2017 World University Games: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap

29th World University Games (Summer Universiade 2017)

• Sunday, August 20-Sunday, August 20, 2017
• 50-Meter Course
• Taipei, Taiwan
• National Taiwan Sport University Arena
• Meet Info
• Webcast schedule
• Results

The opening day of swimming at the 2017 World University Games, also known as the Summer Universiade, gets underway Sunday from the National Taiwan Sport University Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. However, for those of us on the other side of the world, it all starts Saturday night with Taiwan operating twelve hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

The first session is jam packed with nine events on the schedule. Japan’s Kosuke Hagino and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk, who won silver at the World Championships in the 1500 freestyle, highlight the men’s 400 free which kicks things off on day 1. Following that will be the 50 fly, 400 IM and 200 back for women and the 100 back, 100 breast and 50 fly for men. The 400 free relays will wrap things up.

Hagino will also swim the 100 back, and a few other heavy hitters swimming tonight include 200 breast Olympic champion Dmitriy Balandin (men’s 100 breast), World Championship silver medalist in the 200 IM Yui Ohashi (women’s 400 IM), and World bronze medalist Andriy Govorov in his signature event, the men’s 50 fly.

Notable American men include Andrew Wilson in the 100 breast, Justin Ress in the 100 back, and Grant Shoults and Mitch D’Arrigo in the 400 free. D’Arrigo, who formerly represented Italy internationally, will wear the U.S. cap for the first time after switching his sporting citizenship earlier this year.  Some of the women competing include Brooke Forde in the 400 IM, Asia Seidt and Bridgette Alexander in the 200 back, and Hellen Moffitt in the 50 fly.

Like the Olympics and World Championships, all events 200m and below will have semi-finals contested.

Men’s 400 Free Prelims

• Meet Record: 3:46.72, Premyslaw Stanczyk (POL), 2009
• Start list M400Free

1. Jay Lelliott, GBR, 3:48.30
2. Mykhailo Romanchuk, UKR, 3:48.73
3. Sergii Frolov, UKR, 3:49.67
4. Mitch D’Arrigo, USA, 3:49.84
5. Matthew Hutchins, NZL, 3:49.93
6. Grant Shoults, USA, 3:50.19
7. Jeremy Bagshaw, CAN, 3:50.89
8. Adam Paulsson, SWE, 3:51.19

Jay Lelliott of Great Britain and Mykhailo Romanchuk of the Ukraine both looked strong in winning their respective circle-seeded heats, taking the top two seeds in the men’s 400 free. Lelliott was out fast at the 200 in 1:51.83, and held it together down the stretch to win heat 5 in 3:48.30 over Romanchuk’s countryman Sergii Frolov (3:49.67) and New Zealand’s Matthew Hutchins (3:49.93).

400 IM Olympic champion Kosuke Hagino, who also owns a World Championship medal in this event from 2013, got out fast in heat 6, leading at the halfway mark, but began to fade. Romanchuk and Mitch D’Arrigo overtook him, and Romanchuk went on to win the heat in 3:48.73. D’Arrigo came in at 3:49.84, and Grant Shoults and Jeremy Bagshaw also passed Hagino who ended up finishing in 3:52.24.

Hagino ends up 10th, missing the final, while Sweden’s Adam Paulsson makes his way into the final out of one of the early heats in 3:51.19.

Women’s 50 Fly Prelims

• Meet Record: 25.72, Lu Ying (CHN), 2015
• Start list W50Fly

1. Aliena Schmidtke, GER, 26.29
2. Katerine Savard, CAN, 26.39
3. Kaho Okano, JPN, 26.71
4. Anna Dowgiert, POL, 26.75
5. Kinge Zandringa, NED / Bruna Lemos Rocha, BRA, 26.78
6. –
7. Yukina Hirayama, JPN, 26.84
8. Rachel Kelly, GBR, 26.85
9. Daynara de Paula, BRA, 26.91
10. Elena Di Liddo, ITA, 26.97
11. Katie McLaughlin, USA, 26.97
12. Hellenn Moffitt, USA, 27.00
13. Marria Kameneva, RUS, 27.21
14. Nastassia Karakouskaya, BLR, 27.31
15. Emily Washer, AUS, 27.39
16. Aglaia Pezzato, ITA, 27.41

Germany’s Aliena Schmidtke, who was a finalist in this event at the recent World Championships, topped the women’s 50 fly prelims in a time of 26.29. Canadian Katerine Savard (26.39) and Japan’s Kaho Okano (26.71) also picked up heat wins to advance 2nd and 3rd overall into the semi-finals.

Americans Katie McLaughlin and Hellen Moffitt advanced through in 11th and 12th overall.

Men’s 100 Back Prelims

• Meet Record: 52.60, Ryosuke Irie (JPN), 2009
• Start list M100Back

1. Justin Ress, USA, 53.63
2. Taylor Dale, USA, 54.13
3. Danas Rapsys, LTU, 54.51
4. Shane Ryan, IRL, 54.71
5. Apostolos Christou, GRE, 54.78
6. Benjamin Treffers, AUS, 54.82
7. Kosuke Hagino, JPN, 54.96
8. Markus Thormeyer, CAN, 55.04
9. Roman Larin, RUS, 55.21
10. David Gamburg, ISR, 55.23
11. Gabor Balog, HUN, 55.32
12. Andrei Shabasov, RUS, 55.46
13. Shuhei Uno, JPN, 55.48
14. Mikita Tsmyh, BLR, 55.49
15. Tomasz Polewka, POL, 55.72
16. Robert Hill, CAN, 55.75

American Justin Ress led the men’s 100 back prelims with a big win in the 7th of 8 heats in a time of 53.63, the only man under 54 seconds. Ress was a member of the U.S. World Championship team this year, but was eligible to swim here due to only qualifying in a non-Olympic event (the 50 back). He has to be considered the favorite after that swim, and holds a best of 53.27 from U.S. World Trials in June.

Ress’ teammate Taylor Dale won heat 8 to take the #2 time of the morning in 54.13, and Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys won the 6th heat for the 3rd best time in 54.51. Other notables making it through include Ireland’s Shane Ryan, Greece’s Apostolos Christou, and Russia’s Andrei Shabasov.

Fresh off the 400 freestyle, top seed Kosuke Hagino had a solid showing of 54.96 to advance to the semis 7th overall.

Women’s 400 IM Prelims

• Meet Record: 4:37.50, Yana Klochkova (UKR), 2007
• Start list W400IM

1. Yui Ohashi, JPN, 4:40.82
2. Allyson McHugh, USA, 4:41.47
3. Sarah Darcel, CAN, 4:41.90
4. Reka Gyorgy, HUN, 4:43.52
5. Brooke Forde, USA, 4:43.73
6. Barbora Zavadova, CZE, 4:43.82
7. Carlotta Toni, ITA, 4:43.91
8. Kim Seoyeong, KOR, 4:44.30

Japan’s Yui Ohashi took control early in the third and final heat of the women’s 400 IM before cruising in on the freestyle, posting the top time of the morning in 4:40.82. Behind her, Allyson McHugh of the U.S. blazed home in 30.73 to run down Sarah Darcel of Canada for the #2 spot in 4:41.47 to Darcel’s 4:41.90.

In heat 2 Hungary’s Reka Gyorgy had a similar push on the last length as she passed Barbora Zavadova and Brooke Forde to win the heat in 4:43.52. She advances to the final 4th overall, while Forde (4:43.73) and Zavadova (4:43.82) sit 5th and 6th.

Men’s 100 Breast Prelims

• Meet Record: 59.53, Igor Borysik (UKR), 2009
• Start list M100Breast

1. Andrew Wilson, USA, 59.69
2. Yannick Kaser, SUI, 1:00.47
3. Rustam Gadirov, RUS, 1:00.61
4. Ilya Shymanovich, BLR, 1:00.62
5. Dmitriy Balandin, KAZ, 1:00.76
6. Ryuya Mura, JPN, 1:01.12
7. Marcin Stolarski, POL, 1:01.22
8. Eli Wall, CAN, 1:01.27
9. Andrius Sidlauskas, LTU, 1:01.29
10. Raphael Rodrigues, BRA, 1:01.32
11. Andrea Toniato, ITA, 1:01.34
12. Jacob Montague, USA, 1:01.36
13. Mamoru Mori, JPN, 1:01.43
14. Kim Jaeyoun, KOR, 1:01.47
15. Darragh Greene, IRL, 1:01.56
16. Felipe Kage Monni, BRA, 1:01.67

Andrew Wilson stepped up and posted a big swim this morning in the men’s 100 breast, winning his heat by over a second and a half in 59.69. He was the only one under a minute, and was within two tenths of the meet record (59.53) and his personal best (59.51).

Switzerland’s Yannick Kaser (1:00.47) and Belarus’ Ilya Shymanovich (1:00.62) won the other two circle-seeded heats to advance 2nd and 4th overall, with Russian Rustam Gadirov in for 3rd at 1:00.61. 200 Olympic gold medalist Dmitriy Balandin qualified 5th in 1:00.76, and the other American Jacob Montague also advanced through to the semis in 12th.

Eli Wall of Canada and Darragh Greene of Ireland both had nice drops from the last non-circle-seeded heat to advance in the top-16 after being seeded outside the top-24 coming in.

Women’s 200 Back Prelims

• Meet Record: 2:08.91, Stephanie Proud (GBR), 2009
• Start list W200Back

1. Asia Seidt, USA, 2:10.41
2. Sian Whitaker, AUS, 2:10.55
3. Alexia Zevnik, CAN, 2:11.20
4. Bridgette Alexander, USA, 2:11.66
5. Margherita Panziera, ITA, 2:11.69
6. Mayuko Goto, JPN, 2:11.93
7. Mackenzie Glover, CAN, 2:11.94
8. Lisa Graf, GER, 2:12.85
9. Alicja Tchorz, POL, 2:13.12
10. Irina Prikhodko, RUS, 2:13.27
11. Klaudia Nazieblo, POL, 2:14.18
12. Vera Koprivova, CZE, 2:14.64
13. Martina Van Berkel, SUI, 2:15.01
14. Anna Konishi, JPN, 2:15.07
15. Nadine Laemmler, GER, 2:15.10
16. Tessa Vermeulen, NED, 2:15.29

Asia Seidt of the U.S. topped the women’s 200 back prelims, winning heat 4 in 2:10.41 over Sian Whittaker (2:10.55) and Alexia Zevnik (2:11.20). The three of them hold the top three times heading into the semi-finals.

The other American Bridgette Alexander won the 5th and final heat in 2:11.66 and qualifies 4th overall, while Italy’s Margherita Panziera came out on top in heat 3 to qualify 5th overall in 2:11.69.

Top seed coming in Lisa Graf of Germany advanced through in 8th, while Australia’s Hayley Baker, who was seeded 3rd coming in, didn’t show for her heat.

Men’s 50 Fly Prelims

• Meet Record: 23.09, Jason Dunford (KEN), 2009
• Start list M50Fly

1. Andriy Govorov, UKR, 23.52
2. Shunichi Nakao, JPN, 23.74
3. Guilherme Rosolen, BRA, 23.76
4. Aleksandr Sadovnikov, RUS / Henrique Martins, BRA, 23.79
5. –
6. Andrey Zhilkin, RUS, 23.86
7. Andrii Khloptsov, UKR, 23.87
8. Yahor Dodaleu, BLR, 23.96
9. Konrad Czerniak, POL, 23.97
10. Marcus Schlesinger, ISR, 24.05
11. Brayden McCarthy, AUS, 24.08
12. Nao Horomura, JPN, 24.09
13. Zane Waddell, RSA, 24.16
14. Andrea Vergani, ITA, 24.21
15. Justin Lynch, USA, 24.25
16. Jan Sefl, CZE / Conor Brines, IRL, 24.26

Andriy Govorov led a group of nine men who cracked 24 seconds in the men’s 50 fly, posting a time of 23.52 from the 10th and final heat. Shunichi Nakao of Japan and Guilherme Rosolen of Brazil won the other two circle-seeded heats to take the 2nd and 3rd best times into the semis at 23.74 and 23.76.

Aleksandr Sadovnikov and Henrique Martins are dead-locked at 4th in 23.79, and 2015 World Championship medalist Konrad Czerniak also got through in 9th.

Jan Sefl of the Czech Republic and Conor Brines of Ireland tied for 16th in 24.26, and will likely swim-off for a spot in the semis.

Women’s 400 Free Relay Prelims

• Meet Record: 3:38.12, United States, 2015
• Start list W400FR

1. United States, 3:41.30
2. Russia, 3:41.89
3. Brazil, 3:42.23
4. Italy, 3:42.34
5. Japan, 3:42.80
6. Great Britain, 3:42.94
7. Canada, 3:43.99
8. France, 3:44.83

The American quartet of Claire Rasmus (55.50), Katrina Konopka (55.20), Katie Drabot (55.37) and Katie McLaughlin (55.23) put together four solid legs to post the top time in the women’s 400 free relay (3:41.30). The Russians were closed behind them in heat 3, qualifying 2nd overall in 3:41.89 with a quick 54.89 leg from Polina Lapshina.

The Brazilians won heat 2 in 3:42.23, advancing 3rd overall to the final. Larissa Oliveira had their top split on the lead-off leg, clocking 54.96. The Italians, Japanese and the Brits were all sub-3:43 as well in what should be a close battle for the medals.

Canada and France round out the top-8, while the Australians miss out by a quarter of a second, 9th in 3:45.09.

Men’s 400 Free Relay Prelims

• Meet Record: 3:10.88, Russia, 2013
• Start list M400FR

1. Italy, 3:16.12
2. United States, 3:17.08
3. Russia, 3:17.30
4. Brazil, 3:17.44
5. Poland, 3:17.83
6. Japan, 3:18.66
7. Ireland, 3:19.66
8. South Africa, 3:19.81

The Italian men stormed their way to a heat 3 win in the 400 free relay, taking the top time of the prelims in 3:16.12. They had solid splits all around, including a 48.59 anchor from Alessandro Miressi.

The Americans won heat 4 and qualify 2nd in 3:17.08, with Maxime Rooney leading off in 49.03 and Justin Lynch splitting 48.79 on the 2nd leg.

The Russians sit 3rd in 3:17.30 and had a nice 48.58 leg from Sergei Fesikov, and Brazil and Poland sit 4th and 5th after having the fastest two splits in the field on their anchors. Pedro Spajari anchored the Brazilians in 48.20, and Kacper Majchrzak brought the Pols home in 48.33.