Day Three Finals - 15 October 15 2023

MEN’S 400M IM

Kaito Tabuchi - JPN

It was a very fast race but it was fun. I lost to Matt Sates in Berlin but swimming against him tonight made me stronger. I forgot to save energy for my finish in our previous race. Since Fukuoka, I have been training very hard.  I was watching Matt tonight and ready for a strong finish.  The Japanese have been strong in this event and I could not lose this race. I won and I am very happy.

WOMEN’S 1500 FREE

Lani Pallister - AUS

WORLD CUP RECORD

World Aquatics hasn't offered the 1500m freestyle event all that often so I wasn’t even sure what the world cup record was.  By the time the next race is swum in a World Cup,  one of the young swimmers will come along and break my record.   

It's been an incredible meet.  I was tired yesterday.  I may have had too much coffee yesterday and backfired. Three weeks in a row and back-to-back racing will prepare us for next year especially if I am lucky enough to qualify for Paris. 

You need to put yourself out there and test yourself.  I have done minimal work, after a massive summer program.  I wanted to see how close I would get to my best time.  It gives me confidence that I am within 5 seconds of my shaved and tapered time.  I am excited to go home after Budapest and get back into training.  

 

WOMEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY

Zhang Yifei - CHN

I was really nervous.  I don’t know how they do it.  I am very pleased with the World Cup Record.  

 

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY

Abdelrahman Sameh - EGY

I am really proud because this is the second medal for Egypt in the history of the Swimming World Cup. I am proud and honoured to follow my captain Marwan Elkamash who won last year at the Toronto World Cup.  I didn't think I would win but God did his thing.  It's been mentally tough for me this week. There were a lot of challenges for me but I am glad that this week paid off for me.  I am really excited for Budapest. Yes I was racing against some big swimmers, but I am a big name too, you just don’t know about me yet.

 

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE

Kaylee McKeon - AUS

WORLD CUP RECORD

That definitely hurt.  I didn't have a 1500 freestyle before this race like Katie Grimes did tonight so a lot of credit goes out to Katie for doing that double. I know I certainly couldn't do it. It's great to be racing in international events for Australia in these World Cup events. 

 

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE

Thomas Ceccon - ITA

Yes there's pressure on me, but a swim under 53 is not bad, it's not my best time.  I am happy with this result, racing against these big guys, swimming in front of a lot of fans.  I am looking forward to racing in Budapest.  Of course, it's my pool because that’s where I set my World Record.

 

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE

Ruta Meilutyte - LTU

Even though I am racing sprints, I am a bit fatigued. I am racing and winning but my body is tired.  I didn’t feel as powerful or as fast as usual, but it was a decent swim for me.  Once you get to a level, you try to maintain.  I am a little bit tired but it will be interesting to see what happens in Budapest.  Every world cup is a bit different so it's going to be a learning experience for sure.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE

Qin Haiyang - CHN

I am pleased to win all three events in Athens, and it will be my goal in Budapest to win again.

Dong - CHN

I am very proud to finish second place.  Chinese breaststroke swimmers are very fast and we will continue to swim towards our goals of winning.

 

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE

Siobhan Haughey - HKG  

Honestly, my legs are not feeling very good right now.  I treat these races just like training and I just have to keep going and see what I can do.  I like switching things up just a little bit so I am not so focused on the same events.  It allows me to avoid getting focused on the same event.

My first event was only a 50 breaststroke which we sometimes swim at race pace in practice so that wasn’t too hard or tiring for me tonight.  In the warm-up up I do both breaststroke and freestyle but mentally I always take it one event at a time. I am looking forward to swimming in Budapest. 

 

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE

Danas Rapsys - LTU

I was holding my energy for the last 50.  I go out at a steady pace.  I was holding for the last 50m.  When I get to 75 metres I say to myself hold it, hold it, and I see everyone else watching me and then when it's time, I say bye-bye and finish strong with my hand on the wall first.  I get to rest tomorrow and the next day and then its time to swim even faster in Budapest.

 

WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

Sydney Pickrem - CAN

A few months ago I had crippling anxiety and depression and that kept me out of swimming and kept me from doing the things that I love.  I am happy to be here and trying to do the best I can every day. I enjoy racing with these girls and getting back to having fun.

I am happy with the win. I haven't done a double like tonight in some time, but the 50 breast is just fun.  But I remember that it’s only October and it's a different world. I will go back and look at the video and see what I can do better. I deal with anxiety this every day and there are the up and the downs

I have a great support team behind me so that I can be the best me, and the best me allows me to be the best swimmer I can be.

I get to travel the world and see if I can put a best time on the scoreboard and that’s just icing on the top.  I went back to Texas A&M (university) to train and I was welcomed with open arms.  As much as we want to beat each other in races, everyone is happy for each other.  We all know how much time and effort we each put into our training.  I won’t be heading to Budapest.  Instead tomorrow I get on a plane for 20 hours on my way to Santiago Chile where I will be swimming in the Pan American Games.

WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY

 Kaylee McKeown - AUS  

I was really happy with the 200 back. It's another opportunity to get up and race, under pressure, and do the best that I can. I just wanted to take it out a little bit harder and see if I could hold on. That didn't all that well for me but I am still really happy with the outcome. 

It was one step at a time in the 200 medley. Obviously, I would have wanted to swim a little faster but I did the best I could.

It's always lovely to be recognized for some hard work. It's not very often, especially back home, that there are money incentives.

Absolutely this puts pressure on me for Budapest.  i have three important races in Budapest and perhaps there may be some cash rewards 

I wasn't expecting to swim as fast as I did in Berlin and I wasn’t expecting to swim faster here. It's nice to see where I am at in training and to see the results in the pool.

 

Contributing: Gregory Eggert, World Aquatics Correspondent