A busy night of racing in Otopeni saw nine World Junior Champions crowned, with many nations getting their first podium finishes of the meet.
Men’s 100m Backstroke “It wasn’t pretty but we got the job done”
The opening swim of the session brought Ireland’s first medal of the championships in the form of gold for John Shortt in the Men’s 100m Backstroke. The 18-year-old touched first at the 50m mark in the midst of a battle in the centre of the pool, when a strong turn and blistering final 15 metres secured him the winning touch in a time of 53.86.
Speaking after his win, he said: “That hurt, but I am very happy with that time, although the time wasn't as important as getting my hand on the wall first. It wasn’t pretty but I am happy that I got the job done. I am on top of the world, I think it's the only way to put it.”
Shortt said immediately after the race that working on his back-end speed has been key for him, adding: “My back end [in the semifinal] was pretty good, my front needed some touching up. I was pretty quick on the way back and I'm very happy with the finish. I just tried to hold on for dear life on the way back.
“I thought I executed the race really well and I am just so happy to be a world champion. The final meters hurt, it hurt a lot. I knew I needed to go to some place where I'd never gone before, so that's exactly where I went.”
The win marks his first World Junior medal, and adds to his gold and silver medals from last year’s European Junior Championships. A close fight amongst the rest of the field saw Georgii Iakovlev (NAB) touching in second in 53.94, while Gavin Keogh (USA) - who posted the USA’s third fastest time ever (17-18-year-old age group) in the semifinals - won bronze in 54.06.
Derivaux Nabs USA’s First Gold of the Meet
The Women’s 200m Butterfly delivered a tight race which saw USA’s Audrey Derivaux coming out on top. It was Serafima Fokina (NAB) who led at the halfway point after taking the race out early. Umi Ishizuka of Japan and Derivaux kept the pressure on and the American, who is known for having a strong back half of her race, charged home to win USA’s first gold medal of the championships in 2:07.57.
“I knew going into tonight that it was going to be a tight race”, she said. “I knew that if I just stuck with my plan and what I wanted to do, it would turn out well for me. I'm satisfied with that race but I wanted a little bit more, but there's always more in the tank.”
The 16-year-old has a PB of 2:06.46, which she set in January of this year and currently stands at the 18th fastest time in the world so far in 2025. When asked if her focus was more on the time or the podium, she said: “Honestly both. I knew in the prelims we were all right there, so I knew it was going to be a really tight race tonight. I really wanted a best time, but it was a tiring race and I had the 400 IM yesterday.
“It feels amazing to be a world champion; something I've never felt before.” Fokina and Ishizuka completed the podium, posting PBs of 2:07.67 and 2:08.16, respectively.
Men’s 200m Freestyle: D’Ambrosio in a Class of his Own
A dominating display from Carlos D’Ambrosio saw him taking gold in the Men’s 200m Freestyle in spectacular fashion. He took a full second off David Popovici’s Championship Record from 2022 (1:46.18) in what was also a new Italian Record time of 1:45.15 - breaking his own previous mark of 1:45.23.
Speaking on his first World Junior title, he said: “I'm very happy because this is my first junior medal. And I'm very happy because this is a national record and it's a PB. It's beautiful.”
The 18-year-old executed his race plan perfectly, adding: “It was my strategy, the plan was to go out fast and to just hang on, but I felt really strong at the finish.”
Silver went to Xu Haibo (CHN) who collected his second medal of the meet after he won bronze in the 400m Freestyle yesterday, with bronze going to Japan’s Raito Numata (1:46.70)
Dream Come True for McAlpin
USA’s second gold of the night came in the Women’s 50m Breaststroke as Rachel McAlpin got her hands to the wall first in 30.78. The only athlete to break the 31-second mark, she equalled her PB time for the semifinal to secure the win. A close battle for silver and bronze resulted in Lithuania’s Smilte Plytnykaite just out-touching NAB athlete, Ralina Giliazova, with respective times of 31.12 and 31.19.
“I won a gold medal for the USA; honestly, it was a dream come true. Even making this team was a dream. It really meant a lot to wear the team USA suit and cap,” McAlpin said of her win. “Coming from Mississippi, I've grown up wanting to do this for a long time. Having this great opportunity, it’s such a blessing to do this.”
The splash-and-dash race leaves no room for error, as McAlpin explained that a lot of work has gone into her starts.
“I've been working on my dives with my coach. He has been amazing helping me with [them]. I saw an improvement in these races, so I'm proud to say that.
“I want to say thanks to my teammates and thank the whole staff. They've really gone a long way to have a personal connection with me. There's so many kids on the team and they've really just been [there] to make sure I'm okay, to make sure everyone's okay. It's been really great, they've been amazing.”
‘Speechless’ Nowacki Tops Double-GB Podium
Coming off the back of a successful campaign at this year’s European Junior Swimming Championships, Great Britain’s Filip Nowacki continued his medal-winning form in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke.
After qualifying fastest from the semifinals, Nowacki downed his previous personal best to touch first with a clinical finish in 59.20; posting the second-fastest time ever recorded at a World Junior Swimming Championships in the process.
“It feels great to win, I am truly speechless. I think getting my hand on the wall first was my priority tonight. Normally, I'd say the time was more important in my processes, but seeing that it's an end-of-season meet, I'm really happy with touching first and also with my time.”
Solo training sessions have formed part of Nowacki’s preparation for this event, highlighting his commitment to having a strong meet in Otopeni. “In the UK, most clubs stop training at the end of July. So going into August, I booked my own lane and my coach Kieran has been sending me over my training sessions from the UK. I've been having to do them by myself, it's been a real tough challenge.”
His countrymate, Max Morgan, made it a Great Britain-double on the podium after winning bronze in 59.93. Nowacki said of Morgan: “Me and Max have been going head to head and I got lucky there, I mean it's truly great having a competitor in your own country like Max.”
World Junior Record holder in this event, Shin Ohashi, who was also part of Japan’s winning 4x100m Medley Relay team this evening, claimed silver in 59.50; just off his world-leading mark of 58.94 which he set in July.
Charlotte Crushes Minute-Mark to Take Backstroke Gold
A dominant display from USA’s Charlotte Crush (USA) saw her claim gold in the Women’s 100m Backstroke. Her time of 59.52 was the only in the field under the minute-mark, with Daria-Mariuca Silisteanu of Romania, claiming the home nations’ first medal of the championships in 1:00.02 (silver). Canada’s Madison Kryger swam to her first World Junior medal for bronze in 1:00.27.
Underwaters were key for Crush, who edged ahead of the field at the halfway point. Speaking after her win, she said: “I remember that I'm not swimming for myself, I remember that I’m doing this for Team USA, I get to support them and do my duty and play my part.”
The evening’s remaining medals came in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley, Women’s 800m Freestyle, and the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay. It was Mikhail Shcherbakov (NAB) who just out-touched Yumeki Kojima (JPN) on the wall for gold in the 200 IM in a new Championship Record time of 1:57.25.
The top three finishers all broke their PBs and dipped under the 1:58 mark, with Kojima fractionally behind in 1:57.29, while Raito Numata (JPN) collected his second bronze of the night in 1:57.98.
Peiqi Yang, who helped the team from People’s Republic of China swim to victory in the Women’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay on day one in Otopeni, claimed her first individual World Junior title in the 800 Free.
Yang posted the second fastest time in World Junior event history with 8:22.93, narrowly missing out on Lani Pallister’s Championship Record of 8:22.49 from 2019. Agostina Hein, winner of yesterday’s Women’s 400m Individual Medley, took silver in 8:26.19, while bronze was won by NAB athlete Kseniia Misharina in 8:29.50.
Japan Take Relay Win
One of the evening’s most exciting races to watch came in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay, which saw the team from Japan take gold. The changeable nature of the race delivered constant lead changes and showcased the competing nations’ different approaches.
Japan opted to lead off with their two male athletes, which saw Yui Fukuoka anchoring them to victory in 3:45.57. USA took silver in 3:46.12, while bronze went to Great Britain in 3:46.43.
USA’s Charlotte Crush, who featured in the relay after her earlier gold, said: “That mixed medley relay was just a blast. And when the starter said, take your mark, I could just see my whole team in the stands behind me; it really got me excited to go. It also sparks another fire. It lit a fire in us and keeps us going and wanting more for the next time.”
Another notable mention from this evening’s session came in the form of Rylee Erisman’s Championship Record in the Women’s 100m Freestyle Semifinal. The American athlete took down her own CR from this morning’s heats (53.17) with a blistering time of 53.09.
She goes through to tomorrow’s final as heavy favourite, qualifying almost 1.5 seconds quicker than the rest of the field and sitting just 0.39 off Penny Oleksiak’s near-decade old World Junior Record (52.70) from 2016.
That brings the total number of Championship Records to six, and one the number of World Junior Records broken at this meet so far.
Contributing: Gregory Eggert