 400 is most *surprising*. While a 15:24 in the 1500 is amazing, she’s gone incredible 1500 times without equaling them in her other events (eg her WR 15:20 in 2018) – and just 6 seconds faster than her Paris gold medal time. The 400, an event nearly 1/4 the distance, was 4 seconds faster than her Paris time and was the fastest she’s been nearly ever, when it’s widely considered her weakest event internationally. Since the 800 came last, it was probably the least surprising, but certainly arguably her *best* performance.
But before the meet started did you think Ledecky to break WR?
Is Armstrong even swimming
Go look at his Instagram post from today
thats honestly terrible I know Kyle Sockwell has talked about it a bit but it is really frustrating that there is not a lot of support in this sport. Nearly pushed someone like Hunter into retirement. I hope to never be in that type of situation.
Wait which sponsor is he talking about?
wow thats terrible — i cannot believe a contract expiration nearly retired our top backstroker at time in which theres so little domestic depth in that event on the mens side……
its pretty clear from all the new suits everyone debuted at ftl theres been a bit of contract thrash… would be very curious to hear more about that
I will never understand why he would get not one, but two dogs when he is financially in so much trouble! Dogs are expensive, maybe not as expensive as kids, but seriously what was he thinking??