World Junior Championships, Day Two Prelims: Audrey Derivaux Claims Top Seed in 200 Fly; Rylee Erisman Sets Championship Record
A South American record on Day One jumpstarted the World Junior Championships in Otopeni, Romania, and the second day of finals will feature a much-awaited matchup in the 100-meter breaststroke between Great Britain’s Filip Nowacki and Japan’s Shin Ohashi. But before we get to the Day Two night session, the second day of preliminaries will unfold, and determine who will battle for international hardware.
The Day Two prelims will start with action in the men’s 200 individual medley, which will be followed by the women’s 100 freestyle. Other events on the schedule are the men’s 100 butterfly, women’s 200 butterfly, men’s 200 freestyle and the mixed 400 medley relay. The morning will also feature the slower heats of the women’s 800 freestyle.
Here is what transpired during the Day Two prelims:
Men’s 200 Individual Medley
Russia’s Mikhail Shcherbakov led three athletes under two minutes, clocking 1:59.09 for the top seed in the final. Shcherbakov will face challenges in the evening session from the Japanese tandem of Raito Numata (1:59.33) and Yumeki Kojima (1:59.43), who is the world junior record holder in the 400 IM. Americans Baylor Stanton (2:01.10) and Noah Cakir (2:01.17) advanced in seventh and eighth place.
Women’s 100 Freestyle
American Rylee Erisman was sensational in the morning, setting championship and NAG records in the 100 freestyle. Erisman fired off a mark of 53.17, which bettered the previous World Juniors standard of 53.63, set in 2017 by Canadian Taylor Ruck. Great Britain’s Theodora Taylor (54.46) and the United States’ Lily King (54.57) were second and third into the evening semifinals.
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Brazil’s Lucio Flavio de Paula Filho managed the fastest time of prelims in the 100 butterfly, as his time of 52.48 was ahead of the 52.63 from American Rowan Cox. There was a tie for the third position between Great Britain’s Dean Fearn and Kazakhstan’s Maxim Skazobtsov, who had matching marks of 52.88.
Women’s 200 Butterfly
Coming off a fourth-place finish in the 400 individual medley, American Audrey Derivaux snared the top seed for the final of the 200 butterfly. Derivaux checked in with a swim of 2:09.16, which was slightly faster than the 2:09.19 of Japan’s Umi Ishizuka.
Men’s 200 Freestyle
Austrian Christian Giefing went 1:47.94 to book Lane Four for the final while Raito Numata of Japan qualified for his second final of the session, going 1:48.10. In fourth was Italian Carlos D’Ambrosio, the favorite who was the sixth-place finisher at the recent World Championships in Singapore.
Mixed 400 Medley Relay
Russia notched the only sub-3:50 swim of prelims, turning in a time of 3:49.87 to earn the top seed for the final. Japan followed in the No. 2 spot in 3:50.30. The United States qualified in fifth in 3:50.97. Expect a considerable shakeup at night as teams make roster changes.
