Audrey Derivaux to Showcase Versatility, Pursue Breakthrough at World Junior Championships
Expect to see the name Audrey Derivaux atop the results sheets throughout this week’s competition at the World Junior Championships. The versatile 16-year-old who represents the Jersey Wahoos in club competition back home is slated to represent the United States in five individual events in Otopeni, Romania, with legitimate medal chances in each one.
Central to her program will be the 200 butterfly, where Derivaux is seeded first by eight tenths over China’s Gong Zhenqi and already ranked as the eighth-best swimmer in the world in the event this year. Derivaux had legitimate hopes of competing at the senior-level World Championships in the event after she clocked 2:06.46 at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Series in early May, but her biggest obstacles are domestic competitors, five of whom beat her to the wall in the Nationals final in early June.
Audrey Derivaux — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Most recently, Derivaux could only follow along results from the other side of the world as the standard required to win a World Championships medal was only three tenths clear of her best time. She blasted more than a second from her lifetime best earlier this year, and now she is on the verge of becoming only the 10th American woman ever to break 2:06 in the event.
Derivaux is also the top seed in the 200 IM, with Japan’s Shuna Sasaki the only competitor entered within a second of her best time of 2:10.91. Derivaux is also sitting second in the 200 backstroke (behind fellow American Charlotte Crush) and 100 fly (behind Japan’s Mizuki Hirai) and sixth in the 400 IM. Expect to see her participating on the U.S. women’s 400 medley relay and potentially the mixed-gender event, and a freestyle relay appearance is also possible.
Fourteen months ago, Derivaux launched herself into the national conversation with a surprise appearance in the 400 IM final at the U.S. Olympic Trials, a best time by four seconds putting her into the primetime spotlight for the first time. But now, it’s an event at the other end of the distance spectrum presenting a chance to take the next step as Derivaux could qualify for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships based on her World Juniors results.
Times from finals in Otopeni will be combined with results from other championship meets, and the presence of so many versatile American women already on the squad will leave room for numerous third-place women to make the cut. Three have already broken 2:06 in the 200 fly, with Regan Smith, Tess Howley and Caroline Bricker in line to claim those honors, but the cutline in the 100 fly looks attainable. Yes, world-record holder Gretchen Walsh and Olympic champion Torri Huske are locks for the two automatic spots, but Alex Shackell is sitting third at 57.71, barely quicker than the 57.99 Derivaux swam last August.
This week, the 100 fly will come at the back end of a busy program for Derivaux, and fatigue will surely be a factor as she pursues an advance qualifying spot for next summer. However, she already has a strong reputation for succeeding internationally, having won three golds at the Junior Pan Pacs last year, and impressive results in the opening days could help Derivaux build momentum as she chases the clock as well as Hirai and the rest of the field in Otopeni.
