2024 World Championships: Day 8 Prelims Live Recap

2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• February 11th – February 18th, 2024
• Doha, Qatar
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• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Recap | Day 4 Finals Recap
• Day 5 Prelims Recap | Day 5 Finals Recap
• Day 6 Prelims Recap | Day 6 Finals Recap
• Day 7 Prelims Recap | Day 7 Finals Recap

Day 8 Prelims Start Lists

Day 8 Prelims Preview Article

Day 8 Prelims Relay Article

DAY 8 PRELIMS EVENT SCHEDULE

• Men’s 400 IM
• Women’s 400 IM
• Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay
• Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

It’s the final day of the 2024 World Championships and we have a very quick prelims session to cover. The only events of the morning with be the men’s 400 IM, women’s 400 IM, men’s 4×100 medley relay, and women’s 4×100 medley relay. For the last two World Championship meets (Budapest 2022 & Fukuoka 2023), the men’s 400 IM featured on the first day of the competition. However, here in Doha, it has been moved back to its usual position on the final day.

The top seed in the men’s 400 IM is Team USA’s Carson Foster. Foster claimed silver in this event at the previous two World Championships, posting the same exact time (4:06.56) in both of those finals. Japan’s Daiya Seto, Italy’s Alberto Razzetti, and New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt are among the other contenders to watch for.

The women’s 400 IM entry sheet is led by Great Britain’s Freya Colbert, who is seeded with a time of 4:35.28. Italy’s Sara Franceschi, Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko, France’s Cyrielle Duhamel, and Canadian teammates Tess Cieplucha and Ella Jansen are others to keep an eye on.

The men’s medley relay will feature Team USA, who are the defending champions. They seem to be pretty clear favorites assuming they advance to tonight’s final. The women’s relay is set to be a great battle between Australia, Sweden, Canada, and the Netherlands. Of note, the U.S. women have opted to scratch this medley relay, meaning they will not have the chance to defend their world title.

MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – HEATS

• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. David Johnston (USA) – 4:12.51
2. Max Litchfield (GBR) – 4:12.54
3. Daiya Seto (JPN) – 4:13.06
4. Carson Foster (USA) – 4:13.24
5. Lewis Clareburt (NZL) – 4:13.61
6. Balazs Hollo (HUN) – 4:13.93
7. Lorne Wigginton (CAN) – 4:14.54
8. Alberto Razzetti (ITA) – 4:15.84

American distance specialist David Johnston claimed victory in the first of two circle seeded heats. Japan’s Daiya Seto led for most of the race, with Great Britain’s Max Litchfield in close pursuit. On the final 50 though, Johnson roared home with a freestyle split of 28.41 (57.82 final 100 split) to secure victory from lane one (4:12.51). Johnston’s time held up for the fastest of the morning, and it undercut his previous best time of 4:13.24 from 2022.

Litchfield touched just 0.03 behind Johnston in the heat, with Seto (4:13.06) touching 3rd. All three of those swimmers posted faster times than anyone in the final heat, meaning they advanced in the top three positions.

New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt took the early lead in the final heat, leading through the first 50 of butterfly. However, after that first turn, American Carson Foster took the lead and never relinquished it. Foster touched in 4:13.24, really shutting things down over the freestyle leg.

South African Matthew Sates placed 17th this morning in 4:25.04. Sates has been 4:11.58 in the event, which would’ve comfortably qualified for the final.

Italian Alberto Razzetti, who has claimed medals in both the 200 fly and 200 IM here in Doha, snuck into the final in 8th position. He clocked 4:15.84 this morning, but broke the Italian record (4:09.29) in this event last November.

It took a time of 4:12.85 to make the final at the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships, and the 8th place time this morning was 4:15.84.

• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Tess Cieplucha (CAN) – 4:40.80
2. Anja Crevar (SRB) – 4:41.11
3. Freya Colbert (GBR) – 4:42.33
4. Cyrielle Duhamel (FRA) – 4:42.68
5. Anastasia Gorbenko (ISR) – 4:42.79
6. Ichika Kajimoto (JPN) – 4:42.85
7. Boglarka Kapas (HUN) – 4:43.53
8. Sara Franceschi (ITA) – 4:43.61

Anja Crevar of Serbia made her presence known in the second heat, taking an early lead from lane two. She would lead through the 300 turn, but Canada’s Tess Cieplucha made a big move on the breaststroke leg to nearly pull even. Cieplucha turned at the 350m mark with the lead, and held on to score heat victory.

Cieplucha’s time was 4:40.80, with Crevar touching 0.31 behind in 4:41.11. France’s Cyrielle Duhamel hit the touchpad in 4:42.68 for 3rd in the heat, booking her ticket to the final. The times from Cieplucha and Crevar would hold up for the two fastest of the morning, with Duhamel ranking 4th overall.

Crevar was entered with a time of 4:42.42, so she cut over a second off that mark. She owns the Serbian national record in 4:38.72, which she set in April of 2019.

The final heat saw Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko showcase her butterfly skills, hitting the 50m turn in 28.37 before touching with a time of 1:01.48 at the 100. Great Britain’s Freya Colbert made a move on the backstroke leg, turning less than a second behind Gorbenko at the halfway turn. Colbert would ultimately win the heat in 4:42.33 with Gorbenko touching in 4:42.69.

American Lilla Bognar, who was 4th at the World Junior Championships in September, placed 3rd in the final heat but placed 9th overall.

The 2019 World Champion in the 200 butterfly, Hungary’s Boglarka Kapas, advanced to the final in 7th (4:43.53). The second seed in the event, Sara Franceschi of Italy, touched in 4:43.61 this morning to rank 8th overall.

Australia’s Kiah Melverton, who owns a best time that could’ve challenged for gold (4:36.78), was 19th this morning in 4:53.82.

MEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – HEATS

• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. United States – 3:32.53
2. Netherlands – 3:32.89
3. Spain – 3:33.57
4. Poland – 3:33.79
5. Canada – 3:34.16
6. Italy – 3:34.20
7. Austria – 3:34.29
8. Ireland – 3:34.97

In an odd series of events, both Australia and China missed the final in this relay.

Australia did not send any butterfly specialists to Doha, so they had to go with freestyler Kai Taylor. He did his best, splitting 53.64, but everyone else on the relay swam a bit slower than they did earlier in the meet. Bradley Woodward led off in 54.16 on the backstroke leg, Sam Williamson split 59.11 (clocked 59.21 flat start to place 4th in the individual final) on breast, and Jack Cartwright anchored in 48.63.

China, like Australia, was missing a key component for this relay. In their case, it was a backstroker. They led off with Xu Yifan, who clocked 56.44 to put them in a multi-second deficit with three legs to go. 200 breast gold medalist Dong Zhihao did his best to catch up on the breast leg, splitting 59.23, before Wang Xizhe split 52.76 on fly and Ji Xinjie 48.25 on free. They ultimately finished 12th overall, just under two seconds shy of making the final.

Notably, China did have a faster 100 backstroker on their roster. Wang Haoyu (55.74) has been about two seconds faster than that of Xu, albeit it about two years ago. Wang is a widely known as a freestyle specialist, who has split 46 in the 100 free before, but did not feature on either the backstroke or freestyle leg this morning.

Besides the misses…Team USA advanced to the final in 1st. Their squad of Jack Aikins (53.84), Jake Foster (59.45), Shaine Casas (50.99), and Luke Hobson (48.25) combined to post a time of 3:32.53. The split from Casas was particularly promising, as he didn’t crack 52-seconds in the individual event. It’s still likely that Zach Harting is substituted in for the final though.

The Netherlands swam in the 1st of 3 heats, and posted the 2nd fastest time of the morning. Kai Van Westering (54.11), Caspar Corbeau (59.02), Nyls Korstanje (51.42), and Stan Pijnenburg (48.34) combined to post a new national record of 3:32.89.

Spain (3:33.57), Poland (3:33.79), Canada (3:34.16), Italy (3:34.20), Austria (3:34.29), and Ireland (3:34.97) also safely advanced to the final.

WOMEN’S 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – HEATS

• 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

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Canada – 3:58.63
2. Sweden – 3:59.35
3. Australia – 4:00.o9
4. Netherlands – 4:02.09
5. China – 4:02.22
6. Hong Kong – 4:02.34
7. Italy – 4:02.62
8. Poland – 4:02.63

Canada posted the fastest time in the women’s relay this morning, with Ingrid Wilm (59.77), Sydney Pickrem (1:06.14), Rebecca Smith (57.81) and Katherine Savard (54.91) combining for a time of 3:58.63. Pickrem’s 1:06.14 breaststroke split was a major highlight, and adds to the breaststroke depth that Canada has developed over the past year. This signals positive implications for their medal chances in this relay at the Paris Olympics.

Sweden posted the 2nd swiftest morning effort, hitting the wall in 3:59.35. Hanna Rosvall (1:01.23), Sophie Hansson (1:07.23), Louise Hansson (56.84), and Michelle Coleman (54.05) made up their quartet.

Australia was 3rd quickest today, with 200 back silver medalist Jaclyn Barclay leading them off in 1:00.27. Abbey Harkin split 1:08.15 on breast, Alexandria Perkins recorded a time of 57.21 on fly, and Brianna Throssell anchored in 54.46.

Netherlands (4:02.09), China (4:02.22), Hong Kong (4:02.34), Italy (4:02.62), and Poland (4:02.63) all qualified as well.

Sinapore was 9th this morning, but broke their national record by several seconds. Their relay was highlighted by two pairs of siblings: Levenia & Letitia Sim + Jin Wen & Ting Wen Quah.