Welcome back as we come to you live from Duna Arena for Day 4 of the World Aquatics Swimming World Championships (25m) in Budapest. Coming off the first three days where we saw 12 World Records fall - and another one by Gretchen Walsh this morning - what's in store this evening? Follow along and find out. We'll have the athlete responses, snapshots, and race revelations from the Hungarian capital.
Two World Records In One Race? Yes, You Read That Right
What a way to cap a fantastically fast night of racing in the Duna Arena pool.
The USA men’s shattered their own World Record in the 4×200m freestyle relay, clocking 6:40.51. This performance slashed nearly four seconds off their previous World and Championship Record of 6:44.12, set at the Worlds in Melbourne in 2022.
Luke Hobson kicked things off with a blistering lead-off leg, setting the 200m freestyle individual world record. It was an unforgettable night for Hobson, who now owns the record Peter Biedermann of Germany set at the 2009 Swimming World Cup.
Gose Golden in the Women's 1500m Freestyle
Isabel Gose claimed Germany's first gold of these Championships as the freestyle distance ace outdistanced herself from Simona Quadarella of Italy, denying the two-time World 1500m freestyle champion in the 50m pool from her first global short-course title. USA's Jillian Cox adds an individual bronze to the gold she won on the Women's 4x100m freestyle relay earlier this week in Budapest.
“It has not sunk in yet, it was such a hard race and I felt the whole week after the finish. But I am so happy with this result and with this whole week – did not think it would go this well before the start of the event. I am really proud that I can finish off this year like this.”
1. Isabel Gose (GER) - 15:24.61
2. Simona Quadarella (ITA) - 15:30.14
3. Jillian Cox (USA) - 15.41.29
Championship Record Finish for Switzerland's Noe Ponti to Take Men's 100m IM Gold
Second after butterfly and trailing off the final turn, Noe Ponti put in a monster final 25m freestyle to set a Championship Record on the way to gold in the Men's 100m Individual Medley. Austria's Bernhard Reitshammer takes silver and Brazil's Caio Pumputis bronze. Leading at 75m, USA's Michael Andrew just missed out on the medals by .02 second.
1. Noe Ponti (SUI) - 50.33 - Championship Record
2. Bernhard Reitshammer (AUT) - 51.11
3. Caio Pumputis (BRA) - 51.35
Running Out of Superlatives | Gretchen Walsh Sets Her 3rd World Record Today in the Women's 100m IM
What can we say? Gretchen Walsh is on another stratosphere, especially in the butterfly and individual medley events. This marks her seventh world record (six individual, one relay) this week in Budapest. Watching greatness unfold before our eyes.
“It's definitely payday, or rather pay-week I guess... But I just think this is a lot of hard work culminating into one week. I feel like it was kind of a matter of time for me, just with this being my really first-ever short-course meet on a stage like this. So I'm really thrilled with myself and the times I've been able to put up and just everything I've been able to accomplish because there's been a lot of work that went into it.”
1. Gretchen Walsh (USA) - 55.11 - World Record
2. Kate Douglass (USA) - 56.49
3. Beryl Gastaldello (FRA) - 56.67
Men's 100m Butterfly Semis | Ponti Fastest
Noe Ponti heads into the Men's 100m Butterfly final in Lane 4. Can the Swiss man double up the gold in double the distance?
1. Noe Ponti (SUI) - 48.89
2. Maxime Grousset (FRA) - 48.99
3. Matt Temple (AUS) - 49.01
Deja Vu | Gretchen Walsh Sets Another World Record in the Semis
USA's Gretchen has now set... (checks notes) Six (!) world records in Budapest, in just her first time racing at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m). Just like she did in the Women's 50m Butterfly, Walsh has set world records in the Women's 100m Butterfly in the Heats and Semis.
Fastest Qualifiers
1. Gretchen Walsh (USA) - 52.87 - World Record
2. Tessa Giele (NED) - 55.71
3. Louise Hansson (SWE) - 55.86
Men's 50m Backstroke | Lifintsev Wins It
It took a World Junior Record-setting performance, but Neutral Athlete Miron Lifintsev out-touched midway leader Isaac Cooper of Australia - 22.47 to 22.49 for gold in the Men's 50m Backstroke. Racing out of Lane 8, Ireland's Shane Ryan earned bronze, just .09 second from the win.
1. Miron Lifintsev (NAB) - 22.47 - World Junior Record
2. Isaac Cooper (AUS) - 22.49 - Oceanian Record
3. Shane Ryan (IRL) - 22.56
World Record in the Women's 50m Backstroke! USA's Regan Smith Strikes Gold, #WR Again
With the quickest reaction time of the field and leading at the 25m midway point, Regan Smith powered home to a 25.23 world record in the women's 50m backstroke in tonight's final. It's been a tough day for recently-retired Maggie Mac Neil's World Records as USA's Gretchen Walsh broke the Canadian's world record in the morning 100m butterfly heats, and now Smith does the same here.
“It's a great feeling, I love racing with Katie! I know she's going to push me one way or the other. That was a very pleasant surprise, that was an awesome swim!”
The world record tally so far in Budapest? 15. Three of those have come today. So far.
1. Regan Smith (USA) - 25.23
2. Katharine Berkoff (USA) - 25.61
3. Kylie Masse (CAN) - 25.78
Men's 200m Breaststroke | Carles Coll Marti Gets Spain onto the Medal Table
Spain and Japan get on the Worlds Medal Table as Spain Carles Coll Marti takes the win and Yamato Fukusawa the bronze. Neutral Athlete Kiril Prigoda earns the silver.
For Coll Marti, the win is extra special: it is the first time in a decade that Spain has been on the podium at the World Swimming Championships.
1. Carles Coll Marti (ESP) - 2:01.55
2. Kirill Prigoda (NAB) - 2:01.88
2. Yamato Fukasawa (JPN) - 2:02.01
Watch It One More Time | Kate Douglass' Demolition of the Breaststroke Record Books
Kate Douglass in a Pool of Her Own | World Record in the Women's 200m Breaststroke
Up on the world record by .19 second at the midway mark, USA's Kate Douglass wouldn't be denied in the Women's 200m Breastroke, resetting the record book at 2:12.50. The person she replaces in the world record lists? No one, as she last set the all-time global standard in the event during the Swimming World Cup in Singapore this past October when she swam 2:12.72.
“I'm really glad I got this one! You just never know how things are going to go. I'd like to keep going forward and do a lot of races! But yeah, I just wanted to give it all!”
1. Kate Douglass (USA) - 2:12.50 - World Record
2. Evgeniaa Chikunova (NAB) - 2:15.14
3. Alex Walsh (USA) - 2:16.83
Having gone undefeated in the event across the Swimming World Cup and now here in Budapest, Douglass pockets the double crown and another extra $10,000 bonus.
Kate Douglass reigns supreme! 👑 World Record ✔️ Double Crown ✔️ An unforgettable moment at #AQUABudapest2024 🏊♀️🔥 pic.twitter.com/uIuNieFqI5
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) December 13, 2024
Mixed 4x50 Relay Final | Italy Takes It
Italy's Leonardo took the lead off the first leg, Canada's Yuri Kisil and Ingrid Wilm brought the Maple Leaf to the front, and then Italy's Sara Curtis brought home the win for Italy.
1. Italy - 1.28.5
2. Canada - 1:28.6
3. Poland - 1:28.8
Full Results Here
Foreshadowing to Tonight's Finals?
Record Books Getting Rewritten
Coming into this morning (I know, more records were broken, including Gretchen Walsh setting another world record in Budapest during today's prelims), here were the record-setting stats through Day 3 of the six-day Championships:
- 12 World Records
- 25 Championship Records
- 6 World Junior Records
The continental records are undergoing a major revision as well, with 33 falling so far in Budapest:
- 4 African Records
- 17 Americas Records
- 3 Asian Records
- 4 European Records
- 5 Oceanian Records