2024 Worlds Previews: Fukuoka Medalists Armstrong, Mityukov Lead Men’s Backstroke

2024 WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 11th – February 18th (pool swimming)
• Doha, Qatar
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• SwimSwam Preview Index

In the strangest World Championships in several generations, we will do our best to pick the medalists and finalists for the 2024 World Championships. It’s going to be weird and fun, all at the same time. Let’s dive in.

With one medalist from each of the men’s backstroke events returning, we’ve got two clear favorites for gold in Doha.

There’s no shortage of intriguing challengers, however, including all four swimmers who have won a World Junior title in a backstroke event between 2022 and 2023.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE

• World Record: 23.55 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2023 Russian Cup
• World Junior Record: 24.00 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2018 European Championships
• World Championship Record: 24.04 – Liam Tancock (GBR), 2009
• 2023 World Champion: Hunter Armstrong (USA), 24.05

ARMSTRONG SEEKS TITLE DEFENSE IN 50 BACK

On paper, the 50 back is Hunter Armstrong‘s to lose, as the former world record holder has been faster than the next-best swimmer in the field’s best time, Pieter Coetze‘s 24.36, eight times.

In 2022, Armstrong smashed the world record in a time of 23.71, and though he was off that at the World Championships a few months later, he still emerged with the silver medal in 24.14, two one-hundredths shy of countryman Justin Ress.

In 2023, the two did the opposite, as Ress inched out the win at the U.S. selection meet, 24.10 to 24.16, and then Armstrong emerged with the world title, dominating the field in 24.05 to lead Ress by 19 one-hundredths and bronze medalist Xu Jiayu by nearly half a second.

As one of the few world champions from Fukuoka defending their title in Doha, we’re picking Armstrong here, no doubt, but he’ll still need to be near the top of his game to solidify the victory.

In history, only 29 swimmers have been sub-24.5, and in addition to Armstrong, six of them will be in the field.

Apostolos Christou, the 2022 European champion, and Pieter Coetze, the 2022 Commonwealth and World Junior silver medalist, share matching best times of 24.36, with Coetze having set his in 2023 to rank 5th worldwide.

Australia’s Isaac Cooper was the silver medalist in the 50 back at the Short Course World Championships in 2022—memorably appearing to initially win gold before there was a re-swim—and swam a long course PB of 24.38 last March, while rising youngster Ksawery Masiuk of Poland won bronze at the 2022 LC Worlds and took 4th last year.

Masiuk, who turned 19 in December, has been sub-24.5 five times, led by a pair of 24.44s that included him winning the World Junior title in 2022.

The two others who have been under 24.5 might be more dark horses coming in: Michael Andrew and Hugo Gonzalez.

Andrew was a finalist in the event at the 2019 Worlds, taking 5th in 24.58, and has been as fast as 24.39 and went 24.47 last year at the Berlin World Cup to rank 9th in the world.

Gonzalez ripped a time of 24.47 in the European Championship final in 2021 to win bronze, though he hasn’t broken 25 since and was nearly a full second slower at the 2023 Worlds (25.42).

Some others flying under the radar who were quick last year are Germany’s Ole Braunschweig (24.57), Czech Republic’s Miroslav Knedla (24.64) and New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat (24.66).

SwimSwam’s Picks

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE

• World Record: 51.60 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2022 World Championships
• World Junior Record: 52.53 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2018 European Championships
• World Championship Record: 51.60 – Thomas Ceccon (ITA), 2022
• 2023 World Champion: Ryan Murphy (USA), 52.22

ARMSTRONG FENDS OFF UP-AND-COMERS IN 100 BACK

With 14 swims sub-53 in his career, Armstrong’s consistency in the 100 back sets him apart from the rest of the field, making him the man to beat after back-to-back bronzes in Budapest and Fukuoka.

The other returning finalist from 2023 is Masiuk, who has been 6th in consecutive World Championship meets and owns a lifetime best of 52.58 with six sub-53s under his belt.

The other swimmers in the field who broke 53 seconds last year were Coetze, the 2022 Commonwealth champion in the event who blasted an African Record of 52.78 in April, and Christou, who clocked 52.99 at the Sette Colli Trophy in June.

Christou is in the top 10 all-time with his PB of 52.09 from 2022, but didn’t make the semis at Worlds last year, failing to break 54 in the prelims.

Beyond those four, there are nine others who were within 26 one-hundredths of one another last year, making this an event that will have high stakes in the semis.

• Knedla won silver at the 2023 World Juniors after clocking a best time of 53.28 in the semis.
• 200 back World Championship medalist Roman Mityukov swam a lifetime best of 53.32 to place 10th overall in Fukuoka.
• In December, Hungarian Adam Jaszo logged a best time of 53.35 at the Gyor Open. Coming into that meet, the 21-year-old had never broken 54 seconds (he also went 53.51 in the prelims).
• Gonzalez was an Olympic finalist in Tokyo (PB of 52.78) and was 53.38 to place 11th last year in Fukuoka.
• Australian Bradley Woodward was 11th in the 100 back at the 2023 Worlds, but hit a best time of 53.38 leading off Australia’s 400 medley relay.
• American Jack Aikins set a PB of 53.45 in the prelims at the U.S. Pro Championships last July. Prior to that, he had numerous 53.7s under his belt.
• Jeffcoat hit a lifetime best of 53.46 en route to his 12th-place finish in Fukuoka.
• Braunschweig set a PB of 53.47 at the Berlin Open last April before placing 15th at Worlds.
• South Korean Lee Juho, who recently turned 29, went 53.54 en route to bronze at the Asian Games in September, just shy of his 53.32 best from 2022.

Other key names that should be mentioned are Ukrainian Oleksandr Zheltyakov, who won the World Junior title last year over Knedla and owns a PB of 53.73, and Poland’s Kacper Stokowski, the NC State fifth-year who swam a best of 53.74 last April.

Flying under the radar on the psych sheets is Luke Greenbank, who has been as fast as 53.34 in 2021 but was only 54.30 last year, missing the British Worlds team. He came back and had a good showing at SC Euros, winning silver in the 200 back and placing 5th in the 100 back, so he surely can’t be counted out.

Armstrong is a cut above the rest, especially considering he’s broken 52 seconds before. Of course, there’s the possibility he won’t taper too much during the unique timing of this event, but even his season-best of 53.72 is within range of the majority of the other’s best times.

Masiuk and Coetze are young and on the rise, as is Knedla. Woodward and Mityukov are more geared toward the 200 but will be able to close well, and we’ll roll with the experienced Greenbank and Christou as the last finalists.

SwimSwam’s Picks

MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE

• World Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Peirsol (USA), 2009 World Championships
• World Junior Record: 1:55.14 – Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS), 2017 World Championships
• World Championship Record: 1:51.92 – Aaron Peirsol (USA), 2009
• 2023 World Champion: Hubert Kos (HUN), 1:54.14

MITYUKOV A MARKED MAN, GREENBANK LURKING IN 200 BACK

Mityukov comes into the 200 back as the big favorite after winning bronze in Fukuoka, clocking a Swiss Record of 1:55.34 in the final, but there are two other men in the hunt who will give him a good run.

Woodward is coming off setting a PB of 1:55.56 at the Japan Open at the end of November, and Zheltyakov won the European Junior (1:55.79) and World Junior (1:56.13) titles last year.

Those are the only three swimmers in the field sub-1:56 in 2023, and Mityukov has already done it in 2024, clocking 1:55.99 in January.

Greenbank is one to watch after he finished a tenth shy of the European SC title in December, though the man who edged him out, Lorenzo Mora, will also be in the field. However, the two are separated by nearly three seconds in terms of long course best times, with Greenbank having been as fast as 1:54.43 in 2021.

Other swimmers poised to be in the finals conversation are Aikins, Lee and Gonzalez, all 1:56-low last year, and youngsters Coetze, Masiuk and Greek 18-year-old Apostolos Siskos. All six of them set best times in the 1:56s last year.

SwimSwam’s Picks