World College Video games, Day 2 Finals: Leah Hayes Dominates 400 IM as 5 Gold Medals Awarded
5 units of medals had been awarded throughout the second finals session of the World College Video games, starting with a dominant second-half effort from American Leah Hayes within the ladies’s 400 IM. Italy’s Simone Stefani and the Czech Republic’s Daryna Nabojcenko captured gold of their respective 50 butterfly finals, with the lads’s 100 breaststroke and ladies’s 200 backstroke coming later within the session.
Probably the most spectacular efficiency of the day, nevertheless, got here within the semifinals as South Africa’s Pieter Coetze clocked 52.18 within the 100 backstroke, turning into the Fifteenth-fastest performer in historical past within the occasion.
Males’s 200 Freestyle Semifinals
American swimmers posted the top-two occasions within the semifinal spherical. Jake Mitchell and Baylor Nelson couldn’t sustain with their nation’s quite a few 1:45 performances at U.S. Nationals, however they had been the category of the sphere right here. Mitchell beat the sphere within the first semifinal by nearly a half-second, clocking 1:46.45, and Nelson got here in at 1:46.64 to high the second warmth. Each males have each represented the U.S. within the 800 freestyle relay on the 2023 World Championships, incomes a silver medal for his or her efforts.
Impartial athlete Nikolai Kolesnikov, the winner within the 400 free Thursday, posted the third-best time at 1:46.72, with Brazil’s Kaique Alves additionally beneath 1:47 (1:46.91). The remainder of the sphere will embrace Italy’s Giovanni Caserta (1:47.63), Japan’s Konosuke Yanagimoto (1:47.80), Australia’s Marcus Da Silva (1:47.84) and France’s Pierre Largeron (1:48.04).
Ladies’s 100 Freestyle Semifinals
France’s Lison Nowaczyk got here excessive of two American rivals to take first within the 100 free semis. Nowaczyk got here into the wall in 54.42, a tenth away from the 54.53 posted by U.S. standout Maxine Parker. Parker nonetheless has the meet’s high time with the 54.28 she posted main off the Individuals’ gold-medal-winning 400 free relay Thursday.
Cyprus’ Kalia Antonio had the third-best time at 54.69, adopted by South Africa’s Olivia Nel (54.74) and China’s Shuhan Liu (54.75). Julia Dennis, who had the quickest opening break up within the semifinal spherical, pale however held on to put sixth in 54.89. China’s Ai Yanhan, who swam the quickest break up general within the 400 free relay, was seventh in 54.91, whereas impartial swimmer Iana Shakirova edged out France’s Lucile Tessariol for the final spot within the remaining, 55.06 to 55.07.
Ladies’s 400 IM Closing
The primary ladies’s particular person gold medal of the meet went to American Leah Hayes, who used her standout breaststroke leg to open up a bonus on the sphere earlier than successful gold by nearly 4 seconds. As per her normal normal, Hayes was behind via the butterfly and backstroke legs, turning with a deficit of just about two seconds on the midway level as Japan’s Ayami Suzuki and American Teagan O’Dell led the race.
However a break up of 1:08.57 on breaststroke fully modified the complexion of the sphere, and Hayes was precisely three seconds away from the sphere as she turned for house. She would prolong the lead on the way in which to a remaining time of 4:36.04. That point moved Hayes to No. 7 on the earth this 12 months. At U.S. Nationals, Hayes was caught by College of Virginia teammate Katie Grimes on the closing freestyle leg, however she swam two seconds faster right here, far surpassing her 4:38.46 from final month in addition to Grimes’ mark of 4:37.22.
O’Dell claimed silver in 4:39.96, blitzing forward of Suzuki on the ultimate size with a 30.81 break up. Suzuki got here in at 4:40.62 for bronze. The remainder of the sphere was nicely behind, with Japan’s Rio Sato the very best of the remaining at 4:44.05.
Males’s 50 Butterfly Closing
Italy’s Simone Stefani got here out on high within the 50 fly remaining, attending to the wall 5 hundredths forward of Uzbekistan’s Eldorbek Usmonov. Stefani got here in for gold at 23.28, with Usmonov at 23.33. The occasion was an enormous one for Italy, with Lorenzo Gargani touching at 23.42 for bronze. The Italian males have now gained two medals after a pair of slender misses in each finals Thursday, with Davide Marchello and the 400 free relay each taking fourth.
Ladies’s 50 Butterfly Closing
Contemplating the exceedingly shut margins anticipated in a 50-meter occasion, Darya Nabojcenko put collectively a dominant victory. The swimmer from the Czech Republic secured gold within the ladies’s 50 fly in 26.09, beating the sphere by 0.18.
Australia gained a medal for the primary time this meet as Josephine Crimmins took silver in 26.27, whereas Italy’s Viola Scotto Di Carlo was three hundredths again for bronze (26.30), her second medal after serving to Italy to bronze within the 400 free relay Thursday. American swimmers Caroline Larsen (26.39) and Ella Welch (26.48) simply missed out on the rostrum.
Males’s 100 Backstroke Semifinals
Pieter Coetze, a 21-year-old from South Africa, is within the midst of a breakthrough efficiency on the World College Video games. After a sub-48 leadoff efficiency within the 400 free relay Thursday, Coetze has blasted his finest time within the 100 backstroke by 4 tenths and broke the Video games report. He gained the second semifinal in 52.18, transferring to No. 15 all-time within the occasion.
Coetze’s time moved him to fourth on the earth this 12 months. Solely Russian swimmers Kliment Kolesnikov and Miron Lifintsev and Nice Britain’s Oliver Morgan have been faster, and he’ll head to the World Championships in Singapore positioned to contend for a number of medals within the backstroke occasions.
Additionally posting a robust efficiency was Will Modglin of america. He broke 53 for the primary time, coming in at 52.75 for second within the semifinal spherical and No. 10 on the earth rankings. Modglin was fifth within the 100 again at U.S. Nationals with a time of 53.83, however this big enchancment makes him the highest American so far in 2025.
Daniel Diehl, the opposite American consultant, positioned third within the semis at 53.48, adopted by the French duo of Mathys Chouchaoui (53.70) and Jules Andre (53.95). The ultimate may even embrace impartial athlete Aleksei Tkachev (54.34), Italy’s Pietro Ubertalli (54.48) and Japan’s Yuga Nishimura (54.57).
Ladies’s 50 Breaststroke Semifinals
Swimmers hailing from the College of Virginia have been the standouts for the U.S. ladies’s crew so far on the Video games. Maxine Parker paced the successful 400 free relay and certified second for the 100 free remaining whereas Leah Hayes captured 400 IM gold. Now, Emma Weber has posted the highest time within the 50 breast semifinals.
Weber was a Paris Olympian, and he or she missed out on a World Championships spot final month after shedding a 50 breast swim-off at Nationals. Right here, she went 30.53 to beat out Poland’s Barbara Mazurkiewicz (30.63) and South Africa’s Lara Van Niekerk (30.64) for the highest seed within the remaining. The opposite American, Piper Enge, was fourth in 31.01, adopted by South Africa’s Simone Moll (31.21), impartial athlete Iana Shakirova (31.23) and Canada’s Shona Branton (31.25).
A swim-off will likely be wanted to find out the final spot within the remaining after Italy’s Chiara Della Corte and Nice Britain’s Anna Morgan every clocked 31.45, tied for the eighth-best mark.
