The penultimate night of racing in Otopeni delivered yet another World Junior Record, this time for Team USA in the Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay. That makes the second WJR of the day, after Germany’s Jan Malte Grafe set a new best in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke Heats.
Rylee Erisman led out an incredible first leg for Team USA in the final race of the night, touching in 53.41 which was just outside her gold-medal winning time in the individual event.
She couldn’t have set her team up any better, with Liberty Clark, Julie Mishler and Lily King sticking firmly with the world-leading mark throughout the race.
Canada’s previous record of 3:36.19 had stood since 2017, and now sits at 3:35.53 after this evening’s performance. Speaking after the race, the team said:
Rylee - “It was a great race. We broke the World Junior Record and we won gold, so I'm super proud of us. It was something we really wanted. Honestly, we just didn't want to put too much pressure on it and just go out there and have fun.”
Julie - “All of our races, as individuals, went extremely well, and I think we were all confident we were going to break that record.”
Lily - “I'm just so proud of these girls. Like Rylee said, this record was definitely something that we saw within our reach, but I know that we just all knew that we had to dive in and swim for each other and swim for Team USA. That's exactly what we did and we were able to get that done and I genuinely couldn't be more proud of us.”
Liberty - “Rylee took us out ahead and when I dove in, I just knew we couldn't lose that, and we stayed ahead and broke that record, and I'm just super proud and honored to do it for the USA.”
Triple Distance Gold for Peiqi Yang
The opening race of the evening delivered yet another gold medal performance from People Republic of China’s, Peiqi Yang. Yang has been a standout athlete throughout these championships, having already won the 400m and 800m Freestyle and 4x200m Freestyle Relay.
Kseniia Misharina (NAB) - who was bronze medallist in the 800m Free - and Emma Vittoria Giannelli (ITA) were the dominant athletes throughout, sharing the lead at various points and pushing one another right until the end.
It was Yang who lifted her speed in the closing hundred metres of the race, but her final hundred was something of a marvel. After turning neck and neck with Misharina, she put four seconds into the field to touch in 16:08.37 - with a blistering final 50 time of 29.14. That time now stands as the fourth fastest ever swam at a World Junior Championships event.
Speaking after the race, she said: “I tried to follow what my coach's strategy was and that is to save energy as much as possible in most of the distance, and surge back in the last 100 metres.
“It was my first time to swim so many events at world level competition, from the 100 to the 1500, as well as the relays. I never gave up in any event and just tried my best.”
Misharina held on for silver in 16:12.63, while Giannelli earned her first ever World Junior medal with bronze (16:15.40).
Of the two morning heats, it was Romania’s own Diana Gabriela Stiger that posted the fastest time of the field; placing her ninth overall. Her time of 16:39.88 took a huge chunk off her personal best, downing her old mark by roughly nine seconds.
Speaking after her race this morning, Stiger said: “It was a very good race, but hard. But I'm very, very happy that I can swim better championship by championship and I'm very grateful for this race.
Touching on the support from the home crowd, she added: “I heard them [crowd] before the race and after the race, my parents were there, my friends were there, I'm very happy to see them. I'm very proud, whatever the results will be.”
Fearn Storms to Gold at First World Junior Championships
Dean Fearn was victorious in the only men’s 50m final of the night, topping the podium in the 50m Butterfly. A perfectly-timed finish meant he got his hands to the wall first (23.54), with Nigeria’s Abdul Jabar Adama coming in second in 23.64; just off the new Nigerian National Record mark that he set in the semifinals (23.48) - which he had previously broken in the heats as well.
Adama’s podium finish marks the first medal for Nigeria at these championships, while bronze medal winner, Jan Foltyn, also took home his - and Czech Republic’s - first piece of hardware from Otopeni. Foltyn also won silver in this event at this year’s European Junior Championships, and his bronze here signifies his first ever World Junior medal.
Speaking after the race, Fearn said: “I just can't process it yet. The race is so quick, it's over and done in such a short time period. But to come out on top is just unreal. It wasn't the time I was hoping for, but to get the touch, it's amazing, it's really great. And it's only up from here. It's my first World Juniors so to get gold individually, it's honestly amazing.”
The Aberdeen Dolphins’ athlete added a third medal to his haul from Otopeni after this win, building on the two bronze medals he won in the Men’s 100m Butterfly and Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay.
He and coach Laura Bowie will look to continue building his sprinting acumen in the lead up to the LA Olympics, with Fearn adding that the addition of the sprint events “opens up new opportunities” for many.
Trotter Tops Podium for Australia’s First Gold
Australia were on top for the first time in Otopeni following Ainsley Trotter’s win in the Women’s 50m Backstroke final.
“I’m really happy, happy to be here - I’m having a lot of fun. This is my first big international meet so I was a bit nervous; I'm happy I was able to execute my race while being so nervous,” she said after her win.
In her eyes, being ‘relaxed’ throughout the competition helped to get her hand on the wall first tonight, adding: “I think I've been really relaxed. When I'm with my teammates it's been really fun, I think that's the main thing - and then I really focus when it comes to racing.”
Trotter explained that typically, her training focuses more on freestyle than backstroke, adding to the special nature of her win in this event. “I train a lot more freestyle than backstroke, but I can put together a good 50 backstroke. It was a little bit of a surprise, but a very happy surprise.”
Korea’s Kim Seungwon, who broke the Championship Record in the semifinals, was just out-touched on the wall - taking silver in 28.00. Marginally behind her was European Junior champion in this event, Great Britain’s Blythe Kinsman, who was just off her PB of 27.79, winning bronze in 28.04.
Championship Record for Hirai in 100 Fly Semis
Mizuki Hiari was in a league of her own in the Women’s 100m Butterfly semis, breaking the 2017 Championship Record with a new event-leading time of 57.02. She carved out a half-body length lead by the halfway turn, and carried that momentum through to a strong finish.
Hirai is the World Junior Record holder in this event after she swam a searingly fast 56.33 last year. She goes through to the final as heavy favourite, and will undoubtedly have her sights set on her own world-leading mark.
Charlotte Crush and Audrey Derivaux showed that butterfly is truly thriving amongst the USA’s junior ranks, posting the two fastest times of the first semifinal (57.57, 58.17, respectively).
Also well in the top ranked athletes is People Republic of China’s Zhenqi Gong, who heads into the final as third-seed.
Erisman Top Seed Ahead of Sprint Freestyle Final
A prominent name throughout this meet, USA’s Rylee Erisman, heads into the Women’s 50m Freestyle final as top seed (24.69). Croatian National Record holder, Jana Pavalic, also had a brilliant swim (24.79) to qualify second behind Erisman into the final.
Pavalic has excelled on the World stage before, winning gold in the 50m Butterfly in her first year as a junior (2022). She also holds a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal from previous European Junior sprint events, and will no doubt be drawing on that international experience in the final showdown.
GB’s Theodora Taylor, who won bronze in the 100m Free this week, also broke the 25-second mark for the first time and looked overjoyed with her time of 24.82.
D’Ambrosio and Mills Build Excitement Ahead of 100m Free Final
Carlos D’Ambrosio mimicked what is becoming a trademark fast opening speed for him by winning the first of the Men’s 100m Freestyle semifinals in 47.86. Swimming in lane two, he touched comfortably ahead of the rest of the field in what is just off his lifetime best of 47.78.
Jacob Mills of Great Britain responded to D’Ambrosio’s swim in spectacular fashion in the second semifinal race, going faster again to win in 47.74. Only Romania’s David Popovici, who is widely considered sprint freestyle royalty, has gone under the 48-mark at a World Junior Championships previously, dialling up the excitement even more ahead of tomorrow night’s final.
That mark also positions Mills as the third-fastest British athlete in this event’s history, a tall order amongst the nation’s sprinting pedigree. The pair qualify more than a second faster than the rest of the field into the final, with NAB athlete Roman Zhidkov rounding out the top three (48.92).
Stacked Breaststroke Field Features Two WJR Holders
Today’s Men’s 50m Breaststroke has been nothing short of spectacular, after Germany’s Jan Malte Grafe set a new World Junior Record in the heats.
This meet has featured a few record-breaking morning swims, and no one was more surprised than Grafe himself after his prelims swim: “I did not expect that to be honest. I knew after the 100m I was in good form, but I did not expect a 26, I have to tell you that. I don't know what to say.”
Grafe shaved 0.02 off the previous world-leading time, posting a sensational 26.95 in heat 9. The German athlete is coached by Olympic bronze medallist, Joerg Hoffman, and heads into the final as top-seeded athlete.
The rivalry between Shin Ohashi and Filip Nowacki has delivered some exceptional swims so far throughout this meet, with the two pushing each other to new heights.
For the first time in Otopeni, it was Shin who out-touched Nowacki in the semifinals, with just 0.09 separating them (27.34, 27.43).
Japan 1-2 and Romania’s Badea on Podium in Men’s Medley
A start-studded field in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley rounded out this evening’s individual action in Otopeni. After a relatively even first hundred metres, it quickly became a three-man race between World Junior Record holder, Yumeki Kojima, his Japanese teammate, Raito Numata, and home favourite, Robert-Andrei Badea.
Swimming in lanes two, three, and four, it was Numata who had the sprint speed in the freestyle leg to carry him to glory, touching first in 4:11.37 - a time that sits within the top 20 so far this year. Following closely behind was Kojima (4:12.99), while Romanian National Record holder, Badea, set a new lifetime best of 4:13.79 for bronze.
Badea was understandably emotional after his podium-finish in front of a home crowd, and said: “For me, it's one of the most important medals, that's for sure, and I think that I deserved it. I've been training since September, every single day, not missing training. So I'm really happy and I was really excited to win this medal.
Badea bettered his sixth place finish in this event from 2023, and thanked the home crowd for helping him to this result: “It feels amazing. I think that they [the crowd] helped me a lot. That's for sure, without them, I couldn't get here.”