Brinkleigh Hansen – USA

“It’s been really fun being able to support Team USA in every way possible. Of course, there are always better results to chase, but this has been such a good learning experience and I’m so glad I could be here.

I swim in Florida with St. Petersburg Aquatics under Coach Fred Lewis. Here, I raced the 400 free and was part of the 4x200m freestyle relay. The relay was my favorite because nothing matches Team USA’s energy—it was an amazing experience. Just being in the stands watching my teammates break a junior world record was incredible.

I’m 15 years old, and this is my first Juniors, though I also competed at the World Championships in Singapore earlier this year in open water events.”

Viktor Kopf – Austria

“This was my first Junior Worlds and I thought it was a really good meet. I’m a middle-distance freestyle swimmer, and earlier this summer I competed at the European Youth Olympic Festival. In Romania there were a lot of good races, and I met many nice people. I also noticed a lot of trading of swim caps and T-shirts.

Just after my 100m freestyle preliminaries, I saw an American swimmer wearing a USA cap and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a really nice one.’ I asked him about it, and he said he was willing to trade. We didn’t know each other before the meet, but we exchanged names, connected on Instagram, and worked out a time to trade. We swapped caps on Saturday.

My best race of the week was probably the 100 free, where I finished 29th. It was a long season, but I’m glad I qualified to swim at Juniors. I’m definitely motivated to train even harder next year. I believe that hard work beats talent. I’m 17 now, and my next big goal is to qualify for the European Short Course and Long Course Championships.”

Gerd Lessing – Estonia

“The atmosphere was amazing, and the pool was beautiful. At first, when I jumped in, I thought it was slow—but every day it felt better and better. I dropped five seconds in the 800m freestyle, and the 200m free was probably my most enjoyable swim. In my last event, the 1500m freestyle, I broke my own national age group record for 16 & under, improving by about three seconds. I don’t turn 17 until February, so I was really happy with that.

I live and train in Tartu, Estonia’s second-largest city. My mom has been my coach for the past six years, and she encouraged me to attend the World Aquatics Gala with her. I was tired and almost stayed at the hotel, but I went—and I think I was the only swimmer there. It turned out to be a very good experience and definitely worth it.”

Robert Badea – Romania

“It was a really good week—especially for Romania. I think we did our best. My last event was the relay, and even though I’m not really a 100m swimmer, I managed to get under 54 seconds, which was a big step for me.

Remington Angerer – Bolivia

“I swam the 50m and 200m breaststroke, the 200m IM, and the 400m IM. I set personal bests in all of them, but my breaststroke was the strongest.

I’ve really enjoyed my time here. I met new people and loved being with my team. Every day I went to watch the finals because seeing the fastest swimmers in the world motivates me to push myself and learn. I especially enjoyed watching Ohashi from Japan, the junior world record holder in the 200m breaststroke.

This was my first Juniors, and I hope I can qualify again for the next one. I met new friends from Paraguay, Peru, and the United States, and one of my favorite memories was in the call room before the 400m IM relay. All the swimmers from different countries took a group photo together—it was a lot of fun.”

The Romanian fans were incredible. They supported every athlete, and I think we did very well as a country hosting the Junior Championships. All I wanted was to have this meet at home, and it was a real success.”

Luciana Luksic – Croatia

“The meet was really exciting, and I’m happy with how we swam. It’s been a long season, so finishing here feels like a great way to end the summer. Now I can finally go on vacation!

"I swam the 200m and 100m backstroke and the 200m freestyle individually, and I raced with my Croatian teammates in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Making the final in the relay was huge for us—and even better, we swam faster in the final than in the morning. My favorite race was the 100m back because it felt like breaking the ice. And swimming the relay final with my teammates was such a special feeling."

Tai Peterson – South Africa

“It was great fun. I really enjoyed racing fast again, and the facilities here in Romania were excellent. Back home, we don’t always have the best facilities, so having warmup pools and athlete-only areas was a really nice change.

"I swam all three butterfly events and most of the relays. My best race was the 100m fly, where I went 53.3 in prelims to finish ninth. I didn’t quite match that in the semifinal and ended up 12th, but I was still happy with the result. The past two years have been a little rocky with club changes, but it feels great to be swimming personal bests again.

"I just turned 18. I swam at Junior Worlds two years ago in Israel, where I also made a semifinal. I’ve competed at a few World Cup and African meets as well, and I’m really looking forward to racing at the World Championships.

"I feel good in the water again, and that motivates me to keep going. Next, I’ll be moving to the University of Florida to swim for the Gators, which I’m very excited about. For now, I train under Coach Karin Hugo at Lane Leader Swimming Club in Stellenbosch, Cape Town.”

Tex Cross – Australia

“It’s been awesome—I’ve loved every moment. This was my first world championship meet, and it’s been a blast. My last swim was the 1500m free, and now I get to cheer for the girls in the 4x100m medley relay tonight, which will be great fun.

"My best event was the 400m freestyle on the opening night. I was in third place for most of the race but was passed in the last 50, so I ended up fourth. Missing the podium was a little bittersweet, but swimming in a World Juniors final is something I could only have dreamed about a few years ago. To come away with nearly a three-second personal best makes me really proud. It was an amazing swim, and I’m extremely happy with it.”