2022 World Junior Open Water Champs: Event Schedule and Preview

2022 FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships

• September 16-18, 2022
• Mahé Island, Seychelles
• Open Water
• Event Page
• Results

The 2022 FINA World Junior Open Water Championships are set to take place from September 16-18 at Mahé, Seychelles. Here is the schedule of events this week:

Friday, September 16th

• Girls 5k (Start: 8:00am local time)
• Boys 5k (Start: 8:00am local time)
• Girls 7.5k (Start: 10:00am local time)
• Boys 7.5k (Start: 10:00am local time)

Saturday, September 17th

• Girls 10k (Start: 8:00am local time)
• Boys 10k (Start: 8:00am local time)

Sunday, September 18th

• Mixed 4×1500 relay (Start: 10:00am local time)

The schedule looks a little different for those of us in the western hemisphere. For our North and South American readers, here is the competition schedule:

Thursday, September 15th

• Girls 5k (Start: 11:00pm Central/9:00pm Pacific/12:00am* Eastern)
• Boys 5k (Start: 11:00pm Central/9:00pm Pacific/12:00am* Eastern)

**The 5k will start at 12:00am Eastern Time on Saturday morning.

Friday, September 16th

• Girls 7.5k (Start: 1:00am Central/11:00pm* Pacific/2:00 am Eastern)
• Boys 7.5k (Start: 1:00am Central/11:00pm* Pacific/2:00 am Eastern)
• Girls 10k (Start: 11:00pm Central/9:00pm Pacific/12:00am* Eastern)
• Boys 10k (Start: 11:00pm Central/9:00pm Pacific/12:00am* Eastern)

*The 7.5k will start at 11:00pm Pacific Time on Thursday night. The 10k will start at 12:00am Eastern Time on Saturday morning.

Sunday, September 18th

• Mixed 4×1500 Relay (Start: 1:00am Central/11:00pm* Pacific/2:00 am Eastern)

*The mixed 4×1500 relay will start at 11:00pm Pacific Time on Saturday night.

The timing is a bit confusing for readers in the western hemisphere, but just know that you’ll need to be staying up late if you plan on following the races live.

The races are split up by age. The 5k races feature swimmers age 13-15, while the 7.5k is for 15-17, and the 10k 17-19. The mixed relay is split up into two categories for results: 14-16 relays and open.

The USA has brought an impressive girls roster to these championships, featuring a pair of World Championships medalists from earlier this summer in Katie Grimes and Claire Weinstein. The duo train together at Sandpipers of Nevada in Las Vegas, and despite being 16 and 15 respectively, they were both able to qualify for the U.S. World Champs team in the pool. Grimes won a pair of silver medals in Budapest, finishing 2nd in the 1500 free and 400 IM. Weinstein was a member of the U.S. women’s 4×200 free relay, which won gold, and also competed in the women’s 200 free, individually, though she missed the final.

Weinstein is set to race in the girls 5k in Mahé, while Grimes is slated for the 7.5k. With both girls also being exceptional swimmers in “shorter” races, it seems likely we could see one or both on the U.S. mixed 4×1500 free relays.

For France, Madelon Cattaeu comes into these World Junior Championships after competing at the European Championships last month. Cattaeu took 8th in both the women’s 5k and 10k at the European Championships and is slated to race the 10k here in Mahé. Having finished so highly against senior competitors, Cattaeu could be quite a threat in the race at a junior meet.

In the boys 7.5k, Germany’s Linus Schwedler comes in with a lot of momentum. Schwedler took 11th in the men’s 5k at the European Championships last month, an impressive feat for someone so young in a men’s open water race. For context, the youngest medalist in the men’s 5k at Euros was 26 years old, nine years older than Schwedler.