2024 WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS
- February 11th – February 18th, 2024
- Doha, Qatar
- LCM (50m)
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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
It’s day five of the 2024 World Championships and the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay is on the docket. There will only be two heats of this event, with defending champions Australia highlighting the field.
Australia returns two of their four swimmers from last year’s world record relay, and those two swimmers are Shayna Jack and Brianna Throssell. Joining them on the Doha roster is Kiah Melverton, who helped the Aussies break the previous world record at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
For prelims, they submitted a line-up of Kiah Melverton, Abbey Harkin, Jaclyn Barclay, and Brianna Throssell. It’s highly probable that Jack joins the finals quartet with individual medalist Throssell, so we will likely see two of the other three swimmers from prelims feature again tonight. Notably, Harkin is expected to have the 200 breast in the same session, both today in the heats and if she is selected for the finals relay.
Team USA has opted to hold their entry and swim the event, and they are going with Addison Sauickie, Kayla Han, Kate Hurst, and Rachel Klinker this morning. Sauickie won the World Junior title in the individual 200 free back in September, and was 12th in the event here in Doha. Klinker is the second fastest qualifier into tonight’s 200 fly final, though that event will be at the beginning of tonight’s action while the relay will end the night.
Great Britain, China, Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, and Brazil will all have strong contingents in this relay too. Great Britain has a 1:56 swimmer in the form of Freya Colbert leading things off this morning, with Abbie Wood, Lucy Hope, and Medi Harris comprising the rest of the relay.
China has opted to anchor freestyle ace Li Bingjie, and are leading-off with 200 free individual finalist Ai Yanhan. Canada is going with Emma O’Croinin, Sienna Angove, Katerine Savard, and Ella Jansen. It’s anticipated that Taylor Ruck will join the final’s quartet tonight, assuming Canada safely advances.
Brazil’s relay will be anchored by Maria Costa, who shattered South American records in the 200 and 400 free races here in Doha. Hungary will be anchored by individual finalist Nikolett Padar.
Team New Zealand will have a strong relay, with the 4th place finisher from the 1500 free (Eve Thomas) leading them off. The 400 free champion from night one, Erika Fairweather, will swim the second leg.
FULL LINEUPS
Heat 1:
- Lane 0 – Greece (Vasilaki, Kalogeri, Zafeiratou, Boutou)
- Lane 1 – Austria (Berger, Kahler, Opatril, Kreundl)
- Lane 2 – New Zealand (Thomas, Fairweather, Osborne, Transom)
- Lane 3 – Netherlands (De Jong, Van Kalmthout, Holkenborg, Steenbergen)
- Lane 4 – United States (Sauickie, Han, Hurst, Klinker)
- Lane 5 – Great Britain (Colbert, Wood, Hope, Harris)
- Lane 6 – Brazil (Balduccini, Roncatto, Aline, Costa)
- Lane 7 – Italy (Morini, Ramatelli, Menicucci, D’Innocenzo)
- Lane 8 – Turkey Ozdemir, Guvenc, Tuncel, Donmez)
Heat 2:
- Lane 0 – Philippines (no line-up submitted)
- Lane 1 – Hong Kong (Ma, Li, Nip, Mok)
- Lane 2 – France (Tessariol, Touati, Carnez, Rossi-Bene)
- Lane 3 – Canada (O’Croinin, Angove, Savard, Jansen)
- Lane 4 – Australia (Melverton, Harkin, Barclay, Throssell)
- Lane 5 – China (Yang, Ma, Gong, Li)
- Lane 6 –Hungary (Abraham, Molnar, Kesely, Padar)
- Lane 7 – Korea (Han, Hur, Kim, Park)
- Lane 8 – Belgium (Dumont, Henveaux, Hanquet, Vanhauwaert)
- Lane 9 – Slovenia (Segel, Fain, Klancar, Sekuti)
Brazil will shatter the South American record of 7:55.68 with ease. They swam to 7:57 at heats with all 4 swimmers swimming below the maximum. Mafê Costa has a best mark of 1:56.85, Balduccini 1:57.54, Roncatto has improved a lot and can swim to 1:57, Aline Rodrigues can do a 1:58 too. And in the heat, everyone swam close to 1:59. This Brazilian team can run a time of close to 7:50 and finish between 3rd (on an extremely lucky night) and 6th, with the best position in Brazil’s history in World Championships being 6th in 2022.
Klinker will race 600m today..hope she is okay with that and go fast..
She did an incredibly difficult and quick 200 fly 100 fly double last night and went great times in both of them, I think she’ll be great.
Jk she won’t have the chance to lol