Xu Jiayu Breaks 10-Year-Old Championship Record In Men’s 100 Back

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

China’s Xu Jiayu appeared to be in complete control during the semi-finals of the men’s 100 backstroke on the second day of action in Gwangju, qualifying first into the final in a time of 52.17.

That swim gives Xu a new World Championship Record, lowering the 2009 mark of 52.19 set by Aaron Peirsol while leading off the U.S. medley relay in Rome.

Their swims were split very similarly:

Neither time is a personal best, as Xu and Peirsol are two of the three men in history to have broken 52 seconds. Xu sits 0.01 off of Ryan Murphy‘s world record in 51.86, done in 2017, while Peirsol was the first to do it back in ’09 in 51.94.

Xu’s swim tonight stands up as the 11th fastest in history.

All-Time Performances, Men’s 100 Back

1. Ryan Murphy (USA), 51.85 – 2016
2. Xu Jiayu (CHN), 51.86 – 2017
3. Ryan Murphy (USA) / Aaron Peirsol (USA), 51.94 – 2018/2009
4. –
5. Ryan Murphy (USA), 51.97 – 2016
6. Matt Grevers (USA), 52.08 – 2012
7. Camille Lacourt (FRA) / Mitch Larkin (AUS), 52.11 – 2010/2015
8. –
9. David Plummer (USA), 52.12 – 2016
10. Matt Grevers (USA), 52.16 – 2012
11. Xu Jiayu (CHN), 52.17 – 2019

Murphy and Russian Evgeny Rylov qualified for the final in a tie for second behind Xu, producing a time of 52.44. Matt Grevers (52.82) and Mitch Larkin (52.91) also went sub-53. The other Russian, Kliment Kolesnikov, notably missed the final in ninth (53.44).