By Adrian Mancebo on SwimSwam

CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL FINA GWANGJU 2019

El estadounidense Caeleb Dressel y la sueca Sarah Sjostrom han sido proclamados como los mejores nadadores del Campeonato del Mundo FINA 2019. Ambos nadadores repiten este honor, ya que en Budapest 2017 también fueron ellos los mejores del campeonato.

Dressel se ha llevado un botín de 6 medallas de oro y dos medallas de plata, después de llevarse 7 oros en Budapest hace dos años. De sus medallas, las cuatro pruebas individuales que ha nadado han acabado en oro: 50 y 100 mariposa, 50 y 100 libre. Además hay que sumar su récord del mundo en 100 mariposa, lo que suma un total de 22 puntos para Dressel.

Sjostrom ha ganado un total de 5 medallas, todas ellas en pruebas individuales: oro en 50 mariposa, plata en 100 mariposa y 50 libre, bronce en 100 y 200 libre. Este resultado le lleva a empatar con Missy Franklin en el ránking histórico de medallistas en mundiales, y con Michael Phelps como máxima medallista en pruebas individuales en un solo mundial. Las 5 medallas de Sjostrom le otorgan un total de 15 puntos.

El sistema de puntuación individual de la FINA:

• Primer puesto: 5 puntos
• Segundo puesto: 3 puntos
• Tercer puesto: 2 puntos
• Cuarto puesto: 1 punto
• Récord mundial individual: 2 puntos

Regan Smith, la única mujer en batir un récord del mundo individual en este campeonato, ha sido séptima en el ránking con 9 puntos: 5 puntos del oro en 200 espalda, y 2 puntos cada récord del mundo en 100 y 200 espalda.

Ránking masculino – Top 5

1. Caeleb Dressel, USA – 22 puntos
2. Daiya Seto, Japón – 13 puntos
3. Adam Peaty, Reino Unido – 12 puntos
4. Evgeny Rylov, Rusia – 11 puntos
5. Sun Yang, China – 10 puntos

Ránking masculino completo

Ránking femenino – Top 6 

1. Sarah Sjostrom, Suecia – 15 puntos
2. (EMPATE) – Yulia Efimova, Rusia/Lilly King, USA/Simone Manuel, USA/Ariarne Titmus, Australia/Katinka Hosszu, Hungría – 10 puntos

Ránking femenino completo

Todos los resultados del mundial Gwangju 2019:

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Caeleb Dressel y Sarah Sjostrom, mejores nadadores del mundial Gwangju 2019

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

2019 YMCA Long Course National Swimming Championships

• July 30th-August 3rd, 2019
• Eppley Recreation Center, College Park, Maryland
• LCM (50m)
• Meet site
• Results
• Psych Sheets
• Meet Mobile:
  • “2019 LCYNationals” for the main meet
  • “2019 LCYNationals TT only” for time trial swims

The 2019 YMCA long course National Championships kick off on Tuesday. After some uncertainty early in the process, they are back in College Park, Maryland at the University of Maryland pool this year.

The meet is generally the more lightly-attended of the two Y Nationals events (with the short course yards meet being in the spring) as swimmers split their time among a number of meets over the next two weeks, including the NCSA Junior Nationals, the USA Swimming Nationals, the USA Swimming Junior Nationals, Zone Championships, and Futures Championships. The meet still does have a big field of athletes attending, though: case in point, in the women’s 100 free this summer, there are 107 entries. That’s down from 170 in the spring.

The women of the Sarasota Family YMCA won the 2019 short course title, but have not entered a team at the long course meet this year. Among the front-runners for this year’s title, then, is the ME Lyons Anderson YMCA in Cincinnati. They were 15th in the spring, but this summer boast a strong roster that includes the top seed in the girls’ 200 breaststroke Kate Overbey, Meredith Moellering, the 3rd seed in the 100 fly Meredith Moellering, and the 2nd seed in the girls’ 400 free Grace Hastings. They aren’t as big of a squad as teams like Cheshire, which won the girls’ title last year, but have a lot of top end talent.

Other Top Names to watch in the girls’ meet:

• Megan Glass of the Blue Ash YMCA is swimming in her last YMCA National Championship meet, and is the top seed in the 200 free, 50 fly, and 100 fly. She’s also entered to swim the 50 free and 200 fly. In the 100 fly (seed time: 1:00.52), she’s a two-time defending champion. She’s a Michigan commit.
• Paige Hetrick of the Bradford Family YMCA is the top seed in the 100 free (56.44), 100 back (1:01.73), and 200 back (2:13.47). She and Glass will have a big showdown in the 200 free, along with the defending champion Abigail Doss (more on her later), who is seeded just 8th in spite of her title status. That women’s 200 free will be one of the highlights of the meet. Hetrick is a top 20 recruit that will attend Louisville beginning in the fall of 2020
• 17-year old distance ace Abigail Doss from the Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA won 3 races at last year’s meet: the 200 free, 400 free, and 200 IM. This year, she’s also the top seed in the 800 free, where she’s within reach of a 10-year old YMCA national record of 8:55.46.
• San Diego State commit Jessie McMurray, who feels like she’s been a force at these YMCA National meets forever, holds top seeds in both the 50 and 100 meter breaststrokes. Last year she won the 50 in 32.49 to set the YMCA National Record, and she just missed the 100 breast record in a winning time of 1:11.67 (off 1:11.26).
• The only non-top-seed in this list, 15-year old Meaghan Harnish made enough of an impression at last year’s meet (at only 14), to warrant inclusion. A York YMCA teammate of McMurray, she made A-finals in 4 individual events last season, including a high finish of 3rd in the 200 breaststroke (2:25.89).

On the boys’ side, last year the Red Branch Bank YMCA and the Somerset Hills YMCA, both in New Jersey, had a barn-burner finish for the team title, with Red Bank ultimately winning by 7.5 points. The two teams were each far ahead of the field, and both have brought massive rosters again this year.

While depth wins at this meet, both teams have stars back again this year. For Somerset Hills, that’s 18-year old Brown University commit Lukas Scheidl. He’s the top seed in the 100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM. The latter of those two races are wide open this year, with National Record breaker Matt Fallon not entering this year’s meet for Somerset Valley (another New Jersey team).

Red Bank doesn’t have one swimmer to match Lukas’ combination of talent and range, but they have a very good breaststroke duo of Richard Trentalage and Dylan Citta. Trentalange, 17, is the top seed in the 50 breaststroke (29.10), while Citta, 16, is the top seed in the 200 breaststroke (2:21.82). Ironically, neither is seeded higher than 8th in the 100 breaststroke, but none-the-less, that’s a discipline where they’ll need to score big points, especially given that the breaststrokes are a gap in the Somerset Hills lineup.

Other Top Names to watch in the boys’ meet:

• Another New Jerseyan, 16-year old David Curtiss is the top seed in the 50 and 100 free. His 22.64 to win the individual 50 free, and set the YMCA National Record, last year at just 15 was one of the stories of the week. He was disqualified at that meet in the 100 free, but this year is the top seed in both events.
• Georgia Tech commit Josh Cohen of the Fanwood Scotch Plains YMCA, is the top seed in the 200, 400, and 800 freestyles. He won the 200 and 400 at last year’s meet, and is a big favorite in both races at this year’s meet too (though he’ll have to beat Scheidl in the 400). He’s also the top seed in the 800, though in the longer races he’ll start to run into Nick Andres from BR Ryall, who is the favorite in the 1500.
• Justin Fleagle of the Auglaize Mercer Counties YMCA is the defending champion in the men’s 50 back, and with no Jack Alexy or Noah Young at this year’s meet, he enters as the favorite in the 100 back as well.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2019 YMCA Long Course Nationals Kick Off on Tuesday (PREVIEW)

By Daniela Kapser on SwimSwam

131. Deutsche Meisterschaften Schwimmen 2019

• Berlin
• 1. – 4. August
• Schwimm- und Sprunghalle im Europa-Sportpark (SSE)
• Tickets
• Veranstaltungswebseite
• DIE FINALS Webseite
• Alle Wettbewerbe DIE FINALS
• Zeitplan
• Startlisten und Ergebnisse
• Meldeergebnis PDF komplett

Da die Deutschen Meisterschaften im Schwimmen im Rahmen von “Die Finals” stattfinden, wird das ZDF im Livestream oder ARD und ZDF im TV über die Schwimmwettkämpfe berichten.

Diese Sendezeiten im Livestream hat das ZDF bereits hier veröffentlicht. Schwimmen ist bisher nur am Freitag, den 2. August im Livestream terminiert. Weitere Übertragungen im TV, siehe weiter unten. (Bitte checkt die Zeiten im TV aber noch mal tagesatkuell, wir möchten nicht, dass Ihr was verpasst!)

Sendezeiten im TV

(Quelle: Pressemappe zu den Finals 2019 in Berlin)

• 3. August 2019:
• 15.25 Uhr: Schwimmen, Entscheidungen der Damen und Herren (ARD)
• 16.15 Uhr: Schwimmen, Entscheidungen der Damen und Herren (ARD)

• 4. August 2019:
• 15.30 Uhr: Schwimmen, Entscheidungen der Damen und Herren (ZDF)

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Deutsche Meisterschaften Schwimmen: Alle Links, ARD/ZDF Sendeplan, Livestream

By Reid Carlson on SwimSwam

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
• Meet site
• Competition Schedule
• FinaTV Live Stream
• Entry Lists
• Results

Watch final race of the 2019 FINA World Championships from underwater. Regan Smith leads off in a new World Record of 57.57 in the 100 back, followed by Lilly King on breast, Kelsi Dahlia on fly, and Simone Manuel, who anchored with a 51.86 in the freestyle.

Reported by Lauren Neidigh.

WOMEN’S 4 X 100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 3:51.55, USA (Baker, King, Dahlia, Manuel), 2017
• World Championship Record: 3:51.55, USA (Baker, King, Dahlia, Manuel), 2017
• World Junior Record: 3:58.38, Canada (Hannah, Knelson, Oleksiak, Ruck), 2017
• Defending 2017 World Champion: USA (Baker, King, Dahlia, Manuel), 3:51.55

Medalists:

1. GOLD- USA, 3:50.40
2. SILVER- Australia, 3:53.42
3. BRONZE- Canada, 3:53.58

The final race of the 2019 FINA World Championships started off with a bang, as there were 2 World Records set in this single event. The USA’s Regan Smith got the ball rolling with a World Record in the 100 back, racing to a 57.57 to give the USA a big lead. That makes Smith the first woman in history to break 58 seconds, erasing teammate Kathleen Baker‘s former World Record of 58.00 from 2018.

Smith, who set a new World Record in the 200 back and won gold in that event, didn’t even get the chance to swim the 100 back individually here, but she was the fastest 100 backstroker here by far.

Splits:

• USA- Smith 57.57*, King 1:04.81, Dahlia 56.16, Manuel 51.86
• AUS- Atherton 59.06, Hansen 1:06.08, McKeon 56.32, Campbell 51.96
• CAN- Masse 59.12, Pickrem 1:06.42, MacNeil 55.56, Oleksiak 52.48

The Americans led the race through to the finish. Lilly King, the 100 breast champion, had the fastest breast split of the field in 1:04.81. Kelsi Dahlia held their lead with a 56.16 fly split. To close, 100 free champion Simone Manuel anchored in 51.86, sealing a new World Record for the USA in 3:50.40. That blew away the old World Record from 2017 Worlds by over a second.

There was a tight race for silver between Australia (3:53.42) and Canada (3:53.58). They were very close through the first half, but Maggie MacNeil, the 100 fly champion, pulled ahead for Canada with a 55.56 on the fly. Australia roared back, however, with Cate Campbell‘s 51.96 on the anchor leg to out-touch Canada for silver. Canada set a new Canadian Record to take the bronze.

Italy was 4th in 3:56.50. Federica Pellegrini, who won the 200 free here, anchored them in 52.48 as the team set a new Italian Record.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Watch Underwater Video of The American Women’s 400 Medley Relay World Record

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

As the ongoing case regarding Australian sprint star Shayna Jack‘s positive doping test unfolds, additional details concerning other cases may soon be coming to light.

According to various media sources, including The South China Morning Post, FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu says that Jack is not the only swimmer currently being investigated for doping. Marculescu says that there are ‘another two’ with cases opened on them.

Per news.com.au, Marculescu said the other two cases were not Australian athletes but he gave no further details and did not specify whether they were related to the World Championships.

We will publish updates on any additional cases as soon as we know more information.

On Jack, the 20-year-old tested positive for banned substance Ligandrol and is facing a possible 4-year ban unless something comes to light while her case is investigated. Below is the timing on the major milestones involving Jack’s positive test.

• June 26th – Date of the doping test.
• July 14th – Via her personal Instagram account, Jack announces her shock withdrawal from the World Championships, despite having traveled and practicing with the Aussie squad at their staging camp.
• July 27th – Again via her personal Instagram account, Jack, reveals her positive doing test, but does not explain the substance involved, nor the fact that both the A and B samples were positive.
• July 27th – Swimming Australia releases an official comment on Jack, but does not disclose the substance involved. CEO Leigh Russell stated,  “under the specific legislation governing Australia‘s drug-testing regime, Swimming Australia is notified of any adverse test result as is WADA and FINA. Under the process, all details are required to remain confidential until ASADA has completed its investigations, the athlete is afforded due process and an outcome determined.”
• July 28th – Jack announces via Instagram that she tested positive for Ligandrol. Also known as selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) LGD-4033, was originally developed for the treatment of muscle wasting conditions such as aging, osteoporosis, muscular dystrophy and cancer, is promoted as a selective non-steroidal anabolic agent. (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority).
• July 28th – Former ASADA head Richard Ings questions the handling of informing the public by Swimming Australia, saying “If Swimming Australia is suggesting that their anti-doping policy, approved by ASADA, forbids them from announcing the Jack provisional suspension, they are wrong.”
  • Aussie Head Coach Jacco Verhaeren also speaks, saying, “We are not trying to cover anything up. We don’t play a game. She’s [Jack] not here [in Gwangju] and it shows that the Australian system works.”
• July 29th – Jack suspended from ISL pending outcome of anti-doping proceedings.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: FINA Exec Marculescu Says There Are 2 More Athletes With Open Doping Cases

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

2019 ITALIAN SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Rome, Italy
• Thursday, August 1st – Sunday, August 4th
• SwimSwam Italia Preview
• Entry List
• Start List
• Results

Just as the Germans are heading straight to their Summer Nationals off of the World Championships, so are the Italians, as their national summer meet gets underway this Thursday, August 1st.

Italy is coming off of its best-ever World Championships performance as a team, where they reaped 8 total medals and set 14 new National Records. We’ll see several of the heavy-hitters here in Rome over the course of the 4-day affair, including Martina Carraro.

Carraro made history by earning her nation’s first-ever World Championships medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke with the bronze. She’ll be joined at these Championships by Arianna Castiglioni and Ilaria Bianchi.

Alessandro Miressi will be representing the men’s sprinting contingency in Rome, along with Luca Dotto, while newly-minted 200m free National Record holder Filippo Megli will accompany Matteo Ciampi and Stefano Di Cola.

One of our top 5 swimmers from the European Youth Olympic Festival,Erika Francesca Gaetani, is set to race at these Italian Summer Nationals, as is Giulia Salin, double gold medalist at the European Junior Championships. Constanza Cocconcelli also earned European Juniors gold in the 50m free and is expected to compete here in Rome.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: History-Making Carraro Among This Week’s Italian Summer C’Ships Swimmers

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

As the ongoing doping case against 20-year-old Australian freestyle ace Shayna Jack begins to unfold, more and more members of the swimming community are speaking up about the situation. We’ve heard from Swimming Australia CEO Leigh Russell,Jack’s St. Peters Western Coach Dean Boxall, Swimming Australia CEO Jacco Verhaeren and more.

Both the Australian Swimmers’ Association (ASA), as well as the Dolphins Athlete Leaders have released statements concerning their teammate Jack’s positive doping test.

For background, the ASA serves as the representative body for competitive swimmers in Australia and is a voting Stakeholder of Swimming Australia. Its governing officer is Rio Olympic swimmer Matthew Abood, with Jess Ashwood, Bronte Barratt, Bronte Campbell and Jake Packard serving as general members.

As for the Dolphins Athlete Leaders, the group consists of Mitch Larkin, Jess Hansen, Alex Graham, Cate Campbell, and sister Bronte. The leaders were confirmed as of March of this year. Part of the Dolphins Athlete Leaders role is to epresent the wider Australian Dolphins’ team in discussing challenges and opportunities while maintaining a strong connection and open communication with Swimming Australia’s organizational leaders.

Below are the two group’s separate statements:

ASA Statement

The Australian Swimmers’ Association was shocked to hear of Shayna Jack’s positive test to a banned substance, and our primary concern is her wellbeing through a life altering experience. As ASADA made clear over the last couple of days, there are privacy and confidentiality policies in place to protect the athlete and the integrity of the investigation that prevent any details being released unless by ASADA or Shayna. The ASA acknowledges and respects Swimming Australia for adhering to these policies and Shayna’s wishes to speak when ready. The ASA remains committed to a clean and drug-free sport and following the procedures put in place by ASADA to govern this.

The ASA congratulates the team on their outstanding performances at the Gwangju 2019 World Championships. The headlines from this week don’t detract from the courage, determination and character that was on display in Korea. The ASA wishes all the elite swimmers of this nation the very best in making the next 359 days count in reaching their goals at the Tokyo Olympics.

Dolphins Athlete Leaders Statement:

The Athlete leadership group consisting of Mitch Larkin, Jess Hansen, Alex Graham and Cate and Bronte Campbell said: “We support Swimming Australia and our CEO Leigh Russell in following the confidentiality policy set out in legislation through ASADA and do not agree with any suggestion that Swimming Australia has attempted in any way to cover this up.

“We are proud of the fact we have one of the strongest anti-doping programs in the world and ASADA has clearly stated the rules on disclosure and the rule prohibiting Swimming Australia from releasing details are there for a reason –  without them our system can be compromised.

 “Swimming Australia kept our team informed when they were allowed – under the legislation – to do so. We also strongly believe in an athlete’s right to privacy and fair process under the ASADA code while a full investigation takes place and due to a leak of this information in the early stages of this process these rights have been infringed.”

“We stand very strongly in our commitment to clean and drug-free sport and this won’t change, but we also are strongly committed to following the procedures set out in legislation.

“Finally, we would also like to thank the Australian public for the support we have received following our performances in Gwangju – we very much appreciate it. We were extremely proud of how the team performed and are looking forward to the next 12 months as we build towards Tokyo 2020.”

Both the ASA and Athlete Leaders will not be commenting further on the situation, as they wish to respect the privacy of Shayna.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Dolphins Athlete Leaders & ASA Release Statements On Shayna Jack

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

The DC Trident of the International Swimming League has added sprinter Robert Howard to their team roster for the inaugural season of swimming’s newest professional circuit. Howard’s announcement comes after the suspension of Brazilian sprinter Gabriel Santos by the ISL, which is expected to turn into a permanent ban in line with the league’s zero tolerance anti-doping policy.

Like Santos, Howard is a sprint freestyler.

Howard just turned pro in March after completing his final NCAA Championship meet. As a prep, one of the best in the state’s history, he trained with Auburn Aquatics based out of the University of Alabama before signing to join the varsity squad at Alabama, where he bloomed into an All-American.

In 2019, as a senior, Howard was named the SEC Swimmer of the Year and the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year after graduating with a 4.0 GPA and a degree in accounting. He was also an SEC Champion in both the 50 and 100 free individually, as well as in the 400 free and 200 medley relays in his senior season. He finished 3rd individually at NCAAs in the 50 free (18.80) in 2019 and 5th in the 100 free (41.75), and he also anchored Alabama’s NCAA Championship 200 medley relay in 2019. In total, he earned 15 CSCAA All-America honors in his career at Alabama.

Most recently, he represented the United States at the 2019 World Univversity Games where he won gold as part of the American 400 free relay. As a pro, he’s followed his coach Jonty Skinner to Indiana, where he trains with Cody Miller, Zane Grothe, and Ian Finnerty: all of whom are also members of the DC Trident.

“I’m so excited to welcome Robert to our amazing roster of DC Trident swimmers,” General Manager Kaitlin Sandeno said. “From watching him throughout his career at Alabama, to most recently celebrating his success along with his new Trident teammates at the World University Games, I’ve gotten to know Robert as a swimmer. He is a sprinter through and through, and will surely thrive in the ISL which puts a premium on speed.”

Howard doesn’t have any official results in short course meters, the course that will be used in ISL meets. The Trident are scheduled to kick off their season on October 4th and 5th in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Howard’s Best Times:

Read the full story on SwimSwam: After Losing Gabriel Santos, DC Trident Sign Robert Howard

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

A bill set to be introduced in the United States Senate calls for major reforms to Olympic and sporting governing bodies, including increased legal liability, more athlete representation and more mandated funding to the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

The Washington Post reports that the bill came out of a Senate Commerce subcommittee, which found that the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics “knowingly concealed abuse by Larry Nassar, leading to the abuse of dozens of additional amateur athletes from summer 2015 to September 2016.”

The Congressional panel was led by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who now say they plan to introduce a bill today calling for sweeping reform to both the U.S. Olympic Committee (recently rebranded as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, or USOPC) and the 47 sport-specific governing bodies like USA Swimming.

Per The Post and USA Today, the bill would focus on three specific areas:

Increasing legal liablity for USOPC & NGBs

The bill would increase legal liability against the USOPC and national governing bodies like USA Swimming. It would require the USOPC to keep a public list of banned coaches (though that is already being done by the U.S. Center for SafeSport), and would give Congress sweeping power to decertify national governing bodies or even dissolve the USOPC board of directors in the future. The USOPC would also have to review its national governing bodies every four years.

Increasing athlete representation in governance

The bill would increase athlete representation on both the USOPC board and in NGBs like USA Swimming from one-fifth (20%) to one-third (33.3%).

Mandating more funding for & limiting interference on U.S. Center for SafeSport

The bill would mandate that the USOPC provide $20 million a year in funding to the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which investigates complaints of athlete abuse, hands down sanctions and keeps a public database of banned individuals across all sports. The bill would also prohibit employees of the USOPC or sport-specific national governing bodies from serving at the Center in an attempt to root out conflicts of interest or interference in investigations.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Senate Bill Would Reform SafeSport, Mandate More Athlete Representation & More

By Lily Ermal on SwimSwam

La mezzanine de la discothèque Coyote Ugly de Gwangju, en Corée du Sud, s’est effondrée samedi faisant deux morts et plusieurs blessés. La boite de nuit est l’une des deux discothèques situées à côté du village des athlètes.

Selon le Yonhap News , le second étage de la boite de nuit se serait effondré aux alentours de 2h40. Il a alors été révélé à Swimswam qu’un joueur de water polo américain figurait parmi les blessés et qu’il avait une jambe cassée. Mais cette information a, par la suite, été démenti par la Fédération américaine de Water Polo dans le communiqué suivant, confirmant la présence des athlètes :

“Un incident s’est produit à Gwangju, en Corée du Sud, où les athlètes de l’équipe nationale Senior de Water Polo USA étaient présents. Tous les athlètes sont sains et saufs. Nos pensées vont vers les personnes impliquées.”

Cependant, dans un nouveau communiqué, la fédération américaine de Water Polo a indiqué que certains athlètes souffraient de blessures légères et qu’une athlète avait été opérée dans la journée.

Yonhap News a ensuite indiqué qu’une vingtaine d’étrangers, qui avait l’air de participer aux Championnats du monde, étaient installés au bar au moment de l’accident. Yonhap a également rapporté que 3 joueurs de water polo souffrant de blessures légères avaient été rapatriés au village des athlètes. La compétition féminine de water polo était terminée mais il restait encore des matchs en compétition masculine le samedi.

Plus tard dans la soirée, d’autres rapports ont indiqué qu’une joueuse de water polo néerlandaise avait été blessée à la main dans l’incident.

Breaking New Agency Korea a tweeté aux alentours de 5h heure locale que l’effondrement à Gwangju avait fait un mort et 13 blessés, puis 14.

#BREAKING: One dead, 13 injured after a structural collapse in #Gwangju, South Korea. https://t.co/uJ1hdykqjC

— BreakingNAgency (@BreakingNAgency) July 26, 2019

Dans la vidéo ci-dessous, des cris peuvent être entendu pendant que certaines personnes tentent de retenir la mezzanine.

Yonhap News a, par la suite, fait monter le bilan à 2 morts en estimant que 370 personnes se trouvaient dans la boite lorsque la mezzanine s’est effondrée.

« On était en train de danser quand, d’un seul coup, on est tombé de 5 ou 6 m. Après cela, tout le monde s’est précipité à l’extérieur du bar », a indiqué un joueur néo-zélandais à Radio Sport (Nouvelle-Zélande).

Yonhap News a également indiqué qu’une surface de 200 m de la discothèque était illégalement installée et que “la structure métallique était également une extension illégale.” Il s’agissait d’une mezzanine installée au dessus du rez-de-chaussée dont la structure n’était pas fiable. Celle-ci s’est effondrée à cause du poids.

Communiqué de la FINA sur l’incident :

“La FINA a été informée qu’un malheureux accident s’était déroulé aux premières heures du 27 juillet 2019 dans une installation proche du village des athlètes des 18e Championnats du monde la FINA à Gwangju (KOR).

Puisque certains athlètes participants aux Championnats du monde étaient présents au moment de l’accident, la FINA surveille attentivement la situation et mettra en oeuvre toutes les mesures nécessaires pour que des soins et une assistance soient fournies chaque fois que cela sera nécessaire.

La FINA regrette profondément la situation et exprime son soutien envers chaque victime de l’accident.“

La BBC a rapporté que les personnes décédées étaient deux Sud-Coréens et que “plus de 10 personnes” étaient blessées. Les deux Coréens, âgés de 38 et 27 ans, n’étaient pas des athlètes et ont été transporté à l’hôpital dans un état critique avant de succomber de leurs blessures.

“C’est une horrible tragédie” a déclaré Christopher Ramsey, le directeur de Water Polo USA.

“Des joueurs de nos équipes féminines et masculines étaient en train de célébrer le titre des féminines lorsque la mezzanine d’une boite de nuit publique s’est effondré. Nos pensées vont vers les victimes et leurs familles.”

USA Swimming et British Swimming ont par la suite confirmé qu’aucun de leurs nageurs n’étaient impliqués.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Accident dans une boite de nuit à Gwangju : des athlètes blessés

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

Walter Winkler was upgraded from an interim ban to a permanent ban by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, while two others were given interim sanctions.

Walter Winkler

Winkler, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was previously included in the Safesport database under “interim measure – restriction.” He was sanctioned for allegations of misconduct as of February 21, 2018.

But earlier this month, Winkler pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor, admitting to having inappropriate sexual relationships with two minors in the 1990s.

He’s now been upgraded in the SafeSport database from the former interim restriction to a “permanently ineligible” tag. His entry now shows “criminal disposition – involving a minor” instead of the former allegations of misconduct. His entry does still carry the “subject to appeal / not yet final” tag, which typically means he could still appeal the Center for SafeSport’s decision.

Gary Goodner II

Gary Goodner II has been added to the database for allegations of misconduct. He is under an “interim measure – restriction.” Goodner II is not to be confused with Gary Goodner, Sr, his father, who is already permanently banned by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for sexual misconduct.

Both Goodner, Sr and Gooder II are listed as being from Tampa, Florida. Goodner, Sr was a Puerto Rican Olympian and former coach with Tampa Bay Aquaics, Flagler County Swim Team and Flagler Palm Coast High School, among others. He was banned in late 2014.

Goodner II is listed as the president and head coach of Team Velocity Swimming out of Temple Terrace, Florida.

Savannah Reis

The Center’s database now lists Savannah Reis of Brandon, Mississippi. Reis is under an interim measure – suspension for allegations of misconduct. Reis was added to the database on July 24.

A Madison County Journal story from 2014 lists a Savanna Reis as coaching PEAQ swim team along with her husband. And a team photo in The Northside Sun lists Savannah Reis as a coach in the caption.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Winkler Banned; Goodner II, Reis Given Interim Sanctions By SafeSport

By Tomas Rodriguez on SwimSwam

WADA, the World’s Anti-Doping Agency, published the latest draft versions for both the 2021 Code and International Standards yesterday, July 17th. The documents published yesterday consist of three different parts: the third draft of the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code, the second drafts of the International Standards (where applicable), and the revised Anti-Doping Charter of Athlete Rights.

On December 12th, 2017, June 4th, 2018, and December 10th, 2018, consequently, the agency introduced the three different phases of the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code Review Process (2021 Code Review Process), which involves reviewing theInternational Standards as well.

Further, yesterday WADA made public the third draft of the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code, the second drafts of the International Standards, and the revised Anti-Doping Charter of Athlete Rights.

Since it first came into force on January 1st, 2004, the Code has also been instrumental in introducing the concept of “non-analytical” rule violations. Non-analytical rule violations have allowed anti-doping organizations to apply sanctions in cases where there is no positive doping sample, but where there may still be evidence that a doping violation has occurred.

After three phases and the publication of several preliminary drafts, the revised Code was unanimously adopted by WADA’s Foundation Board and endorsed by the 1,500 delegates present on 17 November 2007 at the Third World Conference on Doping in Sport in Madrid, Spain. The revisions to the Code took effect on 1 January 2009.

The revision process for the 2015 Code began at the end of 2011 and, following three phases of consultation over a two-year period, and with 2,000 changes submitted, the revised Code was unanimously approved on 15 November 2013 at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The review process for the revised Code has resulted in a stronger, more robust tool to protect the rights of the clean athlete worldwide.

Among the changes to the Code are the Purpose, Scope, and Organization of the Code, the Anti-Doping Charter of Athletes’ Rights, the addition of flexibility in sanctioning for refusal to submit to testing, attempted complicity, or new definitions of compliance rules. The Code also contemplates a new rule for retired athletes returning to competition.

Another new addition indicates that, unless otherwise specified in the Code, “international” means that the person intended to commit the act which forms the basis of an anti-doping rule violation regardless of whether the person knew that such actions constituted a violation of the code.

Under further analysis of samples, only WADA and Anti-Doping Organizations with authority over the Athlete are entitled to conduct further analysis on an Athlete’s Sample. WADA will also notify any Anti-Doping organization whose Sample has been taken.

Further adaptations relate to WADA’s right to require an Anti-Doping Organization to conduct results management, or more rigorous standards for fair hearings.

“Recreational Athletes” will be permitted more flexibility in the imposition of consequences.

Further, a new article has been added relating to a “prompt admission of an anti-doping rule violation after being confronted with a violation and acceptance of consequences. WADA has also re-introduced the concept of “Aggravating Circumstances.”

The revised Code will also contemplate improvements to the following:

• New multiple violation rules
• Clarification relating to sanctions for violation of a provisional suspension
• The status during ineligibility or provisional suspension
• The scope of review on appeal
• Appeals involving national-level athletes
• Mandatory public disclosure
• Implementation of decisions (formerly mutual recognition)
• Education
• National anti-doping organizations conflict of interest policies
• The obligation of individual signatory participants to agree to be bound by the Code
• Signatories’ expectation of governments (access for doping control officials and removal of samples)
• The process for a sports organization to become a signatory
• Code compliance and monitoring
• Code of Conduct, Medical and Safety rules
• Non-retroactive effective changes to the prohibited list

In a statement issued by the agency, WADA indicated that these updated versions of the items mentioned above “follow careful consideration of all recommendations and feedback received during the three phases of the 2021 Code Review Process.”

In November 2017, following several months of stakeholder consultations, WADA’s Foundation Board adopted a limited number of Code amendments specifically related to Code compliance. These amendments, which support the new International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories (ISCCS), took effect at the same time as the ISCCS, on 1 April 2018.

At the same meeting, the Board approved the launch of a broader Code review which will culminate at the Fifth World Conference on Doping in Sport in November 2019 in Katowice, Poland.

The review process will come to an end with the final drafts’ approval at WADA’s upcoming World Conference on Doping in Sport, which is set to take place in the Polish city of Katowice in November of this year. After then, the revised 2021 Code and Standards will come into effect on January 1st, 2021.

The complete third draft of the 2021 Code revision can be viewed here.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: WADA Publishes Latest 2021 Code, International Standards Draft Versions

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Hungarian prosecutors have formally leveled charges against FINA Bureau member Tamas Gyárfás in connection with their belief that he ordered the killing of a media rival in 1998.

Gyárfás was first arrested in early 2018 on suspicions that he ordered the murder of Janos Fenyo, who was shot to death while in his car at a stoplight in 1998. Gyarfas has denied involvement in the murder, and has paid a 200 million Forint bond ($700 thousand USD) to be released from house arrest.

Fenyo’s car was shot with submachine gun bullets in February of 1998 as the country emerged from a communist system. Prosecutors say that he and Gyárfás were business rivals (both owned large media conglomerates), and that this business rivalry spilled over into a personal discord as well.

“The accused decided in 1997 to settle the score for good by having the plaintiff killed,” prosecutors said in the statement, which identified Gyarfas only by his initial as Gy.

Gyárfás became implicated via his relationship with Tamas Portik, another wealthy Hungarian businessman, who is believed to have acted as a go-between to order the killing. Jozef Roháč, a member of the Slovak mafia, was convicted in 2013 of shooting into a street and killing Fenyő and sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Portik received a 15-year sentence for ordering 2 other murders by Portik. In spite of Gyárfás’ rejection of the tapes as being out-of-context, prosecutors believe that it is enough to move forward with an indictment.

Earlier this year, investigators revealed that they had discovered recordings of conversations between Portik and Gyárfás buried in a graveyard. Portik claimed that he had over 20 years of recorded conversations between the pair, and that Portik cut specific segments out of longer conversations in 2017 to blackmail Gyárfás. Investigators say that István Dósa, the former leader of the charity wing of the MSZP, the Hungarian socialist party, is the man believed to have been blackmailing Gyárfás, charging him a ‘storage fee’ for the recordings.

The recordings, taken as cut, seem to confirm the suspicions that Gyárfás had asked Tamás Portik to kill his media rival, János Fenyő, 21 years ago in 1998. At the time, however, Gyárfás said in a statement that the media was cut and ‘incomprehensible’ and that the full recordings would contain much more information than the cut version.

Gyárfás’ attorney called the charges leveled on Tuesday “absurd.”

Gyárfás is the former president of the Hungarian Swimming Federation and a current member of the FINA Bureau that runs the global aquatics sports management organization. The European governing body, LEN, also still lists him as its treasurer. Gyárfás is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, which said they would make a decision on his inclusion after the legal system runs its course.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: FINA Bureau Member and LEN Secretary Tamas Gyárfás Charged with Ordering Murder

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS – SWIMMING

• All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
• Meet site
• Results

Despite being incredibly eventful, the 2019 World Championships weren’t as record heavy as we’ve seen in years past.

10 world records fell across nine different events over the eight days of racing, down from 2015 (12) and 2017 (11). In terms of Championship Records, the number fell to 16 after hitting 21 in Budapest.

Regan Smith, despite only being entered in one event, was the only swimmer to earn multiple individual world records.

The 17-year-old first shattered Missy Franklin‘s 2012 mark in the women’s 200 back in a time of 2:03.35, and then led off the American women’s medley relay in a 100m world record time of 57.57. That relay also set the fastest time in history, making her apart of three WR swims.

Caeleb Dressel also set multiple world records, doing so in the men’s 100 fly and as a member of the U.S. mixed free relay, and Simone Manuel was on both that relay and the women’s medley with Smith.

Dressel also broke an individual American Record on five separate occasions, hitting personal best times in all four of his individual events (50 free, 100 free, 50 fly, 100 fly).

Yan Zibei of China had five swims that either broke or tied the Asian Record in the men’s sprint breaststroke events, and Ariarne Titmus did some damage by resetting the Oceanic marks in the women’s 200, 400 and 800 free, and was also the lead-off on the world record-setting Aussie 800 free relay (her 200 and 400 were also Commonwealth Records).

We also can’t forget arguably the most mind-boggling swim of the week (perhaps only rivalled by Smith’s 200 back), which was Kristof Milak of Hungary taking out Michael Phelps‘ world record in the men’s 200 fly. His final time of 1:50.73 was 1.97 seconds than anyone in history not named Phelps had ever been.

Below, take a look at the full list of world, championship, junior world, and continental records that were broken (along with Commonwealth and American records).

WORLD RECORDS

• Men’s 100 Breaststroke: Adam Peaty (GBR), 56.88 (sf)
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke: Matthew Wilson (AUS), 2:06.67 (sf, =)
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke: Anton Chupkov (RUS), 2:06.12
• Men’s 100 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 49.50 (sf)
• Men’s 200 Butterfly: Kristof Milak (HUN), 1:50.73
• Women’s 100 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 57.57 (r)
• Women’s 200 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 2:03.35 (sf)
• Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Titmus, Wilson, Throssell, McKeon), 7:41.50
• Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay: United States (R.Smith, King, Dahlia, Manuel), 3:50.40
• Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay: United States (Dressel, Apple, Comerford, Manuel), 3:19.40

CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDS

• Men’s 50 Freestyle: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 21.04
• Men’s 100 Backstroke: Xu Jiayu (CHN), 52.17
• Men’s 100 Breaststroke: Adam Peaty (GBR), 56.88 (sf)
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke: Matthew Wilson (AUS), 2:06.67 (sf, =)
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke: Anton Chupkov (RUS), 2:06.12
• Men’s 50 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 22.57 (sf)
• Men’s 50 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 22.35
• Men’s 100 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 49.50 (sf)
• Men’s 200 Butterfly: Kristof Milak (HUN), 1:50.73
• Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay: United States (Dressel, Pieroni, Apple, Adrian), 3:09.06
• Women’s 100 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 57.57 (r)
• Women’s 200 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 2:03.35 (sf)
• Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay: Australia (B.Campbell, Throssell, McKeon, C.Campbell), 3:30.21
• Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Titmus, Wilson, Throssell, McKeon), 7:41.50
• Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay: United States (R.Smith, King, Dahlia, Manuel), 3:50.40
• Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay: United States (Dressel, Apple, Comerford, Manuel), 3:19.40

JUNIOR WORLD RECORDS

• Women’s 200 Freestyle: Yang Junxuan (CHN), 1:55.99 (sf)
• Women’s 200 Freestyle: Yang Junxuan (CHN), 1:55.43
• Women’s 100 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 57.57 (r)
• Women’s 200 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 2:06.01 (p)
• Women’s 200 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 2:03.35 (sf)

COMMONWEALTH RECORDS

• Men’s 100 Breaststroke: Adam Peaty (GBR), 56.88 (sf)
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke: Matthew Wilson (AUS), 2:06.67 (sf)
• Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Lewis, Chalmers, Graham, Horton), 7:00.85
• Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay: Great Britain (Greenbank, Peaty, Guy, Scott), 3:28.10
• Women’s 200 Freestyle: Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 1:54.27 (r)
• Women’s 400 Freestyle: Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 3:58.76
• Women’s 100 Butterfly: Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 55.83
• Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Titmus, Wilson, Throssell, McKeon), 7:41.50
• Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Chalmers, Lewis, B.Campbell), 3:19.97

AMERICAN RECORDS

• Men’s 50 Freestyle: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 21.04
• Men’s 100 Freestyle: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 46.96
• Men’s 50 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 22.57 (sf)
• Men’s 50 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 22.35
• Men’s 100 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 49.50 (sf)
• Women’s 100 Freestyle: Simone Manuel (USA), 52.04
• Women’s 50 Backstroke: Olivia Smoliga (USA), 27.33
• Women’s 100 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 57.57 (r)
• Women’s 200 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 2:03.35 (sf)
• Women’s 50 Butterfly: Kelsi Dahlia (USA), 25.48 (=)
• Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay: United States (Comerford, Weitzeil, Dahlia, Manuel), 3:31.02
• Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: United States (Manuel, Ledecky, Margalis, McLaughlin), 7:41.87
• Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay: United States (R.Smith, King, Dahlia, Manuel), 3:50.40
• Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay: United States (Dressel, Apple, Comerford, Manuel), 3:19.40

AMERICAS RECORDS (NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA)

• Men’s 50 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 22.57 (sf)
• Men’s 50 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 22.35
• Men’s 100 Butterfly: Caeleb Dressel (USA), 49.50 (sf)
• Women’s 100 Freestyle: Simone Manuel (USA), 52.04
• Women’s 100 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 57.57 (r)
• Women’s 200 Backstroke: Regan Smith (USA), 2:03.35 (sf)
• Women’s 50 Butterfly: Kelsi Dahlia (USA), 25.48 (=)
• Women’s 100 Butterfly: Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 55.83
• Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay: United States (Comerford, Weitzeil, Dahlia, Manuel), 3:31.02
• Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: United States (Manuel, Ledecky, Margalis, McLaughlin), 7:41.87
• Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay: United States (R.Smith, King, Dahlia, Manuel), 3:50.40
• Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay: United States (Dressel, Apple, Comerford, Manuel), 3:19.40

AFRICAN RECORDS

• Women’s 200 Breaststroke: Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA), 2:21.79 (sf)
• Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay: South Africa (Gallagher, Lovemore, Chelius, Meder), 3:43.35
• Mixed 4×100 Medley Relay: South Africa (Reid, Schoenmaker, Coetzee, Gallagher), 3:49.90

ASIAN RECORDS

• Men’s 50 Breaststroke: Yan Zibei (CHN), 26.93 (p)
• Men’s 50 Breaststroke: Yan Zibei (CHN), 26.86 (sf)
• Men’s 50 Breaststroke: Yan Zibei (CHN), 26.86 (=)
• Men’s 100 Breaststroke: Yan Zibei (CHN), 58.67 (sf)
• Men’s 100 Breaststroke: Yan Zibei (CHN), 58.63
• Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay: Japan (Nakamura, Matsumoto, Omoto, Sato), 3:24.67

EUROPEAN RECORDS

• Men’s 800 Freestyle: Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), 7:39.27
• Men’s 100 Breaststroke: Adam Peaty (GBR), 56.88 (sf)
• Men’s 200 Breaststroke: Anton Chupkov (RUS), 2:06.12
• Men’s 200 Butterfly: Kristof Milak (HUN), 1:50.73
• Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay: Great Britain (Greenbank, Peaty, Guy, Scott), 3:28.10

OCEANIC RECORDS

• Men’s 200 Breaststroke: Matthew Wilson (AUS), 2:06.67 (sf)
• Men’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Lewis, Chalmers, Graham, Horton), 7:00.85
• Women’s 200 Freestyle: Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 1:54.27 (r)
• Women’s 400 Freestyle: Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 3:58.76
• Women’s 800 Freestyle: Ariarne Titmus (AUS), 8:15.70
• Women’s 4×200 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Titmus, Wilson, Throssell, McKeon), 7:41.50
• Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay: Australia (Chalmers, Lewis, B.Campbell), 3:19.97

^{*named with a strike through them indicate it was broken later in the meet}

Read the full story on SwimSwam: All The Records Broken At The 2019 World Championships

By Reid Carlson on SwimSwam

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
• Meet site
• Competition Schedule
• FinaTV Live Stream
• Entry Lists
• Results
• Complete Results Book

The 2019 FINA World Championships have drawn to a close, and now that we’ve had a couple days to digest the unbelievable results of the meet, we are able to reflect on the accomplishments the competition’s top female swimmers.

Sarah Sjostrom and Caeleb Dresselrepeat in 2019 as the women’s and men’s FINA Trophy winners, an award determined by top-4 placing in finals (points crescendo 1st-4th: 5-3-2-1) as well as individual World Records broken (2 points). We have included these points in our Top 15 list, for reference, though they did not dictate our rankings. While performance and final standings win out at the end of the day, we have also based our ranking on multiple and meaningful relay swims, legacies upheld, and challenges overcome–the struggles and emotionally-charged factors that make sports meaningful to fans.

1. Simone Manuel, United States

Simone Manuel came to Gwangju to swim two individual events and handful of relays. Manuel was the defending champion in the 100 freestyle, but not favored to repeat as champion. She did anyways. Manuel placed 3rd in the 50 freestyle at the 2017 World Championships and 2016 Olympic Games, but was not expected to top the podium in Korea. Once again, she did anyways. Manuel also swam strong legs on five relays, including the 4 x 200, a race she had never done at a major international meet.

All in all, Manuel left Gwangju with 7 medals: 4 golds (50 free, 100 free, 4 x 100 medley relay, mixed 4 x 100 free relay) and 3 silvers (4 x 200 free relay, 4 x 100 free relay, mixed 4 x 100 medley relay). As the anchor leg on the women’s 4 x 100 medley relay, Manuel split a 51.86 to help the United States break the World Record by over a second.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 2 (tie)
• Points: 10

2. Regan Smith, United States

Regan Smith rejuvenated American backstroke dominance with her double World Records in the 100 and 200 backstrokes in Gwangju. Smith bested Missy Franklin‘s 2012 World Record in the semifinals of the 200 backstroke with a mind-boggling 2:03.35, becoming the first woman under 2:04 in the event, and the first woman under 2:05 since 2013, making her also only the fourth-woman-ever to do so in the 200 back. Smith went on to win the gold medal in 2:03.69, two-and-a-half seconds ahead of runner-up Kaylee McKeown of Australia, who finished in 2:06.26.

In the final event of the competition, Smith led-off the women’s 4 x 100 medley relay, setting a new World Record in the 100 backstroke in 57.57, becoming the first woman ever to break the 58-second barrier. 57 had eluded female backstrokers for years, so when Smith hit the wall in 57.57 it was as if to send the message that this was the new norm–twice, in case the first ’57’ didn’t fully register. The relay took gold in a World Record time of 3:50.40, fully two seconds ahead of the Australians who claimed silver. All in all, the 17-year-old came away with 2 gold medals and 3 World Records.

What puts Smith over the top is her unique accomplishment in breaking two individual World Records at this competition. No other female competitor broke an individual World Record at the 2019 World Championships. On the men’s side, three individual records were broken by three different swimmers. Though she broke the World Record on Sunday, Smith was not selected to swim the 100 backstroke in Gwangju, so did not vie for a medal individually in that race.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 7
• Points: 9

3. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden

The overall female point scorer of the meet, Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom reaped 5 medals in South Korea: 1 gold (50 fly), 2 silvers (100 fly and 50 free), and 2 bronze (100 free and 200 free). Sjostrom did not break any World Records this time around, and her silver medal in the 100 fly came as an upset since she is the World Record holder in that event and 3-time defending champion. The 200 freestyle was somewhat a surprise entry for Sjostrom as she had seemingly abandoned the race after the 2016 Olympics, but she nonetheless won the bronze medal.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 1
• Points: 15

4. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary

Hungarian Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu swept the IMs for the fourth-straight World Championships. Hosszu registered a trio of 2:07s in the 200 IM to supplement her already excessive dominance of the top-performances-all-time in the race, and ultimately captured gold by a margin of 1.07 seconds ahead of China’s Ye Shiwen, the IM double gold medalist from the London 2012 Olympics. Hosszu was four seconds off her best time in the 400 IM, but still won by a margin of nearly two seconds, again in front of Ye. Hosszu initially came into the meet with a grandiose schedule, as she’s wont to do, but scaled back as the competition went on. Hosszu’s two golds made up half of Hungary’s total medals, all of which were gold.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 2 (tie)
• Points: 10

5. Ariarne Titmus, Australia

3:58.76. No matter the state of Ledecky’s health during the finals of the 400 freestyle, Ariarne Titmus‘ time is incredible and would have given Ledecky a run for her money regardless. In addition to the victory in the 400, Titmus took silver in the 200 freestyle and bronze in the 800 freestyle. Titmus also picked up gold and a new World Record in the women’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 2 (tie)
• Points: 10

6. Katie Ledecky, United States

Based on numbers alone, Katie Ledecky‘s name might be too high up on this list, until you consider that she had the worst World Championships of her life, spent time in the hospital, withdrew from two events, and still managed to win her 4th-straight gold medal in the 800 freestyle at the end of it all.

Ledecky’s week began in a shocking way when she placed 2nd in the 400 freestyle behind Australia’s Ariarne Titmus. Shortly thereafter, Ledecky swam the prelims of the 1500, taking the top seed going into finals the following day. Ledecky withdrew from that final and from the 200 freestyle and was not seen at the pool for a couple days. She returned for the finals of the women’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay–her first race since the prelims of the 1500–to post the 3rd-fastest split in the field and help the U.S. earn a silver medal, falling just short of the Australians, but swimming faster than the previous World Record, set by China at the suited 2009 World Championships.

No, 2019 was not a very successful meet for Ledecky when compared to her previous accomplishments, but given that she still came away with 1 gold and 2 silver medals and was sick for most of it, we have to recognize her as one of the best female swimmers at the meet.

7. Lilly King, United States

Breaststroke queen Lilly King defended both of her 50 and 100 breast titles in Gwangju, and could have made a serious run at the 200 had she not been disqualified in the prelims. In addition to the sprint breaststroke crowns, King helped the United States to a gold and World Record in the 4 x 100 medley relay and silver in the 4 x 100 mixed medley relay.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 2 (tie)
• Points: 10

8. Olivia Smoliga, United States

Olivia Smoliga reached new heights at the World Championships, forcing fans to re-evaluate her underdog reputation within the ranks of  the crowded American backstroke field. In Gwangju, Smoliga captured bronze in the 100 backstroke in a time of 58.91 as the top American finisher. Later, Smoliga won the 50 backstroke, lowering her own American Record in the event down to a 27.33. Smoliga led off the women’s 4 x 100 medley relay in prelims, so she collected a gold for that race as well.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 10 (tie)
• Points: 7

9. Simona Quadarella, Italy

Simona Quadarella rose to the occasion in the absence of Ledecky to win the women’s 1500 in a new Italian National Record and massive best time of 15:40.89, 8 seconds ahead of silver. Quadarella also nearly won gold in the 800, but was chased down by Ledecky, registering another National Record time of 8:14.99. Quadarella was also originally entered in the 400 but scratched to focus on the longer events, a bet that paid off.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 8 (tie)
• Points: 8

10. Yulia Efimova, Russia

Yulia Efimova is one of only two women to make the podium in the 50-100-200 of any stroke at this year’s World Championships (the other being Sarah Sjostrom winning silver-bronze-bronze in the 50-100-200 freestyles). Without Lilly King in the 200, Efimova swam in a league of her own, winning gold by over two seconds. Efimova was also silver in the 100 breast and bronze in the 50 breast.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 2 (tie)
• Points: 10

11. Emma McKeon, Australia

Emma McKeon has been one of the most consistent and vital members of all Australian relays since the 2013 World Championships when she was a just 19-years-old and swimming exclusively on the 4 x 100 free relay. At this year’s World Championships, McKeon swam on all 5 Australian relays, each of which won a medal, aggregating three golds (4 x 100 free, 4 x 200 free, mixed 4 x 100 medley) and 2 silvers (4 x 100 medley, mixed 4 x 100 free). Individually, McKeon won a bronze medal in the women’s 100 fly and placed 4th in the 100 free.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 20 (tie)
• Points: 3

12. Ye Shiwen, China

China’s Ye Shiwen won silver in both the 200 and 400 IMs behind Iron Lady Hosszu, proving that she isn’t a one-and-done teen phenom after sweeping the IMs at the 2012 London Olympics. Ye became an Olympic champion at a much younger age than Hosszu, age 16 versus 27, but was relatively quiet internationally until last year when she came roaring back onto the scene. After this year’s World Championships, Ye and Hosszu are positioned for a very intriguing showdown in the IMs at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 10 (tie)
• Points: 7

13. (Tie) Maggie MacNeil/Kylie Masse, Canada

Sarah Sjostrom was the undisputed queen of the 100 butterfly… until Maggie MacNeil showed up and dropped a 55.83 to win the gold medal. MacNeil had a fantastic freshman season at the University of Michigan, but still finished behind Sweden’s Louise Hansson in the 100 yard butterfly at the 2019 NCAA Championships. MacNeil had proven she was a great yards swimmer, but prior this World Championships, MacNeil’s best time in the 100 LCM butterfly was a 57.04 from the 2019 Canadian Trials. Before this summer, MacNeil’s best time was a 58.38. A massive lifetime best + a Canadian Record + a gold medal + 2 more relay bronze medals = very excited Canadian/Michigan Wolverine swimming fans.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 13 (tie)
• Points: 5

Kylie Masse successfully defended her 2017 World Title in the 100 backstroke in Gwangju, despite swimming half-a-second slower than she did in Budapest. Masse may not have improved upon her 2017 World Record (which has since been broken twice), but she did swim faster in the 200 backstroke in 2019, and win a bronze medal there. Masse also earned a bronze medals in the 4 x 100 medley relay.

FINA Trophy Standing:

• Place: 10 (tie)
• Points: 7

14. Cate Campbell, Australia

Cate Campbell did not win individual gold in Gwangju, but was a vital part of two Australian relays that won gold–the women’s 4 x 100 freestyle and the mixed 4 x 100 medley–as well as the silver-medal 4 x 100 medley relay. In the women’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay, Campbell recorded a 51.45 split as the anchor leg to bury the field and get Australia to the wall in a total time of 3:30.21, a new Championship Record and barely off the World Record. In the mixed 4 x 100 medley relay, Campbell blasted a 51.10 to run down Simone Manuel and the U.S. contingent to win the gold medal. Campbell also

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

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Greek National Teamer Panagiotis Bolanos has committed to swim for University of Nevada at Las Vegas beginning in the fall of 2019. There he will join Cameron Castro, Christopher Mykkanen, Jacob Keller, James Tarquin, Ogi Maric, and Reece Hemmens in the class of 2023.

“UNLV represents a great opportunity for me to develop at a higher level Athletically and Academically.  Its swimming program and especially the relation I developed with the Coaches made me feel very welcomed and confident about my future swimming.  On the Academic part I was attracted by the fact that UNLV has one of the TOP Ranking Globally Hospitality Programs.  I would like to thank my Coach here in Greece and my Parents for all their support and encouragement since my early days in swimming.  However pursuing opportunities in USA could not have been possible for me without the help, guidance and effectiveness of HELLENIC AQUATICS who played and pivotal role in coordinating with UNLV the planning and execution of the prerequisites and all other tasks.  I am thrilled in moving to Las Vegas next month and looking forward to work hard with my Coaches and Teammates at UNLV.”

Bolanos has been a National Age Group record-holder in backstroke and a member of Greece’s National Junior Team and has represented his country internationally since 2016. He was a finalist in the 200m backstroke and a semi-finalist in the 50m and 100m backstrokes at 2017 LEN European Junior Swimming Championships. Later that summer he competed at 2017 FINA World Junior Championships in Indianapolis. Bolanos also swam at Multinations Junior Meet, Gymnasiade, and Euro Juniors in 2018 and at International Swim Meet in Glasgow this summer. His best LCM times (converted to SCY) are:

• 50 back – 26.07 (22.94)
• 100 back – 55.70 (49.09)
• 200 back – 2:01.27 (1:47.09)

Bolanos would have been the Rebels’ third-fastest 100- and 200-backstroker this past season, and will overlap three years with Hayden Cornellison (48.97/1:46.07) and a year with Hayden Hemmens (51.45/1:45.84).

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Read the full story on SwimSwam: Euro Juniors Finalist Panagiotis Bolanos Headed to UNLV for 2019-20

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

NEW ENGLAND SWIMMING 13-18 AGE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 25th-28th, 2019
• Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
• Meet site

Bluefish Swim Club set its fourth mixed gender relay national age group record in the past two weeks Sunday at the New England 13-18 Age Group Championships, this time in the 13-14 400 free relay.

Four teams swam under the unofficial record mark of 3:58.68. USA Swimming began recognizing mixed-gender relay National Age Group Records in 2018, and earlier this summer released the benchmark times required to set records.

The relay from the Bluefish Swim Club touched first in 3:49.55. Brynn Wright led off in 58.67, Nathan Delisle went second in 54.82, Aislin Farris swum the third leg in 1:00.55, and Joshua Parent anchored in 55.51. Gator Swim Club’s A-team was second in 3:52.72, the team from Crimson Aquatics was third in 3:58.11, and Phoenix Swimming’s team was fourth in 3:58.40.

Earlier in the weekend, the same four swimmers combined to break the 13-14 mixed-gender 400 medley relay record in 4:11.95. Delisle, Parent, Farris (no relation to Dean) are coached by Nick Rice, while Wright is coached by Chuck Batchelor. Bluefish’s 11-12s broke the 400 medley and 400 free relay records at the 12 & under age group championships two weekends ago. USA Swimming still hasn’t added that swim to its records sheet, but these mixed relay records have generally been slow to update this summer.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Bluefish Breaks 4th Mixed-Gender Relay National Age Group Record in 2 Weeks

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS – SWIMMING

• All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
• Meet site
• Results

Per our calculations, Caeleb Dressel leads all individual money-earners with $110,000 in prize money from the 2019 World Championships.

We calculated our totals based on FINA’s listed prize money for the event.We’ll do a quick refresher below, but the full system is listed out here.

2019 World Champs Prize Money

• Top 8 finishers in each event earn prize money:
  • 1st: $20,000
  • 2nd: $15,000
  • 3rd: $10,000
  • 4th: $6,000
  • 5th: $5,000
  • 6th: $4,000
  • 7th: $3,000
  • 8th: $2,000
• World records: $30,000 each

A few notes about the list below:

• We calculated these out manually, and though we tried to account for all ties, there may be mistakes somewhere in the data. If you see something that looks off, let us know.
• When ties occurred, we followed the typical rules: if swimmers tied for second, we add up the prize money for 2nd and 3rd and split the total between the two tied swimmers.
• We didn’t include relay prizes, as it’s hard to judge how federations will split the money between finals swimmers, prelims-only swimmers or others.
• We also didn’t include relay world record bonuses. Only individual events are included in our tally.
• As always, this list only tracks money earned, not necessarily money accepted. Amateur athletes have restrictions on how much prize money they can accept.

2019 World Championships Prize Money List

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

2019 PHILLIPS 66 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 31 – August 4, 2019
• Avery Aquatics Center
• Stanford, CA
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheet
• Pre-scratch timeline
• 5 storylines to follow at the 2019 US Nationals

How/Where to Watch

In summary: the entire meet will be either live streamed, or live streamed AND televised, or live streamed AND televised AND re-aired on taped delay. Prelims are free to watch on USASwimming.org, as are B finals. To watch A finals, you would need access to NBCSports.com and/or Olympicchannel.com.

Time Zones

Prelims will run every day of the meet, and will begin at 9AM US Pacific Coast time. Finals will begin daily at 5PM US Pacific Coast time (17:00 on a 24-hour clock).

Selections

The two big ones selected from this meet are the US National Team (partial) and the US team for the World Junior Swimming Championships. Read more about that here:

• US to select 2019 World Juniors Roster from 2019 US Nationals
• 2019-2020 US National Team spots on the line at 2019 US Nationals

Updated Psych Sheets

The link above includes the updated psych sheets. There weren’t many changes that should staggeringly impact the race for national titles or even A final spots. The most significant were the entries of Braden Vines from the University of Texas to the 200 breast, 200 IM, and 400 IM, and Clayton Forde adding the 200 IM to his existing schedule. That, and updating to add the World Records set at the end of the World Championships, including from Regan Smith in the 100 and 200 backstrokes.

Other scratches we saw on a scan:

• See all of the details and where to watch each session here.
• Nicole Oliva scratched from women’s 100 free (#100 seed), women’s 800 free (#47 seed), women’s 200 free (#43 seed), and women’s 400 free (#53 seed)
• Will Gallant added to men’s 400 free (#73 seed), 800 free (#30 seed), men’s 1500 free (#25 seed)
• Braden Vines added to men’s 200 breaststroke (#36 seed), men’s 400 IM (#56 seed), and men’s 200 IM (#23 seed)
• Sarah Thompson added to 200 back – #52 seed
• Aislin Farris added to 200 back (#64 seed) and 400 IM (#86 seed)
• Mia Chang added to women’s 200 back (#80), women’s 200 IM (#105)
• Eleanor Sun scratched from women’s 400 IM – #41, her only event
• Allie Piccirillo scratched from women’s 400 IM (#85 seed), 200 fly (#21 seed), and 100 fly (#107 seed)
• Margaret Guanci added to women’s 100 back – #82 seed
• Benjamin Ho scratched men’s 100 back – #50 seed, his only event
• Samantha Baron added to women’s 200 IM – #72 seed
• Clayton Forde added to men’s 200 IMM – #46 seed
• Gabriel Parnell added to men’s 200 IM – #55 seed

Read the full story on SwimSwam: All the Links You Need to Follow the 2019 U.S. Swimming National Championships

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2019 Long Course Texas Age Group Championship

• July 24-28, 2019
• Austin, Texas
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center
• Meet Results
• Meet Mobile: ‘2019 Long Course Texas Age Group Championship’

Cooper Lucas of Lakeside Aquatic Club picked up six individual wins and five meet records over five days of action at the 2019 Long Course Texas Age Group Championship in Austin.

The 14-year-old reset meet marks in the boys’ 13-14 200 free (1:54.19), 800 free (8:19.05), 1500 free (15:57.19), 200 IM (2:09.66) and 400 IM (4:35.19), and also won the 400 free in a best of 4:02.42. That swim narrowly missed the meet record of 4:02.14 set by Alex Zettle in 2014.

Zettle was also the now previous record holder in the 200 (1:54.69) and 800 free (8:29.75), also from 2014. His 100 free mark of 52.64 remains.

All-time in the 13-14 age group Lucas moves up to seventh in the 800 free, 12th in the 200 free, and 17th in both the 400 and 1500 free.

He also added a runner-up finish in the 200 fly, clocking 2:06.94 behind Gary Jones (2:06.58) of Magnolia who narrowly missed the 2014 meet record held by Jack LeVant at 2:06.53.

Lucas’ Lakeside teammate Seanna Muhitch also broke a pair of meet records, lowering the girls’ 11-12 marks in the 100 and 200 breast.

She clocked 1:15.01 in the 100 to down the 2017 record of 1:15.93 set by Kiara Xanthos of Texas Ford Aquatics, and in the 200 the 12-year-old dismantled the 16-year-old mark of 2:43.08 held by Spindrift Beck in 2:38.64. She is now the ninth-fastest in 11-12 history.

Muhitch also won the 50 breast to complete the sweep in a time of 35.61.

TEAM SCORES

In the team race it was Nitro Swimming coming out on top with 1010.5 points on the boys’ side and 1315.5 for the girls. Lakeside was the runner-up for the boys, while the North Texas Nadadores were second on the girls’ side.

BOYS

1. Nitro Swimming, 1010.5
2. Lakeside Aquatic Club, 981
3. Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club, 617.5
4. North Texas Nadadores, 563
5. Waterloo Swimming, 512.5

GIRLS

1. Nitro Swimming, 1315.5
2. North Texas Nadadores, 1070
3. Lakeside Aquatic Club, 723
4. Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club, 674
5. Alamo Area Aquatic Association, 620

COMBINED

1. Nitro Swimming, 2326
2. Lakeside Aquatic Club, 1704
3. North Texas Nadadores, 1633
4. Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club, 1291.5
5. Alamo Area Aquatic Association, 923

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cooper Lucas Lowers Five Meet Records At 2019 TAGS In Austin