Gretchen Walsh broke three, Kate Douglass broke two, Summer McIntosh broke one, and Noe Ponti broke one world record on the first day of action at the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m) in Budapest.
Canada’s superstar Summer McIntosh opened up the first night of finals of the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m) with a scintillating world record in the 400m freestyle at 3:50.25. In her first major meet after a three-gold medal showing at the Paris Olympics, McIntosh, age 18, took down Li Bingjie’s world record from 2022 at 3:51.30.
McIntosh, coached by Brent Arckey at the Sarasota Sharks in the United States, took the race out hard, sitting around two seconds under world record pace throughout the race, pulling Australia’s Lani Pallister along with her for about 250 meters. This is Canada’s first ever gold medal in this event at the World Short Course Championships.
Pallister, coached by Michael Bohl, hung on to win the silver medal at 3:53.73 to set a new Oceania record in the process as she could not successfully repeat her gold from Melbourne 2022. Pallister swam a best time however, after a slightly disappointing summer.
This is Canada’s first ever gold medal in this event at the World Short Course Championships.
Pallister, coached by Michael Bohl, hung on to win the silver medal at 3:53.73 to set a new Oceania record in the process as she could not successfully repeat her gold from Melbourne 2022. Pallister swam a best time however, after a slightly disappointing summer.
The world records were falling like autumn leaves on Tuesday night at the Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary as American Kate Douglass broke the fifth global mark of the night with a 2:01.63 in the 200m IM final, lowering Katinka Hosszu’s 2:01.86 from this meet 10 years ago at Doha 2014.
Those championships ten years ago in Qatar saw 24 world records fall, the most at any World Short Course Championships, as these championships may break that record by the time these six days are over.
Douglass finished 1-2 with fellow American Alex Walsh (2:02.65) as the training partners at the University of Virginia for coach Todd DeSorbo gave the Americans their first two medals of the meet. Douglass backed up her gold from Melbourne 2022 as she was the first American to win this event at the World Short Course Championships since Allison Wagner won at the inaugural event in Palma de Mallorca 1993.
Great Britain’s Abbie Wood (2:02.75) put together a very strong race to finish with the bronze medal to move up to fourth all-time. Wood was leading the race for 150 meters before Douglass out-kicked her on the freestyle leg.
Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey (2:04.30) finished fourth overall in her second swim of the night after she won bronze in the 400m freestyle in the opening race. Ireland’s Ellen Walshe (2:05.52) finished fifth after she was 14th in the 50m butterfly earlier tonight as well.
South Africa’s Rebecca Meder (2:05.61) broke the African record in finishing sixth, ahead of Spain’s Emma Carrasco (2:07.62) and Slovakia’s Tamara Potocka (2:08.00).
American Shaine Casas finally broke through in the big moment in the 200m IM final, winning World Short Course gold on Tuesday in Budapest. After he went 1:55 two summers ago in long course meters, Casas finished fourth in Fukuoka 2023 and ninth in Paris 2024. Two straight majors, and no medals to show for it.
On Tuesday, Casas pushed Leon Marchand’s world record pace for all it was worth, as he won gold at 1:49.51, lowering Ryan Lochte’s championship record of 1:49.63 from Istanbul 2012.
Although Casas won the 100m backstroke at this meet in Abu Dhabi 2021, this swim feels like a huge breakthrough for the 24-year-old.
Italy’s Alberto Razzetti, coached by Stefano Franceschi, won silver at 1:50.88, upgrading his bronze in this event from Abu Dhabi 2021.
Canada’s Finlay Knox won the third medal of the night for his nation with bronze at 1:50.90, swimming away from American Carson Foster (1:51.32), who finished fourth after sitting in the top three for 150 meters.
Australia’s David Schlicht (1:52.81) finished fifth ahead of Ilia Borodin (1:52.87), Turkey’s Berke Saka (1:53.29) and 2021 champion Daiya Seto (1:54.01) of Japan.
Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi broke through in a major way in winning Tuesday’s 1500m freestyle gold medal on the first night of the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m). Jaouadi claimed gold at 14:16.40 in a thrilling virtual race with Germany’s Florian Wellbrock (14:17.27), who swam his race earlier today.
With the race being timed finals, only one swim was required and Wellbrock competed in the “slower heats” based on his seed time.
This is Wellbrock’s first medal at a Worlds or Olympics since 2023 and the first in the pool since 2022.
Jaouadi, who was fourth in the 800m in Paris and sixth in the 1500m, made his first podium at age 19.
“To be honest, I just tried doing the heat,” Jaouadi said. “I wasn’t expecting to win but I was expecting to medal – I was thinking second or third but I wasn’t expecting first. It’s good.”
Jaouadi, coached by famed distance coach Philippe Lucas, claimed Tunisia’s second gold medal in the event after Oussama Mellouli won in Dubai 2010, which was ironically done in an earlier heat.
Not lost in the race, Turkiye’s Kuzey Tuncelli (14:20.64) broke the world junior record in winning bronze, his first medal at the senior level on the world stage. Tuncelli, who was fifth in Paris in this event, is one of the rising stars in distance freestyle as the 17-year-old moved up to 16th all-time.
The Americans kept the world records rolling with the women’s team of Kate Douglass (50.95), Katharine Berkoff (51.38), Alex Shackell (52.01), and Gretchen Walsh (50.67) breaking Australia’s world record from Melbourne 2022 with a 3:25.01, lowering the record Australia set at 3:25.43.
Since the world record was set in 1993, the United States has never held the world record in this event in short course meters, despite winning the World titles in 2004, 2012, 2016, 2018, and 2021.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” Shackell said. “It was the first world record I have been a part of so that’s a dream come true. I feel like it’s just building off of this summer and things are going really well and I am looking forward to the rest of the week.”
This was the third world record of the day for Walsh, who took a final exam today in between sessions.
“I had a final exam today in Commercial Law between sessions. I was hoping I did well, but at the end I was just tired and I needed to finish. I’m not sure how well I did, but I will get back to you.”
It was a truly dominant performance for the Americans with the Australian team winning silver at 3:28.25 with Meg Harris (52.59), Milla Jansen (51.62), Alexandria Perkins (51.68), and Lani Pallister (52.36) from lane one.
The Canadians concluded a successful night with four medals in total, with the team of Mary-Sophie Harvey (52.40), Summer McIntosh (51.81), Ingrid Wilm (52.22) and Penny Oleksiak (52.01) winning bronze at 3:28.44, as they out-swam the Neutral Athletes team in fourth at 3:28.73.
The quickest splits outside the top three came from Daria Trofimova (51.36), Sweden’s Louise Hansson (51.67), Italy’s Sara Curtis (51.69), and Hungary’s Lilla Abraham (51.90).
The United States got the world record back in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay from the team of Jack Alexy (45.05), Luke Hobson (45.18), Kieran Smith (46.01), and Chris Guiliano (45.42) at 3:01.66, pushing the 3:00 mark for all it was worth. Alexy set the tone on the lead-off, breaking the championship record in the process.
“It’s pretty amazing that we swam a world record and even more amazing with the USA flag on my swim cap,” Alexy said. “I am really fortunate and also happy to be here representing my country.”
The Americans got the world record back that the Italians set two years ago in Melbourne at these championships.
“I love that relay and love starting the meet with a bang on day one,” Smith said. “I get a little bit of time off tomorrow and get ready for my individual race on Thursday.”
The Italians finished second here at 3:03.65 with the team of Alessandro Miressi (45.95), Leonardo Deplano (45.76), Lorenzo Zazzeri (46.21), and Manuel Frigo (45.73), as they made the podium for the third straight championships.
The bronze went the way of Poland (3:04.46) with the team of Kamil Sieradzki (46.33), Jakub Majerski (46.04), Ksawery Masiuk (45.64), and Kacper Stokowski (46.45) winning Poland’s first relay medal at a Worlds or Olympics.
That team won the battle for bronze over the Neutral Athletes (3:04.62) and Brazil (3:04.84).
The quickest splits outside the top three came from Australia’s Matthew Temple (45.60), Brazil’s Guilherme Santos (45.79), Andrei Minakov (45.81), and Brazil’s Kaique Alves (45.82).
Like clockwork, Gretchen Walsh of the United States broke the second world record in the 50m butterfly in as many attempts as she became the first woman to break 24 seconds in the event at 23.94.
After the world record stood stagnant since 2009, Therese Alshammar’s 24.38 from the 2009 World Cup in Singapore is no longer as Walsh has an opportunity to go even faster tomorrow in the final.
“Swimming under the 24 mark was pretty insane, I am honestly just hoping that I can go faster and keep the streak going,” Walsh said.
“I love setting goals for myself based on barriers I can break. I honestly am hoping that I can go faster tomorrow and keep the streaking going which would be insane.
“This morning I was really long into my turn so tonight I just tried to make my strokes longer on the first 25 so I didn’t have so much glide into the wall and I think I did that. I think I executed the race better.”
Noe Ponti of Switzerland lowered his own world record in the 50m butterfly for the third time this year, setting the fourth world record of the meet on the first day of the World Short Course Championships in Budapest.
Ponti’s 21.43 comes off his two world records from the World Cup earlier this season as the world record started out this year at 21.75.
“It was a nice race,” Ponti said. “I hope that I can swim as many world records as I want. The important thing is to swim fast tomorrow, because I know these guys will be ready.”
