5 Storylines to Watch at the World Junior Championships
The beauty of the World Junior Championships is how it casts a spotlight on future stars in the sport. Athletes will garner valuable experience on the international stage and use the competition as a springboard toward representing their homelands at the senior level, potentially at the Olympic Games or World Championships.
The next edition of World Juniors will run from Tuesday through Sunday in Otopeni, Romania, and will feature several familiar names. Japan’s Shin Ohashi is already known as a rising star in the breaststroke events and Turkey’s Kuzey Tuncelli is an established senior-level performer in the distance-freestyle disciplines. On the women’s side, Japan’s Mizuki Hirai is an Olympic finalist and on her way to the University of Tennessee.
Beyond the well-known names, who else might emerge? Here are some athletes and events to monitor during the World Junior Championships.
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German Distance Depth
Between the open-water and pool action at the World Championships in Singapore, Germany put its distance strength on display. Florian Wellbrock captured all four gold medals available in the open-water competitions and Lukas Martens backed up his Olympic crown with a world title in the 400 freestyle. Meanwhile, Sven Schwarz was the silver medalist in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, and Oliver Klemet contributed to the mixed relay prevailing in open water.
At World Juniors, Johannes Liebmann should provide a glimpse of Germany’s additional depth in the distance events, where he’ll battle with the likes of Kuzey Tuncelli and Japan’s Kazushi Imafuku. Liebmann is expected to be in contention for the podium in the 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, the longer events where he excels greatest. This year, the 18-year-old has been 7:50.86 and 14:53.15 in the 1500 free, and is in a strong position to soon threaten Germany’s upper echelon.
Bolstering the Medley Relay
In recent times, Australia’s weak point on its women’s 400 medley relay has been the breaststroke leg. The positive development for the Dolphins is the emergence of 16-year-old Sienna Toohey and 20-year-old Ella Ramsay in the 100 breaststroke, where both have been sub-1:07.
Still, it never hurts to have additional options, and that’s where Hayley Mackinder fits the equation. Mackinder is the top seed in the 100 breaststroke and the second seed in the 200 breaststroke at World Juniors, with respective times of 1:07.61 and 2:26.55. If Mackinder can continue to lower her personal best in the 100 breaststroke, it will be welcomed promise for Australia and its prospects in the medley relay.
Don’t Be Fooled!
The entry times in the men’s 400 individual medley are misleading, as Japan’s Yumeki Kojima and Raito Numata are not slotted with their best performances of the year. Kojima is entered at 4:17.42, but the 16-year-old phenom has been eight seconds quicker with a world junior record of 4:09.38. As for the 16-year-old Numata, he has been 4:12.10 this year, more than three seconds faster than his seed time of 4:15.90.
At the 2023 World Junior Championships in Israel, Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita was the champion and set a meet record of 4:10.97. Since that achievement, he’s become the Olympic silver medalist and 2025 World Championships silver medalist, both times finishing behind French superstar Leon Marchand.
Kojima and Numata are positioned to secure a gold-silver showing for Japan, which currently boasts incredible depth in the 400 medley. Can Kojima take another step forward and dip into the 4:08 range or faster? It’s certainly possible since his current WJR was delivered in a high school meet, and the competition at World Juniors will be tougher.
The British Sprint Hope
At the World Championships in Singapore, 17-year-old Jacob Mills got his first taste of major competition. While he did not advance out of the prelims of the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, he handled the leadoff leg of Great Britain’s 400 freestyle relay. That squad set a national record of 3:10.73 and placed just off the podium in fourth.
Mills will follow his Singapore experience with a busy schedule in Romania, where he is the No. 1 seed in the 50 freestyle (21.96) and 100 freestyle (48.03), and will have plenty of relay duty. The youngster possesses considerable upside and World Juniors offers the opportunity for Mills to again race at a high level, but with less pressure. He can climb the blocks and let it rip.
A Chinese Complement
Much of the attention on China at the World Championships focused on Li Bingjie and Yu Zidi. Li earned her recognition while capturing silver medals in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle, the longer event producing an Asian record of 3:58.21. As for Yu, the 12-year-old sensation was fourth in three individual events and comported herself superbly in her first international competition.
But Yang Peiqi deserves recognition for her performances in the distance-freestyle events and as a member of China’s 800 freestyle relay. After going 4:03.36 in the prelims of the 400 freestyle, Yang finished seventh in the final. She also reached the final of the 1500 freestyle, placed ninth in the 800 freestyle and helped China to the bronze medal in the 800 freestyle relay.
At World Juniors, Yang is the favorite for gold in the 400 freestyle, having been 4:02.53 in the event in May, and will also contest the 200 freestyle, 800 free and 1500 free. Look for further development from Yang, who is part of an impressive youth movement in China.
