World University Games, Day 1 Finals: Nikolai Kolesnikov, American Relays Claim Gold; Shackley Takes Down WUGs Record
Three gold medals were awarded during the first session of swimming finals at the World University Games, held in the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany. Nikolai Kolesnikov came out on top in a hard-fought final of the men’s 400 freestyle before the United States swept the gold medals in the women’s and men’s 400 freestyle relay.
The American women set a Games record in their win, as did Leah Shackley in the semifinals of the women’s 200 backstroke. Semifinals of the women’s and men’s 50 butterfly and the men’s 100 breaststroke were also held. The meet will continue with six further days of competition.
Men’s 400 Freestyle Final
The first gold medal of the Games went to Nikolai Kolesnikov, a neutral athlete and native of Russia. Kolesnikov held the lead for the majority of the race, taking over from American Ryan Erisman at the 150-meter mark ad then beating back a second-half surge from Brazil’s Eduardo Oliveira during the final 200 meters. Oliveira was three hundredths ahead entering the final 50, but Kolesnikov split 27.87 on the last length to secure gold in 3:46.66.
Silver went to Malaysia’s Khiew How Yean, who spent most of the race in fourth or fifth place jumping up on the last 50. He finished in 3:47.38, with Erisman securing bronze in 3:47.52. Italy’s Davide Marchello came in at 3:47.88 while Oliveria fell all the way to fifth place, his final time 3:47.94.
Women’s 50 Butterfly Semifinals
Less than a half-second separates the field in the women’s 50 butterfly final, and at the front is the United States’ Caroline Larsen, who came in at 26.06. Larsen is one of two U.S. swimmers who competes for the University of Louisville to make the final, with Ella Welch qualifying fifth in 26.48. Italy’s Viola Scotto Di Carlo placed second in 26.16, with the Czech Republic’s Daryna Nabojcenko edging Australia’s Josephine Crimmins for third, 26.24 to 26.27.
The field also includes Cyprus’ Kalia Antoniou (26.51), Great Britain’s Clara Scholosshan (26.54) and Switzerland’s Julia Ullmann (26.55).
Men’s 50 Butterfly Semifinals
Italy’s Simone Stefani touched out Germany’s Ole Mats Eidam for the top spot in the 50 fly semis by one hundredth, 23.23 to 23.24, with Uzbekistan’s Eldorobek Usmonov not far away in 23.31. A second Italian swimmer, Lorenzo Gargani, placed fifth in 23.31, with another German, Bjorn Kammann, tying for sixth in 23.67. In between were Poland’s Pawel Uryniuk (23.63) and the United States’ Matthew Klinge (23.67).
The men’s semifinal was just as tight as the women’s, leaving two swimmers hundredths away from making it into the final. Ihor Troianovskyi placed eighth in 23.71, barely locking out neutral-competing Russian swimmer Aleksandr Shchegolev (23.72) and Japan’s Shoon Mitsunaga (23.73).
Women’s 200 Backstroke Semifinals
The United States is traditionally dominant in women’s backstroke, and that is the case again in 2025. At U.S. Nationals, numerous swimmers who would be medal contenders at the World Championships did not qualify for the team thanks to the presence of Claire Curzan and Regan Smith. Two of those unlucky swimmers were Leah Shackley and Kennedy Noble, both NC State swimmers, and they were dominant in the semifinals Thursday in Germany.
Shackley won the second semifinal in 2:06.93, four hundredths ahead of Noble’s 2:06.97. Both swimmers crushed the FISU Games record of 2:07.91 established by American Lisa Bratton in 2019. They will be favored for a 1-2 finish in Friday’s final.
Portugal’s Camila Rodrigues Rebelo was the next-best swimmer, winning the first semifinal in 2:09.50, with the final also consisting of Canada’s Delia Lloyd (2:10.10), Korea’s Lee Eunji (2:10.29), South Africa’s Hannah Pearse (2:10.45), Poland’s Adela Piskorska (2:10.85) and Hong Kong’s Cheung Sum Yuet (2:11.08).
Men’s 100 Breaststroke Semifinals
Two swimmers cracked the 1:00-barrier in the 100 breast semifinals, with Poland’s David Wiekiera edging the United States’ Nate Germonprez for the top seed, 59.88 to 59.96. A second American qualified in a strong position as Ben Delmar went 1:00.07 for the third spot. Italy’s Alessandro Fusco placed fourth in 1:00.20, followed by Kazakhstan’s Denis Petrashov (1:00.27).
Also making the final were France’s Carl Ait Kaci (1:00.47), Hong Kong’s Cheung Chi Kit (1:00.50) and the Netherlands’ Ivo Kroes (1:00.53), with Hong Kong’s Mak Sai Ting (1:00.57) narrowly left out.
Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay Final
Maxine Parker beat all other leadoff swimmers by two-thirds of a second, and from there, the United States was off to the races in the 400 freestyle relay. Parker went 54.28 on her leg, and all her teammates who benefitted from a flying start went even quicker. Caroline Larsen and Julia Dennis handled the middle legs, and Isabel Ivey anchored in 53.76 to bring the team to the wall in 3:36.21. That time broke the Games record of 3:37.51 set by China two yeares ago by more than a second.
China’s tram took second here, with Liu Shuhan, Ge Chutong and Yu Liyan setting up a blistering anchor leg from Ai Yanhan, whose split of 53.38 was the fastest in the field (and the only split to beat any of the American swimmers). China’s overall time was 3:38.70. Italy’s team of Giulia D’Innocenzo, Federica Toma, Viola Scotto Di Carlo and Agata Ambler placed third in 3:39.86. Outside of the medal-winning teams, the only swimmer to crack 55 was South African leadoff swimmer Olivia Nel (54.96).
Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay Final
The American men had to work a little harder than their female counterparts, but they still secured gold by almost two seconds. Matt King, a veteran of the Paris Olympics and two World Championships, had the U.S. in second place after his 48.00 leadoff leg, and Mitchell Schott put the team into first with a 48.15 split. Owen McDonald went third before David King anchored in 47.75 to secure first place in 3:12.36.
Japan, fueled by a 47.70 second split from Takaki Hara that was quickest in the entire race, won silver in 3:14.19. Takumi Mori, Yuta Watanabe and Konosuke Yanagimoto completed the Japanese roster. Brazil’s Lucas Martins, Kaique Alves, Vinicius Tavares and Pedro Buch E Grahl earned bronze in 3:15.02, with Alves the quickest on that squad in 47.96.
Italy was fourth in 3:15.21 while South Africa placed fifth in 3:!5.70 after Pieter Coetze crushed a time of 47.88 on the leadoff leg. Guy Brooks anchored for the South Africans in 47.95.Also under 48 was Marcus Da Silva of the seventh-place Australian team, with his time 47.73.
