Six Predictions for 2025: Leon Marchand Will Add to World-File Complete
In one of many biggest particular person performances in swimming historical past, Leon Marchand received 4 particular person gold medals on the Paris Olympics, turning into solely the third man to take action in a single Video games after Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps (twice). In every of his occasions, Marchand recorded the second-fastest time in historical past on the way in which to gold, together with in his back-to-back wins over the defending Olympic champions within the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke.
In his closing particular person race, Marchand practically broke the world document within the 200 IM, falling simply six hundredths in need of the mark Ryan Lochte swam 13 years in the past in Shanghai. Marchand was a half-second beneath world-record tempo with 50 meters remaining, however he fell off barely on the freestyle leg.
In 2025, can Marchand make the slight enhancements he must develop into the primary man ever beneath 1:54? We’ll say that he will get the job accomplished en path to a 3rd consecutive world title within the occasion this summer season in Singapore. Marchand has already damaged Lochte’s world document within the quick course 200 IM, clocking a time of 1:48.88 to beat the earlier mark by three-quarters of a second.
Will probably be an unconventional yr for Marchand, who will spend time coaching in Australia early this yr following his withdrawal from the Brief Course World Championships, however he ought to have adequate preparation to make up that small margin within the quick medley occasion.
Listed below are a number of different predictions for the post-Olympic season, which is able to attain its peak on the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore in July:
Tang Qianting Will Break Lengthy-Standing World File
Tang Qianting — Picture Courtesy: Giorgio Perottino / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Whereas Marchand targets the 200 IM document and maybe extra, China’s Tang Qianting has an opportunity to knock off one other iconic mark on the ladies’s facet. Lilly King has been the standard-bearer within the 100 breaststroke since 2017, when she defeated Russia’s Yuliya Efimova in an iconic Olympic rematch on the World Championships. King clocked 1:04.13 that day, and nobody got here near that mark till earlier this yr, when Tang posted a mark of 1:04.39 at China’s Olympic choice meet, turning into the fourth-fastest lady in historical past.
The 20-year-old Tang is coming off a breakout yr during which she received two world titles, in lengthy course in February and in brief course in December, and he or she captured Olympic silver behind veteran Tatjana (Schoenmaker) Smith within the occasion in Paris. Within the 25-meter course, Tang clocked 1:02.38 to overlook that world document by simply two hundredths. May she make up the small margin to seize the lengthy course mark this yr?
Gretchen Walsh to Proceed Momentum With NCAA and World Titles
It’s no secret that the College of Virginia is closely favored to win a fifth consecutive championship in NCAA ladies’s swimming and diving, and everybody expects Gretchen Walsh to proceed her domination throughout her senior season with the Cavaliers. Walsh already owns the quickest yards instances ever within the 50 and 100 free, 100 fly and 100 again by vital margins, and he or she may decrease all of these marks this February and March.
And after setting her first lengthy course world document, claiming Olympic silver within the 100-meter fly and dominating the Brief Course World Championships, Walsh is poised to take the subsequent step in her profession in 2025 and declare a world title within the 50-meter pool, along with her greatest probabilities coming within the dash butterfly occasions.
Impartial Athlete Will Seize World Title
Russia formally stays banned from worldwide swimming competitors, however Russian natives competing as neutrals posted stellar outcomes on the Brief Course World Championships, each individually and in relays. Their six gold medals ranked second to the Individuals’ 18, and the impartial athletes additionally claimed 4 silver medals. We predict that the success will proceed in lengthy course on the Singapore championships, with at the least one gold medal.
The highest contender will be Miron Lifintsev, an 18-year-old who received quick course world titles in each the 50 and 100 again after swimming a protracted course 100 again time that might have been adequate to achieve the Olympic podium. Ilya Borodin, the quick course world champion within the 400 IM, can have hassle keeping off Marchand within the lengthy course model of that occasion, however Evgeniia Chikunova can have a powerful title likelihood within the 200 breaststroke, an occasion during which she holds the world document and a greatest time greater than one-and-a-half seconds forward of some other swimmer all-time.
Cal-Texas Rivalry to Resume at NCAA Males’s Championships
Texas will likely be again within the national-title hunt, with Luke Hobson taking part in a starring position — Picture Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
At 11 of the previous 14 NCAA Males’s Championships, Cal and Texas have occupied the top-two spots within the workforce standings. The Golden Bears have really completed top-two yearly since 2010, however Texas fell all the way in which to eighth final yr within the closing season for legendary head coach Eddie Reese. However following Reese’s retirement and the hiring of Bob Bowman to steer this system, Texas is again within the hunt and able to transfer again into rivalry.
Arizona State, which completed second in 2023 and first final yr beneath Bowman’s steerage, will nonetheless be within the combine beneath new head coach Herbie Behm, and each Florida and Indiana are loaded with expertise. However Cal has a veteran core that includes Destin Lasco, Jack Alexy, Bjorn Seeliger, Gabriel Jett and , Dare Rose and Keaton Jones whereas returning Longhorns Luke Hobson, Will Modglin and Nate Germonprez are joined by newcomers Hubert Kos, Chris Guiliano and Rex Maurer. We expect these two groups will once more occupy the top-two spots, with the order to be decided.
One other 12 months of No 3:39s
One different long-standing world document is poised to final one other yr. Paul Biedermann just lately misplaced his quick course world document within the 200 free, however his lengthy course marks over each 200 and 400 meters have remained. The 400 free document regarded prefer it was in hassle getting into the Olympic yr after Australia’s Sam Brief and Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui every clocked 3:40s on the 2023 World Championships, however the occasion slowed down in 2024, with Brief lacking the Olympic closing and Hafnaoui not swimming in Paris.
Lukas Martens approached the document with a time of three:40.33 in April 2024 earlier than he swam slower on his solution to gold in Paris, however historical past means that these previous couple of tenths are the toughest to beat in pursuit of that document. It has lasted 15 years, and we’re guessing 2025 would be the sixteenth yr that Biedermann’s document survives.
