2024 World Championships: Day 8 Finals Live Recap

2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 11th – February 18th, 2024
• Doha, Qatar
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• Day 7 Prelims Recap | Day 7 Finals Recap

Day 8 Finals Heat Sheet 

We’ve made it, folks — we’re down to the last session of the 2024 Doha World Championships. There are seven event finals this session, including the men’s and women’s 4×100 medley relays to cap off the meet.

Day 8 Order of Events:

• Men’s 50 backstroke — final
• Women’s 50 breaststroke — final
• Men’s 1500 freestyle — final
• Women’s 50 freestyle — final
• Men’s 400 IM — final
• Women’s 400 IM — final
• Men’s 4×100 medley relay — final
• Women’s 4×100 medley relay — final

Australia’s Isaac Cooper set an Oceanic record of 24.12 to lead the semifinals of the men’s 50 backstroke. He’s sitting ahead of defending champion Hunter Armstrong. Throughout the meet, backstrokers have had trouble swimming straight–even Cooper hit the lane rope during his semifinal. There’s a ton of talent in this heat beyond the top two including Ksawery Masiuk, Pieter Coetze, and Hugo Gonzalez, but this race may end up coming down to who can avoid the lane ropes.

World record holder Ruta Meilutyte leads the field in the women’s 50 breaststroke final by a wide margin. She swam 29.40 in the semifinals, putting her well ahead of 100 breaststroke champion Tang Qianting, who swam an Asian record of 29.80 to qualify. Just behind her is Benedetta Pilato, who was also sub-30 in semis with a 29.91.

800 freestyle champion Daniel Wiffen qualified for the men’s 1500 free final in a quiet 6th place, doing what he needed to make the top 8. After missing the 800 free final along with both the 800/1500 free final in Fukuoka, Florian Wellbrock secured lane 4 for this final. He leads the way with a prelims time of 14:48.43.

In the men’s 400 IM prelims, David Johnston swam a personal best 4:12.51 that held up as the fastest time of the morning. His teammate Carson Foster, the two-time defending champion–qualified safely in 4th (4:13.24). 200 IM finalists Daiya Seto (3rd, 4:13.06), Lewis Clareburt (5th, 4:13.24), and Alberto Razzetti (8th, 4:15.84) also made this 400 IM final.

In the women’s race, Canada’s Tess Cieplucha made her move on the back half of her prelims swim, passing Serbia’s Anja Crevar and posting 4:40.80 for the fastest qualifying time. After Crevar’s 4:41.11, the 3rd through 6th place qualifiers are separated by just over a half-second, with Freya Colbert sitting 3rd in 4:42.33.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE — Final

• World Record: 23.55 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2023)
• Championship Record: 24.04 — Liam Tancock, Great Britain (2009)
• World Junior Record: 24.00 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2018)
• 2023 World Champion: 24.05 — Hunter Armstrong, United States

Final:

1. Isaac Cooper (AUS) — 24.13
2. Hunter Armstrong (USA) — 24.33
3. Ksawery Masiuk (POL) — 24.44
4. Pieter Coetze (RSA) — 24.59
5. Ole Braunschweig (GER) — 24.74
6. Hugo Gonzalez (ESP) — 24.77
7. Michele Lamberti (ITA) — 24.82
8. Michael Andrew (USA) — 24.86

Isaac Cooper struck gold in the men’s 50 backstroke with a 24.13, just a hundredth off the Oceanic record that he swam yesterday in the semifinals. In those semifinals, Cooper hit the lane rope and it was a similar story here in the final as he was up against the rope for about 40 meters of the race.

Still, he earned his first long-course world title by two-tenths ahead of the defending champion Hunter Armstrong, who also won the 100 backstroke earlier in this meet. Amrstrong touched .11 seconds ahead of 19-year-old Ksawery Masiuk.

This is Masiuk’s second time getting bronze in this race as he repeats his performance from 2022 Worlds in Budapest. It is also the third time that Masiuk has swam 24.44. It’s the Polish record he first swam in September 2022 and has now tied twice.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE — Final

• World Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• Championship Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• World Junior Record: 29.30 — Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)
• 2023 World Champion: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania

Final:

1. Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) — 29.40
2. Tang Qianting (CHN) — 29.51
3. Benedetta Pilato (ITA) — 30.01
4. Lara van Niekerk (RSA) — 30.47
5. Ida Hulkko (FIN) — 30.60
6. Piper Enge (USA) — 30.69
7. Veera Kivirinta (FIN) — 30.73
8. Mona McSharry (IRL) — 30.96

World record holder Ruta Meilutyte bounced back from disappointment earlier in the week and defended her world title in the women’s 50 breaststroke. Tang Qianting pushed her throughout the race but Meilutyte was angle to get her hands on the wall first for Lithuania’s first gold medal of the meet, making it 18 different countries that have won gold in the pool at these Worlds.

Meiltutyte logged 29.40 to win the 2024 title, shaving two-hundredths off her semifinals time. The swim ties the fifth-fastest performance all-time.

Tang has been on great form this week. She won the 100 breaststroke and then set a 50 breaststroke Asian record in the semifinals (29.80). She just blew past that mark for her silver medal, clocking 29.51. That takes .29 seconds off the Asian record and moves her up to 4th on the all-time performers list.

Benedetta Pilato grabbed the bronze medal in 30.01, a tenth off her semifinals time.

MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE — Final

• World Record: 14:31.02 — Sun Yang, China (2012)
• Championship Record: 14:31.54 —Ahmed Hafnaoui, Tunisia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 14:46.09 — Franko Grgic, Croatia (2019)
• 2023 World Champion: 14:31.54 —Ahmed Hafnaoui, Tunisia
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 15:00.99 , Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 15:05.49

Final:

1. Daniel Wiffen (IRL) — 14:34.07
2. Florian Wellbrock (GER) — 14:44.61
3. David Aubry (FRA) — 14:44.85
4. David Betlehem (HUN) — 14:46.44
5. Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) — 14:47.54
6. Sven Schwarz (GER) — 14:47.89
7. Fei Liwei (CHN) — 14:50.51
8. Kuzey Tuncelli (TUR) — 14:59.76

What a performance from Daniel Wiffen, claiming the second gold medal of his career in dominating fashion. Wiffen won the 800 freestyle earlier in the week, earning Ireland’s first swimming medal at a World Championships.

He put together a special swim here in the 1500 freestyle final, jumping out ahead of the field early. Kuzey Tuncelli led through the first 100-meters but Wiffen quickly took control after that. At 500 meters, he had a 4.19 second lead over Tuncelli and jump kept pushing. He was keeping pace with Ahmed Hafnaoui‘s championship record line from Fukuoka as well as the world record line.

Both the world and championship record lines outpaced him on the closing 200 meters but Wiffen held on for a new personal best time of 14:34.07, beating the 14:34.91 he swam in April 2023 that announced him as a challenger in the distance events. His gold-medal performance jumps him up to #5 all-time and makes him the 2nd fastest European in history behind only Gregorio Paltrinieri.

With Wiffen over 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, the camera didn’t pick up much of the exciting race for the minor medals. At the 1000 mark, Florian Wellbrock, David Aubry, and Mykhailo Romanchuk were all grouped together in a line. Romanchuk fell off their pace and Hungary’s David Betlehem went by him.

But Wellbrock and Aubry stayed locked in a battle for silver all the way to the wall. Wellbrock got the better of Aubry by .24 seconds with a 14:44.61.

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — Final

• World Record: 23.61 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
• Championship Record: 23.61 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
• World Junior Record: 24.17 — Claire Curzan, United States (2021)
• 2023 World Champion: 23.62 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 24.70, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 24.82

Final:

1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 23.69
2. Kate Douglass (USA) — 23.91
3. Kasia Wasick (POL) — 23.95
4. Shayna Jack (AUS) — 24.27
5. Taylor Ruck (CAN) — 24.50
6. Anna Hopkin (GBR) — 24.51
7. Kornelia Fiedkiewicz (POL) — 24.69
8. Michelle Coleman (SWE) — 24.79

Sarah Sjostrom got it done in the women’s 50 freestyle final, claiming her 4th world championship title in the event. It’s her third in a row in this event as she won in 2022 and 2023 as well. She posted 23.69 to claim gold, just .08 seconds off the world record she set in 2023 Worlds semifinals. She ties herself from 2017 Worlds for fourth-fastest performance in history and now owns the top five swims.

Kate Douglass charged home in this event, earning her third individual medal of these World Championships. She blazed a 23.91, breaking Simone Manuel‘s American record for her first career outing sub-24 seconds. She’s just the second American woman to break that barrier, dropping .28 seconds from her PB of 24.19 from prelims.

It took breaking 24 seconds to make the podium as Kasia Wasick also dipped under the barrier for the first time in her career. Wasick reset her Polish record with a 24.01 in the semifinals. Here in the final she dropped six-hundredths, earning bronze in 23.95.

Notably, Taylor Ruck touched 5th in 24.50, which is just three-hundredths from the 24.47 personal best she swam at 2018 Pan Pacs.

MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Final

• World Record: Leon Marchand, France – 4:02.50 (2023)
• World Junior Record: Ilya Borodin, Russia – 4:10.02 (2021)
• Championship Record: Leon Marchand, France – 4:02.50 (2023)
• 2023 World Champion: Leon Marchand, France – 4:02.50
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 4:12.50, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 4:13.76

Final:

1. Lewis Clareburt (NZL) — 4:09.72
2. Max Litchfield (GBR) — 4:10.40
3. Daiya Seto (JPN) — 4:12.51
4. Carson Foster (USA) — 4:12.62
5. David Johnston (USA) / Alberto Razzetti (ITA) — 4:13.05
6. (tie)
7. Lorne Wigginton (CAN) — 4:14.98
8. Balasz Hollo (HUN) — 4:19.66

Coming into these championships, New Zealand did not have a World Championships gold medal. Now, they have two. Lewis Clareburt made his move on the breaststroke leg, splitting 1:11.35 to move into 2nd place. That split are into Carson Foster‘s lead as well, as they turned for freestyle with Clareburt .65 seconds behind Foster.

Foster, a two-time silver medalist in this event, pushed the pace on the front half of the race. He opened with a 55.18 butterfly split, then clocked 1:03.25 on the backstroke. His 1:12.93 breaststroke split allowed the field to catch up with him a but, then he it seemed that he had nothing left in the tank for the freestyle leg.

By the final turn, Clareburt had gone past Foster, as had Great Britain’s Max Litchfield. The two kept extending their lead on the closing lap and Clareburt closed in a field-best 28.28 on the final 50 meters to earn his first gold medal in 4:09.72.

Litchfield took second in 4:10.40 and Daiya Seto was also able to pass Foster on the last lap, earning the last step on the podium with a 4:12.51, .11 seconds ahead of Foster.

• World Record: Summer McIntosh, Canada – 4:25.87 (2023)
• Championship Record: Summer McIntosh, Canada – 4:27.11 (2023)
• World Junior Record: Summer McIntosh, Canada – 4:25.87 (2023)
• 2023 World Champion: Summer McIntosh, Canada – 4:27.11
• Olympic ‘A’ Qualifying Time: 4:38.53, Olympic ‘B’ Qualifying Time: 4:39.92

Final:

1. Freya Colbert (GBR) — 4:37.14
2. Anastasia Gorbenko (ISR) — 4:37.36
3. Sara Franceschi (ITA) — 4:37.86
4. Anja Crevar (SRB) — 4:38.93
5. Boglarka Kapas (HUN) — 4:39.78
6. Cyrielle Duhamel (FRA) — 4:41.95
7. Tess Cieplucha (CAN) — 4:43.02
8. Ichika Kajimoto (JPN) — 4:43.61

It came down to the final ten meters in the women’s 400 IM final as Freya Colbert was able to just get ahead of Anastasia Gorbenko, earning Great Britain’s second gold medal of the meet. Colbert was fourth after the breaststroke leg, but put in a massive dig on freestyle. She’d moved into third at the final turn, then split 31.31 on the final 50. Colbert touched in 4:37.14, beating Gorbenko by .22 seconds.

The lead changed hands several times throughout the race. Gorbenko led after butterfly, Boglarka Kapas after backstroke, and Sara Franceschi put together a 1:18.57 breaststroke split to have the lead with just 100 meters to go. The 25-year-old Italian was running 5th at the halfway point but after just 50 meters of breaststroke had moved into 2nd.

Franceschi battled on the freestyle leg to stay ahead of a charging Anja Crevar, who out-split her over the closing 50 meters. Her breaststroke leg had done enough work that she was able to hold onto the bronze medal in 4:37.86 while Crevar finished 4th in 4:38.93.

MEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – Final

• World Record: United States – 3:26.78 (2021)
• Championship Record: United States – 3:27.20 (2023)
• World Junior Record: Russian Federation – 3:33.19 (2019)
• 2023 World Champion: United States – 3:27.20

Final:

1. United States (Armstrong, Fink, Harting, King) — 3:29.80
2. Netherlands (van Westering, Kamminga, Korstanje, Pijnenburg) — 3:31.23
3. Italy (Lamberti, Martinenghi, Sansone, Miressi) — 3:31.59
4. Canada — 3:32.89
5. Spain — 3:33.20
6. Austria — 3:34.62
7. Ireland — 3:35.28

DQ: Poland

The United States quartet of Hunter Armstrong, Nic Fink, Zach Harting, and Matt King got the job done in the men’s medley relay, earning the U.S.’s 8th gold medal of these championships, which puts them up one on China for the lead in the medal table.

Hugo Gonzalez got the better of Armstrong on the backstroke leg, 53.11 to 53.15. Fink had a great exchange with Armstrong and got to work on the breaststroke leg, taking over the lead on his first 50. He did what he needed to do, splitting 58.20 to keep the U.S up by seven-tenths on the Netherlands, who Arno Kamminga moved into 2nd with a 58.23 split. The best breaststroke split in the field belonged to Nicolo Martinenghi, who swam 57.97 to move the Italians from 6th to 3rd.

The gap between the U.S. and the Netherlands stayed the same on the fly leg as Nyls Korstanje and Harting put up almost matching splits of 51.12 and 51.13, respectively. King blew the race open for the Americans on the freestyle leg, anchoring the team in 47.32 for a gold-medal winning time of 3:29.80.

The Americans were the only team sub-3:30 in the field as the Netherlands squad held off the Italians for silver, 3:31.23 to 3:31.59, outlasting Alessandro Miressi‘s 47.20 anchor leg.

WOMEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – Final

• World Record: United States – 3:50.40 (2019)
• Championship Record: United States – 3:50.40 (2019)
• World Junior Record: Canada – 3:58.38 (2017)
• 2023 World Champion: United States – 3:52.08

Final:

1. Australia (Anderson, Harkin, Throssell, Jack) — 3:55.98
2. Sweden (L. Hansson, S. Hansson, Sjostrom, Coleman) — 3:56.35
3. Canada (Wilm, Angus, Smith, Ruck) — 3:56.43
4. China — 3:59.16
5. Netherlands — 4:00.24
6. Italy — 4:00.34
7. Poland — 4:01.73
8. Hong Kong — 4:03.15

Ingrid Wilm got Canada off to a great start in the women’s 4×100 medley relay, opening in 58.95, just .15 seconds off her personal best in the 100 backstroke. Australia’s Iona Anderson (59.30) and Sweden’s Louise Hansson (59.93) also put in sub-1:00 lead-off legs, separating Canada, Australia, and Sweden from the rest of the field quickly.

It was close throughout the race for these three teams–it was clear early that they would all be on the podium barring a bad relay exchange, but the question of what color medal wasn’t answered until the final touch.

Canada maintained their lead through the breaststroke leg, thanks to a 1:06.24 split from Sophie Angus. Meanwhile, Sophie Hansson passed Abbey Harkin, meaning it was Sweden that was running 2nd heading into the back half of the race. Then, their sprint superstar Sjostrom got to work on the butterfly leg.

Sjostrom doesn’t often race the 100 fly individually anymore but she showed that she’s still capable of an excellent swim, splitting 56.11 to give Sweden the lead heading into freestyle. Brianna Throssell split 56.86 for Australia to move them ahead of the Canadians.

There was still all to play for on the freestyle leg. Michelle Coleman still held the lead for Sweden at the final turn, but both Shayna Jack and Ruck were chasing. In the closing meters, Jack passed Coleman and gave the Australian’s gold in 3:55.98 with a 52.71 anchor. It’s the Australian women’s first gold medal of the meet.

Sweden earned the silver medal in 3:56.35 as Coleman was just able to hold off Ruck, who split 52.96 for the Canadians. They earned bronze in 3:56.43, just .08 seconds behind Sweden.