2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
- All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
- The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
- Meet site
- Competition Schedule
- FinaTV Live Stream
- Entry Lists
- Results
In the absence of Katie Ledecky Tuesday night in Gwangju, Italian Simona Quadarella cruised to a commanding 1500m free win, hitting a new Italian record along the way.
Quadarella dropped eight seconds off her previous of 15:48.84 to go 15:40.89. She also finished eight seconds ahead of the next-fastest swimmer, German Sarah Kohler, who set a new national record at 15:48.83. China’s Wang Jianjiahe finished third in 15:51.00.
Take a look at Quadarella’s full splits:
Alessia Filippi owned the previous Italian record at 15:44.93, from the 2009 World Championships.
This swim caps a banner season for the 20-year-old Quadarella. Her previous PR was just swum at the 2019 Sette Colli Trophy in late June, and was a six-second improvement on her best time before that meet. She ranked No. 3 in the world heading into this week, and is now the second-fastest performer since Ledecky in Rio. Quadarella’s time Tuesday also puts her atop the world this season, as Ledecky’s season-best was 15.45.59, from January, before she had to pull out of this meet due to sickness.
Too bad Leah Smith could not have been subbed in for Ledecky. Between this event and the 200 free, the US lost 3 medal opportunities.