2022 FINA WORLD JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- August 30-September 4, 2022
- Lima, Peru
- Long Course Meters (50m), Prelims/Semis/Finals
- Meet Site
- Event Schedule
- Live Results
- Entries List
- Top 5 Girls’ Storylines
- Top 5 Boys’ Storylines
- Click here to download an Excel sheet with events by swimmer
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- How to Watch
It’s time for the final session of the 2022 World Junior Championships, marking the end of the final major international competition for the 2022 calendar year. Tonight’s final session will feature the fastest heat of the boys 1500 freestyle, along with finals of the boys 200 back, girls 200 breast, boys 200 fly, girls 200 free, boys 100 free, girls 100 fly, girls 50 free, boys 50 breast, boys 4×100 medley relay, and girls 4×100 medley relay.
There was one scratch for the final session. In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Italian Irene Mati, who finished 8th in prelims with a 2:37.28 opted to scratch the event, paving the way for the Czech Republic’s Jana Pribylova to move up into the final. She will swim in lane 8 with her time of 2:38.15 from prelims. With that, Spain’s Jimena Ruiz moved into the second alternate position after placing 11th in the morning session.
That event is set to feature a battle between Spain’s Emma Carrasco Cadens and Japan’s Yumeno Kusuda, who went 1-2 out of prelims. The two swimmers cleared the rest of the field by over 2 seconds, setting themselves up for a great race in lanes 4 and 5. With 4 of the remaining 6 swimmers posting times between 2:33 and 2:34 this morning, the race for bronze is also shaping up to be intense.
On the boy’s side, the session will be highlighted by World Record David Popovici chasing his own personal best in the 100 freestyle. Popovici set the world record in that event at a 46.86 during last month’s European Championships, and after dropping several fast relay splits, he could come within range of it. He will also be chasing his Championship Record of 47.07 that was set earlier in the meet leading off Romania’s 400 freestyle relay, which has a strong chance of falling again.
Japan leads the charge in both the girl’s 100 butterfly and the boy’s 200 backstroke as the nation looks to climb the medal table. In the girl’s 100 fly, Mizuki Hirai narrowly leads a tight field after swimming a 1:00.01 in prelims. In contrast, her countrymate Hidekazu Takehara has a clear path to victory in the boy’s 200 back after leading the prelims field by over 2 seconds with his time of 1:59.07.
The boy’s 200 butterfly features the possibility to see siblings on the podium as Polish twins Michal Chmielewski and Krysztof Chmielewski went 1-2 in prelims to take lanes 4 and 5 for the final of the event. However, they will be chased by Roberto Bonilla and Ei Kamikawabta who are looking to break up the party.
After tying for the top seed for the final with identical times of 2:02.00, Italian Giulia Vetrano and Hungarian Nikolett Padar are set up for a tight race in the girl’s 200 free. The girl’s 50 freestyle will also feature a close race with over half of the finalists dipping under 26 seconds in the semi final. Italian Matilde Biagiotti will be in lane 4 for that race after dropping a 25.36 in the semis.
In the boy’s 50 breaststroke, Serbian Uros Zivanovic, the youngest swimmer in the final, will be looking to wrap up a strong competition with a gold. Zivanovic posted a 28.08 in the semi-finals of the event, good enough to lead the field by almost half a second.
The fastest heat of the boy’s 1500 freestyle is headlined by Spain’s Carlos Benito Garach, who currently holds an entry time of 15:00.90, over 5 seconds ahead of the field.
The meet will wrap up with the boy’s and girl’s 400 medley relays. On the boy’s side, Japan leads the field with a time of 3:43.06 from prelims. Expect France and Poland to challenge the team however. Japan also holds the second fastest time of 4:10.41 in the girl’s event, only behind top seeded Italy’s time of 4:10.33 from prelims.