2023 LEN U23 Championships Day 2 Prelims: Wiffen & Mitsin Are On The 400 Free Prowl

2023 LEN U23 SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, August 11th – Sunday, August 13th
• Sport Ireland National Aquatic Centre, Dublin, Ireland
• LCM (50m)
• Start Times – Local: Prelims – 9:30 am / Finals – 6:00 pm
• Start Times – EST: Prelims – 4:30 am / Finals – 1:00 pm
• Entries
• SwimSwam Preview
• Start Lists/Live Results
• Live Stream
• Day 1 Prelims Recap/Day 1 Finals Live Recap

We entered day two of the inaugural LEN U23 Swimming Championships from Dublin, Ireland, with several swimmers stealing the spotlight on their way to capturing top seeds.

The men’s 200m fly saw a pair of Poles step up to the plate, with twin brothers Krzysztof Chmielewski and Michal Chmielewsii taking the top two spots in the men’s 200m fly.

The former. punched a strong morning swim of 1:56.27 while the latter was a hair behind in 1:56.34. Both hold an advantage over 3rd-seeded Aaron Shackell of the United States who rounded out the top 3 morning performers in 1:57.49.

For Krzysztof Chmielewski, the 19-year-old is coming off a stellar World Championships performance which saw the teen become the silver medalist. There in Fukuoka Chmielewski notched a time of 1:53.62 to finish as runner-up behind Frenchman Leon Marchand.

Of note, American 100m fly winner from last night, Gabriel Jett fell to the 18th seed in this 2fly this morning, registering a time of 2:03.85.

Germany’s Isabel Gose looks primed to double up on her victory in the 800m free from last night by setting herself apart in the women’s 400m free heats this morning.

The 21-year-old nabbed the top spot in a mark of 4:08.51, holding nearly a 4-second advantage over the rest of the USA-less field.

Gose owns a lifetime best of 4:03.02 in this event from the prelims of this year’s World Championships. There in Fukuoka, the German ultimately finished in 7th place in 4:05.27. However, she is the reigning European champion in this race.

Daniel Wiffen followed suit in the men’s edition of the 400m free, with the on-fire Irishman setting the stage with a morning outing of 3:49.12.

Germany’s Sven Schwarz will flank Wiffen for the final, capturing the 2nd seed in 3:49.38 while USA’s Rex Maurer will be on the other side in 3:49.80.

Wiffen wowed the crowd last night with a head-turning performance in the 1500m free. The 22-year-old Loughborough-trained star punched a time of 14:35.79, a result within striking distance of his own national record and lifetime best of 14:34.91 from April of this year.

Wiffen wasn’t able to replicate that same type of result at this year’s World Championships where he placed 4th in a time of 14:43.01. His 1500m time from last night would have bagged the bronze in Fukuoka.

As a preview, Wiffen has Bulgarian Petar Mitsin with which to contend in this shorter race. Mitsin lurks as the 4th-seeded swimmer in 3:51.37 but hit a massive 3:44.31 lifetime best en route to becoming this year’s European Junior Championships gold medalist.

The men’s 50m free saw two contestants dip under the 22-second barrier this morning, led by Ukrainian Vladyslav Bukhov. The 21-year-old clocked a time of 21.95 to lead the field, while Greek swimmer Stergios-Marios Bilas was also under 22 seconds in 21.98.

Norway’s national record holder and the first man ever from his nation to get under 22, Nicholas Lia, was 3rd this morning in 22.03. American Hunter Tapp wound up 29th in a time of 22.86.

The women’s 50m free saw Grace Cooper of the United States lead the pack, putting up a time of 24.96 as the sole sub-25-second competitor this morning.

Her time checks in as the 3rd-fastest of her career, one which boasts a lifetime best of 24.77 from earlier this year.

Slovenia’s Neza Klancar is in the hunt after a prelim outing of 25.01 while Poland’s Kornelia Fiedkiewicz is also among those vying for a podium spot in 25.25. Another American Julia Dennis made the final, posting 25.44 for her part.

Additional Top Seeds

• Mona McSharry of Ireland landed lane 4 for the women’s 100m breaststroke notching a time of 1:07.30. That holds a healthy advantage over the next-fastest swimmer, Kaitlyn Dobler of the United States who clocked 1:08.13.
• The men’s 50m back saw British athlete Jonathan Adam get it done for the top seed, logging 25.09. South African national record holder Pieter Coetze is looking to take away the gold, however, positioned 2nd in 25.18. Dutchman Kai van Westering is in the mix with 25.19 while European Junior champion Miroslav Knedla of the Czech Republic is also right there in 25.46. Of note, American Hunter Tapp was 13th overall in 25.74.
• Emma Sticklen gave the United States a top seed in the women’s 200m fly. Her morning time of 2:09.54 represented the sole outing of the field under the 2:12 threshold. Sticklen of the University of Texas owns a lifetime best of 2:08.28 in this event so she’s already within earshot of that type of performance.
• The women’s 100m back saw Isabelle Stadden of the United States produce the sole time of the morning under 1:01. Stadden hit 59.94 to claim the top seed to try to upgrade her 50m back silver from last night to gold this evening in this event.
• Luca Janssen of the Netherlands nabbed the pole position in the men’s 200m breast with an AM outing of 2:11.22. There were no Americans in this race.
• Vasileios Sofikitis clocked a time of 4:20.66 to lead the men’s 400m IM field this morning. He was the bronze medalist at this event at the 2022 World Junior Championships (4:19.60).