Fresh faces and blistering fast time helped animate the first night of swimming medals at the 19th FINA World Championships in Budapest.
Men’s 400 Freestyle - Elijah Winnington Ends Australia’s Gold Medal Drought With Thorpie-Like Finish
It had been nearly 17 years since Australia had a World champion in the men’s 400 freestyle. The Aussies had dominated the event, winning five straight World titles from 1994 to 2005 with the likes of Hall of Famers Kieren Perkins, Ian Thorpe, and Grant Hackett. For years, the Australians struggled to find the heir apparent - seeing success with Mack Horton’s Olympic gold in 2016, and with Jack McLoughlin’s Olympic silver last year. On Saturday though, their World’s gold medal drought finally snapped in Budapest with Elijah Winnington swimming a 3:41.22.
Winnington had taken the race out hard on the first 200, with the world leader Lukas Martens of Germany on his hip, as the pair were right on world record pace halfway through. Martens pressed the pace on the third 100, as he comes from a distance-based background under coach Bernd Berkhahn in Magdeburg. Martens looked ready to run away with the gold medal after appearing in his first Worlds final, and after the year he had - three world-leading times in the 400, 800, and 1500, this looked to be his moment.
But Winnington responded with a finishing kick that looked reminiscent of the greats Thorpe and Hackett before him, as the 22-year-old Gold Coast native roared home in 27.83, the fastest in the field, to touch in a 3:41.22, the fastest swim anyone has done in 10 years. It should come as no surprise though - Winnington comes from the same training pool as Ariarne Titmus with coach Dean Boxall.
“Thanks to the entire team that I could clinch the gold,” Winnington said after the race. “That was the second-fastest time in Australian history but a personal record for me. I tried to have fun in the pool and enjoy this whole experience. In the last call room, I’ve just heard the noise, the MC’s voice and it was a total boost for me. I haven’t had this feeling for a long time.”
Martens won his first international medal in his first final with a 3:42.85, while Brazil’s Guilherme Costa also reached his first podium with a 3:43.31 after overtaking Austria’s Felix Aubock at the last stroke - 3:43.58.
“I really can’t describe this feeling!” Martens said. “I was coming to finish in the finals and in the end, I managed to get second place. The time is really good, I try to keep up with the Australian guy but in the end, he swam away.”
Women’s 400 Freestyle - Katie Ledecky Wins Fourth World Title With 15-Year-Old McIntosh Hot on Her Heels
USA’s Katie Ledecky won her fourth World title in the 400 freestyle with a 3:58.15 - the fastest time she has ever swum at the World Championships.
“I’m really happy with that and really excited about the week I have ahead of me,” Ledecky said.
“Of course, it’s great to get the first gold medal for the US team,” Ledecky said. “I changed the training squad, I’m trying to improve and catch the world record. Now I’m happy with this time and I think I’m on the right track.”
This was Ledecky’s fourth World title in the 400 free as she has done so with three different coaches - most recently moving to the University of Florida to train with Anthony Nesty.
It wasn’t a walk in the park for Ledecky - she was pushed every step of the way by Canada’s Summer McIntosh, who became the fourth woman, and the youngest ever, to break the 4:00 barrier in the event.
McIntosh broke through with a 3:59.39, staying on Ledecky’s feet for the entire race - something so few have done. At just 15 years old, she joins the elite list that includes Titmus, Ledecky, and Federica Pellegrini as the only women to break 4:00, and is a year younger than Ledecky was when she broke through for the first time in 2013.
“That was definitely one of the closest races of my life and I think I have learned so much in the past year on how to execute a 400 freestyle,” McIntosh said. “I am happy with how I swam it and how I felt in the water and it has given me a lot of confidence going into the next couple of races.”
“I don’t think I ever thought I would be under 4:00 in the 400 freestyle. I remember it was a big deal for me to break 5:00 so to break the 4:00 barrier is something that is really special to me.”
USA’s Leah Smith won her third straight medal in the event, adding to her silver in 2017 and bronze in 2019, but it is extra special for her after not making last year’s Olympic team for the United States. Smith was a constant on the USA team since making her debut in 2016 and was named a team captain for this trip to Budapest. After moving training bases to the University of Texas and coach Carol Capitani after the Olympic cycle, she picked up right where she left off with a bronze, joining Ledecky on the podium for the third straight Worlds.
“I just swam my own race, I think it’s the years of experience that I have and I’m pumped up to have two medals to start the night for Team USA,” Smith said.
Men’s 400 IM - Leon Marchand Gets Closer Than Ever Before to Michael Phelps’ World Record
In the race of the night, France’s Leon Marchand did more than just take the 400 IM torch from Chase Kalisz and Daiya Seto’s hands. He nearly took down one of the most impressive world records on the books - racing to a 4:04.28 in the final of the 400 IM. It was the second-fastest time in history and the closest anyone has gotten to Phelps’ 4:03.84 in ten years.
The once-thought untouchable record by the greatest swimmer on the planet was in danger of falling on Saturday evening as Marchand turned a full second under world-record pace at 300 meters. It may not come too much of a surprise that Marchand was that close - he trains with Phelps’ long-time coach Bob Bowman at Arizona State University in the United States.
“I talked to (Michael Phelps) a little bit by message and he is always sending texts to Bob so I have some news about him,” Marchand said in the press conference. “I didn’t meet him yet but I hope soon. I’m just very happy to swim with (Bowman) because he has the experience and he knows how to train the 400 IM so that’s why I came to ASU and the USA so I think I made a good choice and I am very happy to have done my best today.”
The 4:04 swim came as a shock to Marchand, who at age 20, had his eyes set long-term on the home Olympics in 2024.
“I didn’t know it would be that fast today,” Marchand said. “That was my goal for Paris to be under 4:05 but I was well prepared for this meet with Bob Bowman. I’m just grateful for everything.”
“With Bowman, we train step by step and little by little. I think today I didn’t do that. The first goal of this meet was to be way better in fly and backstroke - that’s what I did, I was 1:58 (at the 200 turn). I knew that in breaststroke I could be the fastest in the world so that was my main stroke. This morning I was trying to stay easy in breaststroke because I knew I had the afternoon. My goal was to be like 4:06 or 4:07 and I just went 4:04 so I don’t know what to say.”
Marchand won ahead of 20-year-old American Carson Foster, who trains with another legendary coach in Eddie Reese at the University of Texas. This was a long time coming for Foster, who won silver at 4:06.56. He was the world junior champ in this same pool in the 200 IM in 2019, and last year had the fastest time in the world in the 400 IM but was third at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“It’s incredible,” Foster said. “I feel like I’ve been chasing that for a while so to finally be able to do it feels really good.”
Fellow American Chase Kalisz won the bronze at 4:07.47, which was faster than he won gold in Tokyo last year.
“I can say now that I’ve just tried to enjoy it,” Kalisz said. “I didn’t really expect to do this this year, I really thought I was done and I can’t be upset with this bronze.”
Marchand follows in his own family legacy - his father Xavier won silver in the 200 IM at the 1998 Worlds in Perth.
“(My father) told me very early that swimming is very hard, and to be able to at this level you have to train a lot,” Marchand said. “I think it has been five or six years that I have dedicated my life to swimming so I think that is a big gift for my family because they have to wake up with me every day to get to practice so that’s pretty cool.”
Marchand, like Foster, has also had success in the Duna Arena. He won bronze in this event at World Juniors in 2019, and also watched Kalisz win gold at the 2017 Worlds as a spectator.
“This is a pretty big step,” Marchand said. “I know a lot of guys who were very fast in juniors but not fast here. I am happy that I improved a lot these last few years. Five years ago, I was watching this meet here with my family so I think this is a big improvement.
“Two years ago (Chase) was like a legend and now I can beat him, and I’m just having fun with these guys because they’re so fast.”
Men’s 4x100 Freestyle | United States Flexes Its Muscles on Backs of Caeleb Dressel & Ryan Held
For the third straight Worlds, the United States closed day one with a gold medal in the men’s 4x100 free relay. With a completely different team than that of 2019, the quartet of Caeleb Dressel (47.67), Ryan Held (46.99), Justin Ress (47.48), and Brooks Curry (47.20) won gold with a 3:09.34, holding the lead the entirety of the race.
Dressel, who trains with Ledecky at the University of Florida, picked up his first gold of the week in what is going to be another busy week of racing for him.
“Usually, and especially in 2019 in Gwangju, my first day was really rough,” Dressel said, who also advanced to the final of the 50 butterfly tonight with a 22.79 as the second seed for tomorrow night. “Now this one was totally different, I got everywhere on time. This relay was really great, we swam our best and I’m really happy to win this gold.”
With the experienced front half of Dressel and Held, who at one time were the new kids on the team in 2016 alongside the likes of future Hall of Famers Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian, they paved the way for Ress and Curry as both of them swam on their first finals relay.
Australia won the silver medal on the strength of its back half, with Jack Cartwright (47.62) and Kyle Chalmers (46.60) taking the team from eighth to second for its highest finish in that relay since 2011. William Yang (48.41) and Matthew Temple (48.17) swam the first two legs to win the silver medal at 3:10.80.
“We are happy with the second place though we were aiming for a faster time,” Temple said. “But overall we are happy with this, it is what it is.”
Chalmers will not be racing the individual 100 free but proved here he is in good shape for the relays and the 100 butterfly the rest of the week.
The Italians won their first Worlds relay medal since 2015 with Alessandro Miressi (48.38), Thomas Ceccon (47.57), Lorenzo Zazzerri (47.35), and Manuel Frigo (47.65) winning bronze at 3:10.95, just ahead of Great Britain (3:11.14), Hungary (3:11.24) and Canada (3:11.99).
It was a cracker of a race with the Budapest crowd really coming alive for the Hungarian team and many of the splits in the race turned out to be fantastic even if the official record shows they didn’t make the podium. Both Kristof Milak (46.89) and Tom Dean (46.95) split under 47 seconds on their anchor legs, which bodes well for their main individual events later in the week as the two Olympic champions proved to be in fine form.
Women’s 4x100 Freestyle | No McKeon, No Cate, No Problem As Australia Wins World Title With Next Generation
The big question for the Australian team was how would its 4x100 free relay fare without the likes of all-time greats Emma McKeon & Cate Campbell on their relay? The answer was - did it even matter? The Aussies won with a 3:30.95, only seven-tenths off the championship record the Australians set in 2019 with both Cate and Bronte Campbell, and McKeon.
The team of Mollie O’Callaghan (52.70), Madison Wilson (52.60), Meg Harris (53.00), and Shayna Jack (52.65) proved the future is still bright in the 100 free in Australia.
“It was a really good race, everyone did her job and knew when were out there we had a really good team and great depth,” Wilson said. “We are just glad we could do the job and make the country proud.”
Both O’Callaghan and Harris made their international debuts in Tokyo last year, gaining valuable experience on the relays at the sport’s highest stage. This year, they’re carrying the reigns in the individual events, along with Jack, as O’Callaghan will race the 100 and 200 free later in the week, with Jack in both the 50 and 100 free, and Harris in the 50.
O’Callaghan, age 18, looks to be one of the future stars in the sport and backed up her stellar Trials with a 52.70.
The Canadians won the silver medal, backing up their same position from Tokyo last year. The team of Kayla Sanchez (53.45), Taylor Ruck (52.92), Maggie Mac Neil (53.27) and Penny Oleksiak (52.51) just held off the Americans with a 3:32.15.
“I think we are all pretty happy that we can be back and race again,” Oleksiak said. “I can’t believe that we are on the podium this soon and I’m so excited right now!”
The American team of Torri Huske (52.96), Erika Brown (53.30), Kate Douglass (53.61) and Claire Curzan (52.71) won bronze at 3:32.58.
“We always try to do our best to show that our nation is on the highest level,” Brown said. “Now it’s only a bronze but we did as much as we could, this is how it unfolded today.”