2023 World Champs Previews: Finke Leads a Stacked Field in the Men’s 800 Free

2023 WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 23 to 30, 2023
• Fukuoka, Japan
• Marine Messe Fukuoka
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Entry Book

BY THE NUMBERS — MEN’S 800 FREESTYLE

• World Record: Zhang Lin, China – 7:32.12 (2009)
• World Junior Record: Lorenzo Galossi, Italy – 7:43.37 (2022)
• Championship Record: Zhang Lin, China – 7:32.12 (2009)
• 2022 World Champion: Bobby Finke, United States – 7:39.36

The men’s 800 free will feature a very talented field of swimmers in Fukuoka this summer. Not only do 7 of the 8 finalists from last summer return, the additions of swimmers like Australia’s Sam Short and Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui will make it a task just to qualify for the final this summer.

RETURNING MEDALISTS

All three medalists from last summer’s World Championships in Budapest return this summer. Leading the way is American Bobby Finke, who won the event in 7:39.36 last summer. Finke is, of course, the defending Olympic Champion in this event as well, winning Gold in Tokyo with a 7:41.87.

The 7th-fastest performer of all-time Finke is also the American Record holder in the event with his personal best of 7:39.36, his time from last summer’s World Championships. Finke is also entered with that time this summer, which has earned him the top seed in Fukuoka.

Finke is known for his closing speed, which at times, has been legendary. For example, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Finke roared home in 26.39 on the final 50m, a split which, for context, was faster than anyone’s last 50 split in the men’s 200 free final in Tokyo. He did it once again last summer, closing on Florian Wellbrock, Mykhailo Romanchuk, and Gregorio Paltrinieri to take the lead in the waning moments of the race.

Earning the silver medal last summer in Budapest was Germany’s Florian Wellbrock. A part of that stunning finish last summer, Wellbrock posted a new personal best and German Record of 7:39.63 to get his hand on the wall 2nd. That time is also Wellbrock’s seed coming into this summer’s World Championships, which has earned him the 2nd seed on the start list.

Wellbrock is the 8th-fastest performer of all-time in the event and one of the 8 swimmers in history who have been under 7:40. He’s also an exceptionally skilled open water swimmer. In fact, Wellbrock has already won gold in both the men’s 5k and 10k in Fukuoka in the past week. How the open water races might affect his pool performances this coming week remains unclear. However, Wellbrock is no stranger to competing in both open water and pool swimming events at the same competitions. At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Wellbrock won gold in the men’s 10k, as well as the men’s 1500 free. Last summer in Budapest, he won gold in the men’s 5k and the open water relay, earned bronze in the men’s 10k, then won silver in the men’s 800 free and bronze in the men’s 1500 free. All that is to say that Wellbrock has a proven record of performing at the highest levels in both open water and pool swimming.

The final medalist from last summer is Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk, who earned bronze last summer in Budapest with a 7:40.05. Like Finke and Wellbrock, that performance marked a personal best and a new Ukrainian Record for Romanchuk. Unsurprisingly, the time is also his seed time, which has earned him the 3rd seed for this summer’s World Championships.

That time makes Romanchuk the 9th-fastest performer of all-time in the event. He has a history of winning medals in the men’s distance events on the world stage. Romanchuk earned bronze in the 800 free last summer in Budapest, also picking up a bronze medal in the men’s 5k. He earned a silver medals in the men’s 1500 free at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, also taking silver in the men’s 1500 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where he took bronze in the 800 free as well.

GREGORIO PALTRINIERI

The swimmer in this field who is the highest-ranked swimmer historically did not medal last summer in Budapest. That swimmer is Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, who finished 4th last year with a 7:41.19. It was a decent swim for Paltrinieri, who boasts a career best of 7:39.27, which he swam at the 2019 World Championships. That performance makes Paltrinieri the Italian Record and European Record holder in the event and ranks him 6th all-time.

Paltrinieri enters these World Championships as the 5th seed with a 7:40.86. While his 800 free at last summer’s World Championships may be seen as a slight disappointment, Paltrinieri went on to clock a blistering 14:32.80 in the men’s 1500 in Budapest as well, which was plenty fast for gold, marking a new European Record as well.

Like Wellbrock, Paltrinieri has already earned medals in the open water events in Fukuoka. He picked up a gold medal in the open water relay, which Italy won, and Paltrinieri finished with the silver medal in the men’s 5k. Like Wellbrock, Paltrinieri also has a lengthy history of performing very well in both open water and pool swimming events at the same meet.

SAM SHORT

Coming in ahead of Paltrinieri on the start list is rising Australian superstar Sam Short. At 19 years old, Short had a stellar Australian Trials nearly two months ago, earning him spots in a few events for this summer’s World Championships. Last summer, Short qualified for the World Champs team in the 1500 free, where he finished 14th in prelims.

Short then went on to swim very well at the Commonwealth Games last summer in Birmingham, taking the gold medal in the men’s 1500 free and silver in the 400 free.

Short has taken another step forward this summer, having swum out of his mind at the Australian Trials. He comes into this World Championship as the 4th seed in the 800 free, boasting his personal best of 7:40.39. That performance also makes Short the 10th-fastest performer all-time in the event, which, if you’re keeping track, means this 800 free field features 5 of the 10 fastest performers all-time in the event.

Given his youth and his personal best in the event, Short stands as good a chance as anyone at medaling, or even winning, the 800 in Fukuoka.

OTHER RETURNING FINALISTS

Coming in 5th last summer was Brazil’s Guilherme Costa, who swam a 7:45.58. That time still stands as Costa’s personal best, as well as the Brazilian and South American Records in the event. While that time was good for 5th last summer, Costa enters this World Championship as the 10th seed in the event.

France’s Damien Joly took 7th in the event last summer with a 7:48.10. Now 31 years old, Joly has a personal best of 7:47.46 in the event, which he swam in prelims of the 800 last summer in Budapest. That time was just enough for Joly to qualify for the final, as he finished 8th in prelims with the swim.

The last remaining finalist in the 800 free from last summer is Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen. Last summer, Wiffen clocked what was then an Irish Record of 7:46.32 in prelims to qualify 5th for the final. He then swam a 7:50.63 in finals, finishing 8th.

Wiffen has since been faster, having lowered the Irish Record to 7:44.45 already this year. He posted that time at the Stockholm Open in April of this year. Given his personal best, Wiffen stands an excellent chance of qualifying for the final once again this summer.

BEST OF THE REST

There are a number of swimmers who either didn’t compete last summer or didn’t advance to the final but could still cause quite a bit of noise this time around. Coming in at the top of that list is Germany’s Lukas Martens, who enters as the 6th seed with a 7:41.43. That time stands as Martens’ personal best in the event, which he established in April of 2022.

Martens did compete in this event last summer in Budapest, but he was way off the mark, finishing 15th in prelims with a 7:55.21. While that 800 prelims was concerning, he also swam well in the 400 free at last summer’s World Championships, earning the silver medal. He’s still young, only 21 years old, so he should be viewed as a very strong medal contender heading into Fukuoka.

Australia’s Elijah Winnington qualified for this event at last summer’s World Championships but did not end up swimming it. This summer, Winnington comes in as the 8th seed with a 7:45.30. He posted that time at the Australian Trials in May, marking a new personal best for the 23-year-old.

Winnington is an experienced swimmer at this level, having won the men’s 400 free last summer in Budapest. He also earned a silver medal as a member of Australia’s men’s 4×200 free relay. He’ll need to be on top of his game to qualify for the 800 free final this summer, however, Winnington certainly has what it takes to do so.

Similarly, Austria’s Felix Auboeck was entered in the 800 at last year’s World Championships but didn’t end up competing in it. Nonetheless, Auboeck comes into these World Championships as the 9th seed, entered with a 7:45.32. He swam that time in April of 2022, marking his personal best in the event. He hasn’t been terribly fast so far this year, however, having swum a 7:56.24 in April.

NEW TO THE MIX

There is a trio of swimmers outside of Short who are new to the World Champs scene in the men’s 800 free this year. Leading that group is Ahmed Hafnaoui, Tunisia’s distance star. Hafnaoui is the defending Olympic Champion in the 400 free, having won the event in Tokyo at just 18 years old. In Tokyo, Hafnaoui also competed in the 800 free, where he finished in a tie for 10th, missing the final.

Now training at Indiana University in the USA, Hafnaoui enters this World Championship seeded 14th with a 7:48.50. He has a personal best of 7:45.54 in the event, a time which he swam in June of 2021. We haven’t seen Hafnaoui swim a compete in an 800 free while tapered since he arrived at Indiana University last fall, so as far as projecting how fast he’ll swim, he’s sort of a wild card.

Ross Dant is the second American on the roster this year, having earned his ticket to Fukuoka after finishing 2nd at U.S. Trials last month with a 7:48.10. With that time, Dant comes in just ahead of Hafnaoui on the start list. The 7:48.10 stands as Dant’s personal best in the event. Of note, he’ll almost certainly need to swim a personal best in prelims in Fukuoka in order to advance to the final. It took a 7:47.46 to make the final last summer, and if anything, this field is even better than last year’s. Nonetheless, Dant comes into this meet right on the bubble of being a finalist.

Another swimmer who is new to the scene at the World Championships is Italy’s Luca de Tullio. De Tullio grabbed Italy’s second roster spot in this event behind Paltrinieri with a 7:49.19. He finds himself in a very similar position to Dant. De Tullio is competing in the 800 for the first time at a World Championship this summer, and it will take a personal best for him to advance to the final.

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