2022 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, December 13 to Sunday, December 18, 2022
- Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre, Melbourne, Australia
- SCM (25m)
- Prize Money
- Meet Site
- Meet Schedule
- How To Watch
- Meet Roster Index
- Psych Sheets (Updated)
- Live Results
- Day 1 Prelims Live Recap
Singapore’s Teong Tzen Wei broke the Asian Record in the men’s 50 fly in prelims, in the process tying Swissman Noe Ponti for the top qualifying spot toward the semifinals. Ponti’s time was also a new swiss record.
The pair both went 22.01, which for Teong broke the old Asian Record of 22.19 that was set by Japan’s Takeshi Kawamoto at the 2020 Japanese Championships.
Teong is 25 years old and following in the footsteps of the country’s most successful swimmer Joseph Schooling who was at his best in the sprint butterfly events as well.
Teong also broke his own Singaporean Record of 22.24 set in 2021. Schooling was the prior record holder in 22.40.
Ponti’s swim broke his own 22.52 from last year’s World Championships. Ponti, who won a bronze medal in the 100 fly at the Olympics last summer, has made big progress in his short course racing since the Tokyo Olympics.
Both swimmers qualified ahead of the co-World Record holder Szebastian Szabo of Hungary, who was 22.07 for the 3rd spot in the semifinals.
The race, like many on day 1, was already faster than we saw from this meet last year. In 2021, it took 22.94 to advance to the semi-finals of this race, and in 2022 it took 22.53. 22.01 would have medaled at the 2021 championships.
Only one Asian swimmer has ever medaled in this event in long course or short course at the World Championships. Zhang Qiang of China won a silver medal in the first year it was offered at the short course championships in 1999.
Singapore has never medaled at a World Short Course Swimming Championships.
