Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay

This event has been the playing field of four nations at the four editions it was contested. The Russians medalled on each occasion (gold: 2016, silver: 2014, bronze: 2018, 2021). The Dutch finished runners-up at the last three championships, the US won it in 2014 and 2018 but didn’t make the podium at the other two meets, and Canada also had two medals, they were the title-holders and had a bronze in 2016 (Brazil had a bronze in the first race in 2014). With Canada withdrawing from the event and the Russian streak also comes to an end, the door is wide open for the others, like top qualifier France and the Aussies are definitely poised to be part of the victory ceremony too.

Here in Melbourne, the relays show a special picture. While there is no overwhelming dominance, only five nations have shared the 18 medals on offer. In the six relays staged so far, the host Aussies medalled in five, won three (men’s 4x50m free, women’s 4x100m free and 4x200m free) but couldn’t even make the final in the mixed 4x50m medley. The US also have five medals and two victories (women’s 4x50m free, mixed 4x50m medley), their only medal miss so far is the men’s 4x50m free. Italy has three medals (won the men’s 4x100m free), just like Canada, though the latter ones are yet to grab gold (have a silver and two bronzes).

Two of the last three WRs were set at the Worlds, in 2014 and 2018 – three years ago, the US team, which then included Caeleb Dressel, got inside 1:28min for the first time ever (1:27.89).

Women’s 200m Breaststroke

Lilly King is looking for a 100-200m double – she did a fine job in the 100m final and is now on her way to adding the longest distance too. Though there is Kate Douglass, the 200m IM champion here in Melbourne who looked impressive in the heats. Any of the two come first in the evening, would set a unique pattern in this event where between 1993 and 2018 not only title-defences did not happen but not even swimmers from the same nations could win at consecutive editions. China’s Qu Hiu is the only one with two titles (2002, 2006). Otherwise, everyone else won only once. However, the Americans won the last two, and King or Douglass can be the third US swimmer in a row to finish atop here.

Unlike among the men, the 100-200m double was more frequent in the ladies’ breaststroke. Right away the first four editions saw swimmers winning both events: Dai Guohong (CHN, 1993), Svitlana Bondarenko (UKR, 1995), Kristy Ellem (AUS, 1997), Masami Tanaka (JPN, 1999). It became rarer but still achieved, by Brooke Hanson (AUS, 2004) and Rebecca Soni (USA, 2010).

100m medallist Tes Schouten (NED) may seek more glory here and one might keep an eye on China’s Tang Quianting who won the 100m last year.

On the women’s world records list, only two marks remained with us from the shiny suit era. One of the two is Rebecca Soni’s 2:14.57 in this event, clocked in 2009 at the Duel in Pool event in Manchester (the other is Theresa Alshammar’s WR in the 50m fly). Indeed, the mark ‘turns’ 13 years old in two days as the 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion swam it on 18 December.

Men’s 200m Breaststroke

Last year, Nic Fink became the second US swimmer to win this event after Brendan Hansen (2004) – now he can also be the second ever to stage a successful title defence. The only great who managed to claim back-to-back golds was Hungarian Olympic champion Daniel Gyurta (2012-14 – and in this event he is the only one adding the s/c world title to the Olympic gold in the same year). The 15 editions produced 14 champions and the list is quite colourful, as they represent 10 nations from four continents (Europe got 8 titles, Asia had 3, Oceania and the Americas 2 apiece).

Fink has already bagged the 100m title – he could become the third breaststroker with the 100-200m double after USA’s Brendan Hansen (2004) and Germany’s Marco Koch (2016). Hansen managed to achieve the 50-100-200 treble in Indianapolis – Fink won the 50 and 200 last year and came third in the 100m. Now he won the 100m, just needs to repeat his wins in the two remaining events.

German veteran and short-course specialist Marco Koch is still on the starting blocks aged 32 – he medalled at three straight editions between 2014 and 2018 and achieved the above-mentioned 100-200m double in 2016, and in the same year he also swam a new WR.

The biggest threat to Fink’s title defence came from the Japanese. Though they were never short of outstanding breaststrokers, apart from 4-time Olympic champ Kitajima Kosuke, even their most talented ones failed many times to deliver at the big moments.

Over the years in the short-course World Championships Japan grabbed a single medal in the 200m, a gold by Naoya Tomita from 2010. Now Daiya Seto and Ippei Watanabe will have a try to take medals. Watanabe is one of the examples of an unfulfilled promise: he was youth Olympic champion, in 2017 he became the first male to cover the distance inside 2:07min, still, despite this outstanding world record, he couldn’t go on winning titles, has back-to-back bronzes from the 2017 and 2019 Worlds and a sixth place from Rio, where he won the semis with a new Olympic record, but faded in the final.

At the majors, Seto usually enters the medley events and sometimes swims the butterfly as well, however, whenever he showed up at the swimming World Cups, he usually dipped his toe into the breaststroke events too and didn’t leave empty-handed. Since 2010, he claimed 14 medals in this stroke, and his last two attempts in 2021 both ended up in wins in Doha and in Kazan. Japan’s top male swimmer already snatched a silver here in Melbourne, in the 200m fly, but had to settle for a slightly disappointing 5^th place in the 200m IM (last year he won it). In the heats he was faster than Fink and much faster than the rest of the field.

During the last days of the shiny suit era, at the short-course Europeans in Istanbul, Gyurta clocked 2:00.67 to set a huge world record (2:01.98 was the previous one). Five years later he shaved off 0.19sec, Koch beat that by 0.04 in Windsor, then at the next Worlds in Hangzhou Russia’s Kirill Prigoda clocked 2:00.16. This shows that the magical barrier is getting closer but so far no one could break inside. Maybe this year?

Women’s 50m Backstroke

Last year in Abu Dhabi (UAE), for the first time in this event, Canadians staged a 1-2 finish featuring Maggie MacNeil and Kylie Masse. In the history of the Championships, this was the 31^st time, that a nation achieved that feat – among the men it happened 10 times, while among the women 21 times (across all individual events). Interestingly, Canada has already recorded a golden-silver finish, back in 1995, by Joanne Malar and Nancy Sweetnam in the 400m IM.

It's worth noting that while among the women a national 1-2 has occurred at each edition since 2004, the men’s events saw the last sweep in 2010. The 100m back final already ticked these championships with Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O’Callaghan delivering gold and silver for the Aussies – this was the Dolphins’ 10^th 1-2 in the history of the short-course Worlds (4 men, 6 women events), the US claimed the top two spots 8 times (3 and 5).

Canadians MacNeil and Masse are back for more this evening. Indeed, MacNeil eyes her fourth medal already as she won the 50m fly (shared with USA’s Tori Huske) and had two bronzes with the relays. Retaining her title would make her the third in line – after the first six golds went to six different swimmers, two successful title defences followed each other, first by China’s Zhao Jing (2010-12), then by Brazil’s Etiene Medeiros (2014-16).

For Masse, it’s a challenge to fend off the silver ‘curse’ as she finished runner-up 6 times at the short-course Worlds, including three second places in the backstroke events in Abu Dhabi 2021. She also had two silvers from Tokyo in the backstroke events – though she managed to claim world titles at three consecutive long-course Worlds.

Though the ‘big neighbour’s representative will also be there to ruin Canada’s party, as USA’s Claire Curzan clocked the best time in the semis. Similar to MacNeil, Curzan is also a versatile swimmer, clinched six medals in 2021, golds in the free relays, silvers in the medley relays and bronzes in the 50-100m fly – now she already bagged a bronze in the 100m back, plus gold and silver with the free relays.

Mollie O’Callaghan will also have a word or two – silver medallist in the 100m and being part all three medal-winning Aussie relays will be a boost for her to grab a 5^th medal at home.

The World Record belongs to MacNeil who set the new mark (25.2) a year ago in Abu Dhabi – that was the third time after 2008 and 2014 that the champion set a new WR.

Men’s 50m Backstroke

The last edition produced a Europeans-only podium – for the first time in this event –, Kliment Kolesnikov came first, while there was a rare dead heat for the silver between Christian Diener of Germany and Lorenzo Mora of Italy.

Another dead heat happened in 2010, also for the silver – this is the only event in the history of the short-course Worlds which saw two occasions when swimmers hit the wall with identical times and shared medals.

The Russians and the Aussies had three titles apiece so far – while the last two crowns went to RSF athletes (Rylov and Kolesnikov). Australia’s last victory came ten years ago (by Robert Hurley) since they were not even on the podium.

This is one of the few events which is yet to see a title defence. It shall not happen in Melbourne though as Abu Dhabi champion Kliment Kolesnikov of Russia cannot be here. There is one swimmer, though, who claimed two titles, Aussie Matt Welsh won in 2002 and 2006.

Four-time Olympic champion Ryan Murphy returned to short-course action three years after his 6-medal haul in Hangzhou (won the 100m, finished runner-up in the 50m and 200m) and he came first in the 100m once more.

Completing the 50-100m double was quite frequent at the beginning (the 50m events debuted at the fourth edition in 1999) – happened 5 times in 7 championships. 1999: Rodolfo Falcon (CUB), 2000: Neil Walker (USA), 2002 and 2006: Matt Welsh (AUS), 2010: Stanislav Donets (RUS). Then in the last five no one was able to achieve it, so Murphy can be the first one to make it in twelve years.

The top qualifier was Aussie youngster Isaac Cooper, bronze medallist in the 100m, may deliver Australia’s fourth title in this event, to lead the all-time ranks alone (now they are tied with the Russians 3-3).

The World Record was beaten at two World Championships. However, it was only once the winning time in the final: in Doha 2014, when France’s Floren Manaudou clocked 22.22. In 2000, Neil Walker bettered the WR twice, in the heats and in the semis, but couldn’t did it for the third time in the final. (This November, Kolesnikov swam 22.11 in a local Russian meet, his effort is pending ratification).

Women’s 100m Individual Medley

This event produced the lowest number of champions so far: 9 out of 13 titles were landed by three swimmers. Slovakia’s Martina Moravcova won the first three (1999, 2000, 2002), Aussie Brooke Hanson got the next two (2004, 2006), then ushered the era of Katinka Hosszu – the Hungarian won an unprecedented four straight titles (2012-14-16-18), still the longest streak in any women’s events.

Hosszu was the master of this event – since the end of the shiny suit era in 2009, she has been the only one who could improve the actual world record and she did it 8 times in a row between 2013 and 2017. Her first was 57.73 (would be the second-best time in the semis), and the last one, still valid, was 56.51, so she improved by 1.22 second during the heydays of her career.

Now the Netherlands’ summer hero Marrit Steenbergen seems to be ready to take her first-ever gold at any World Championships. The most decorated swimmer at the Europeans in Rome with 7 medals, Steenbergen was the only one under 58sec in the semis and it’s already been proven that she has the necessary speed as she had a bronze form the 100m free. However fast the Dutch were over the years though, Hinkelien Schreuder’s bronze from 2010 is the only medal they took in this event.

Steenbergen will be heavily challenged by Louise Hansson of Sweden who amassed seven medals a year ago, but this is her first real trip to medley swimming. Sydney Pickrem is indeed an IM specialist, won the 200m last year, now the Canadian also tries her luck in this event ­– and together with Steenbergen, they are seeking some consolation too, after missing the podium in the 200m (the Dutch came 4^th, she was 5^th).

Men’s 100m Individual Medley

The first swimmer to win back-to-back titles was Slovenian legend Peter Mankoc in 2002 and 2004 – who was the absolute specialist of this ‘short-course-only’ event. His streak at the Europeans is unparalleled at any major meet in any event as he claimed 14 medals in a row between 1999 and 2012 and staged a run of 9 consecutive victories (the meet was held annually back then). Later USA’s Ryan Lochte had a three-peat (2008-10-12), while the last two titles went to Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov.

Based on the semifinals, the final might turn into a thriller as there where the top four ranked swimmers are inside 0.07sec.

2016 champion and 2018 bronze medallist Michael Andrew and fellow American Shaine Casas, who had amassed six medals in Abu Dhabi (won the 100m back) are well set for a possible US 1-2. As described above, among the men there were no gold and silver medallist from the same nation in the same event since 2010. Andrew and Casas already bagged a gold here in Melbourne as both were part of the triumphant USA Mixed 4x50m Medley Relay.

Canada’s Javier Acevedo also has a chance for a medal – he had two bronzes in this event in the World Cup season, though yet to leave his mark at FINA majors. The fourth among the top finishers in the semis was Greece’s Andreas Vazaios, who became a major force at the European stage, especially in the small pool with back-to-back golds in the 200m, had three medals in the 100m IM, still, he is yet to claim his first world championship medal among the seniors (had two silvers from the juniors).

Italy’s summer hero Thomas Ceccon, who clinched the 100m back world title with a new WR in Budapest, may cause an upset. Last year he snatched the bronze, here he already bagged two medals with the relays, a gold in the 4x100m free and a silver in the 4x50m free.

There is a unique feature related to the World Record – no other event’s best-ever effort has been improved so many times since the shiny suit era than this one. Eight new marks were recorded since 2009, among the men and the women respectively (see above). The last two came in 2020, at the ISL meet, where Caeleb Dressel was in the mood and set a new WR twice (he also rocketed to the top of the all-time ranks in the 50m free and the 100m fly in that November).

Women’s 1500m Freestyle

This event makes its debut at the short-course Worlds in Melbourne.

Aussie Lani Pallister is well set to clinch the historical first-ever crown and also to become the first swimmer to do the 400-800-1500m triple as she already bagged the other two titles. Also, she has a 25sec better entry time than her two closest rivals, the young Turkish challengers, Merve Tuncel and Deniz Ertan.

This would also boost the hosts’ chances to make a complete sweep of the women’s free titles – the 50m by Emma McKeon has been ticked, together with Pallister’s 400m and 800m wins, the 1500m is due this evening, so only the 100m and the 200m remain to be conquered. (Though the free relays’ sweep eluded them as they had to settle for the silver in the 4x50m, after winning the 4x100m and 4x200m.

A World Record swim may be ruled out in advance since it would require a tremendous effort to match Katie Ledecky’s pace who smashed Sarah Kohler’s mark from 2019 by no less than 10 seconds at the end of October in Indianapolis at the World Cup to clock 15:08.24.

Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay

In terms of gold medals, the USA hold a 5-4 edge over the Aussies in this event – and they are the title-holders, while the current hosts last medal came in 2012, a silver, and their last victory dates back to 2008.

The Russians were also a constant presence on the podium upon the last four occasions (won in 2016), so the chances to get a medal for the nations entering this year is definitely higher among the given circumstances.

So far, the free relays brought an Australia v Italy duel which stands 1-1 as of now – the hosts won the 4x50m free pipping the Italians by 0.04 seconds, while the Italians won the 4x100m, by almost two full seconds ahead of the Aussies and set a new world record. Italy also have a long wait in this event, their lonely victory happened 16 years ago in Shanghai.

Four quartets – representing four different nations – managed to beat the world record while winning the s/c world title in history. Australia in 1997, the United States in 2000, Russia in 2014 and Brazil in 2018 – their 6:46.81 is still the time to beat.