Swims You Might Have Missed During World Championships

As all eyes were on Fukuoka this past week for the World Championships, high level meets continued to take place all over the world. In this post, we’ll highlight some of the other top performances from the Pro Championships, Swimming Cup of Russia, European Youth Olympic Festival, NCSAs, Futures, and YMCA Nationals that may have flown under the radar with all the action in Japan. 

2023 SWIMMING CUP OF RUSSIA

• Tuesday, July 25 – Sunday, July 30, 2023
• Kazan, Russia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Results

Highlighting the Swimming Cup of Russia was Kliment Kolesnikov, who knocked down the World Record in the 50 backstroke with a time of 23.55, taking 0.16 seconds off the previous standard set by World Champion Hunter Armstrong.

The 23-year-old Kolesnikov also had a phenomenal race in the 100 backstroke, where he recorded a Russian National record time of 51.98 to become the 2nd-fastest performer all-time behind Thomas Ceccon.   

Evengeniia Chikunova highlighted the women’s side of the Swimming Cup of Russia with a 2:19.71 to win the 200 breaststroke. Although her performance was two seconds shy of her World Record from April, Chikunova would have topped the field at the World Championships by over a second. 

2023 EUROPEAN YOUTH OLYMPIC FESTIVAL

• Monday, July 24th – Friday, July 28th
• Maribor, Slovenia
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Results

The European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Maribor, Slovenia, saw a handful ofl records fall over the course of the five-day competition. 14-year-old Amelie Blocksidge tied the EYOF record in the 800 freestyle with a time of 8:32.65, making her the 14th-fastest female ever for Great Britain. 

Carlos D’Ambrosio of Italy hit a Festival record time of 49.78 in the 100 freestyle, marking his third time under the 50-second barrier in the event.

D’Ambrosio also took silver in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.35, and was a member of Italy’s gold medal mixed 4×100 freestyle relay. 

2023 U.S. PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 26-29, 2023
• LCM (50m)
• William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, California, United States
• Meet Central
• Results

The U.S. Pro Championships in Irvine, California, featured a mix of U.S. and international athletes. Jake Foster and Nick Mahabir had a fantastic race in the 100 breaststroke, where both swimmers cracked the 1-minute barrier for the first time in their careers. Foster, who earned 8th at Nationals in the event, posted a 59.64 to become the 16th-fastest American ever. Mahabir, 17, became the first swimmer representing Singapore to break a minute in the event with a 59.96.

Foster also dropped nearly a second in the 200 breaststroke to post a new Pro Swim Record time of 2:08.23, which would have placed 2nd at U.S. Nationals last month. In prelims, Mahabir clocked a 2:11.87 to set another Singapore National Record, this time breaking Maximillian Ang’s mark of 2:11.93 from 2022. 

Also at the Pro Championships was 2020 Olympian Michael Brinegar, who dipped under 15:00 for the first time in his career in the 1500 with a final time of 14:59.54. Brinegar swam a 15:00.87 to qualify for Tokyo in 2021, with his previous personal best time standing at 15:00.82 from 2019. 

Dakota Luther was a top performer on the women’s side of the Pro Championships with her time of 2:06.79 in the 200 fly. Luther’s time would have earned 4th in the World Championships final, and marked a personal best time by two-tenths of a second. 

2023 USA SWIMMIING FUTURES

• July 26 to 29, 2023
• LCM (50m)
• Ocala, West Fargo, Sacremento, San Antonio, Richmond
• Results on MeetMobile

Another meet in the United States that saw some fast swimming was the 2023 USA Swimming Futures Championships, which was held at five different sites across the United States. At the West Fargo Futures, Max McHugh threw down a season best time of 1:00.49, which is three-tenths quicker than he was at U.S. Nationals where he took 10th. 

Another highlight from Futures came out of Ocala, Florida, where the TAC Titans’ boys broke the 15-18 and 17-18 National Age Group (NAG) records in the 400 medley relay. The team of Will Thompson (56.29), Henry Lee (1:02.70), Colin Whelehan (54.52), and Jerry Fox (49.20) won the event with a time of 3:42.71, taking about half a second off the previous record held by Swim Neptune.

2023 NCSA SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 26-30, 2023
• IUPUI
  • Indianapolis, IN
• LCM (50 meters), Prelims/Finals
• Meet Central
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2023 NCSA Summer Championships”

The NCSA Summer Championships featured some of the high school swimmers in the country, with many achieving 2024 Olympic Trials cuts. One of those swimmers was 14-year-old Brayden Capen, who dropped over four seconds in the 200 backstroke to hit a 2:00.34 and narrowly miss Keaton Jones’ National Age Group record (2:00.28). Johnny Crush notched his 1st cut in the 100 backstroke (54.95), 

Another top performer out of NCSAs included Wilson York, who at the age of 13 jumped up to 4th all-time in the 200 breaststroke for 13-14 boys with a time of 2:18.30, earning runner-up at the meet behind Alex Ochsenbein (2:16.19).

For the girls, 15-year-old Charlotte Crush moved into the top-20 all-time for 15-16s in both the 100 and 200 backstroke, where she posted times of 1:00.07 and 2:09.71, respectively. 

2023 YMCA LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 25-29, 2023
• Greensboro, NC
• Greensboro Aquatic Center
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Results

Rounding out the notable meets last week was YMCA Nationals, which was hosted in Greensboro, North Carolina. Virginia commit Anna Moesch threw down a monster split of 53.81 as the anchor leg of her team’s 400 medley relay, as well as a 24.38 50 free split on the 200 freestyle relay. Individually, 17-year-old Moesch moved inside the top-10 all-time in the 50 freestyle among 17-18 girls with a personal best of 24.87. 

NC State commit Leah Shackley also had a phenomenal showing at YMCA Nationals, as she climbed to #7 all-time in the 100 fly with a 57.98. She also lowered her personal best in the 200 fly by half a second, going a best time of 2:11.93 to win the event.