Peaty & Wilby Pair Up For Great Britain’s First-Ever World C’ships 1-2 Finish

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

Swim enthusiasts around the world were floored yesterday when we saw British breaststroker Adam Peaty put up the world’s first sub-57 100m breaststroke. The 24-year-old Loughborough swimmer was already the only swimmer in the world to have ever ventured under the 58-second barrier, holding a World Record of 57.10 from last year’s British Championships.

During last night’s semi-finals, the Olympic Champion rocked a time of 56.88 to beat the field of national champions and Olympic finalists by almost 2 full seconds. His compatriot James Wilby wasn’t too far behind, securing the 3rd seed behind newly-minted Asian Record holder Yan Zibei of China, who snagged the 2nd seed in 58.67.

In tonight’s final, Peaty was up to his usual tricks with a massive 57.14, off his 56.88, but still, just .04 over his previous World Record, rendering him at the wall a good second and then some over the rest of the competitors.

But, Wilby produced a personal best of 58.46, taking nearly .2 off of his previous lifetime fastest of 58.64 to land on the podium with silver. Zibei clocked 58.63 for bronze, lowering his Asian Record by another .04.

Of significance is the fact that Peaty and Wilby represent the first British duo ever to finish 1 & 2 at a World Championships. Some pairs have come close in the past, such as David Wilkie and David Leigh finishing 1st and 3rd in the 100m breast back in 1975, or Joanne Jackson and Rebecca Adlington finishing 2 & 3 in 2009 in the 400m free.

Even more recently, Peaty and Ross Murdoch took home gold and bronze in the 100m breast at the 2015 edition of the World Championships in Kazan.

However, Peaty and Wilby broke through with the top 2 medal positions tonight, to write their names into history and set-up a solid foundation heading into the final year to the Tokyo Olympics next year.

“This is still very special to me, winning a World Championship title and faster than I’ve ever done it before. It’s obviously a little bit slower than last night as I made a tiny little error with speed on the first 50, but I think the most important thing going into next year is that I’m still learning about myself; it’s not like I’ve gone 56 and I’ve got no more learning to do. I’m ecstatic to come away with a world title.

On his swim, Peaty stated, “I’m very happy, but that constant expectation I put on myself there is a little bit of disappointment in me, but I think that’ll fuel me for next year as I want to go even faster now – for now though, I’ll enjoy the moment.”

When specifically asked about his finishing with Wilby right behind, Peaty said,“It’s not just a British one-two but a Loughborough one-two! We’re training partners, well he trains in a different group, but we train in the same centre, and I’m stoked for him. It’s looking like Britain is a stronghold for breaststroke and it has been for a long time now.”

For Wilby’s part, the Commonwealth Games champion the 200m breast said, “I’m really happy. After the Commonwealths and Europeans last year this was always the next major international and the one last stepping stone towards Tokyo, so I’m really happy to get that silver medal and a Britain one-two means an awful lot to us as well. I’m buzzing for the 200 as well, because I focus on them both and that 100 makes me excited to see what I can do in the 200 now.

“After the World Championships in 2017, which was a bit of a shock for me as I wasn’t quite fully prepared for it mentally, I sat myself down and thought ‘right, I’m not going to be in this game forever, so it’s time to go’. I just really got myself motivated and have been keeping it going ever since and constantly learning.

“It’s hard to describe the setup we’ve got in Loughborough with an amazing group of staff. It’s individual races, but it’s a team effort at the same time, as I couldn’t do a single thing without any of them behind me doing their various things.”

Additional European Headlines from Day 2:

• Women’s 100m fly favorite and reigning World Record holder in the event, Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, was upset tonight by Canadian Maggie MacNeil. Sjostrom led right up through the turn, where MacNeil surged with a monstrous underwater to wind up just about even and eventually take over the Swede. Times for the top 2 women were 55.83 for MacNeil, registering the 2nd fastest ever, while Sjostrom notched 56.22. Aussie Emma McKeon finished 3rd in 56.61.
• Russia’s Evgeny Rylov tied Aussie Mitch Larkin for the 2nd seed in the men’s 100m back final, clocking 52.44 for tomorrow night’s final.
• The women’s 100m breast is led by Russian Yuliya Efimova and her semi time of 1:05.56. In 4th place after semis was Italy’s Martina Carraro, who collected a new Italian National Record of 1:06.39. Molly Renshaw of Great Britain touched in 1:06.85 for the 6th seed, a new personal best.
• Oleg Kostin of Russia stood on the podium with the silver in the men’s 50m fly, registering a time of 22.70, a new Russian National Record.
• Multi-European Junior Championships medalist Daria Vaskina is the sole European in the women’s 100m back for tomorrow night, carrying a 7th seeded time of 59.46 into the final.
• The men’s 200m free is flowing with Europeans for tomorrow’s final, including Danas Rapsys of Lithuania (1:45.44, 3rd seed), Duncan Scott of GBR (1:56.56, 4th seed), Dominik Kozma of Hungary (1:45.57, 6th seed), Martin Malyutin of Rusia (1:45.60, 7th seed) and Filippo Megli of Italy (1:45.76, 8th seed).
• Katinka Hosszu took home her 4th 200m IM World Championships title, hitting the wall in a time of 2:07.53 for gold. British Olympic silver medalist in the event, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, finished 7th in 2:10.43.

Overall Swimming Medal Table Through Day 2: