World University Games: Leah Shackley Cruises in Prelims of 200 Backstroke; Both U.S. Relays Qualify First
The first session of swimming competition at the World University Games was held in Berlin on Thursday morning, with preliminary action contested in the men’s 400 freestyle, women’s 50 butterfly, men’s 50 butterfly, women’s 200 backstroke, men’s 100 breaststroke and both genders of the 400 freestyle relay.
Here is how the prelims unfolded:
Men’s 400 Freestyle
Only three swimmers went under 3:50 during qualifying, will all three also going sub-3:49. Earning the top seed for the final was Russia’s Nikolai Kolesnikov, who is competing as a Neutral Athlete. Kolesnikov touched the wall in 3:48.75, which was just .06 quicker than the morning performance of American Ryan Erisman (3:48.81). Advancing as the third seed was Brazilian Eduardo Oliveira de Moraes, who registered a time of 3:48.75.
Women’s 50 Butterfly
Australia’s Josphine Crimmins moved into the semifinals with the quickest time, a 26.33 effort that landed her .07 ahead of the Czech Republic’s Daryna Nabojcenko (26.40). A tenth back was Italy’s Viola Di Carlo, who covered her lap in 26.50.
Men’s 50 Butterfly
Germany has shown some pop in the men’s 50 butterfly this year, with Luca Armbruster seeking a medal at the upcoming World Championships. Meanwhile, Ole Mats Eidam and Bjorn Kammann qualified first and third, respectively, for the semifinals at the World University Games. Eidam led the way in 23.33 while Kammann was third in 23.53. In between was Uzbekistan’s Eldorbek Usmonov, who was timed in 23.40. Eleven of the 16 semifinal qualifiers dipped under 24 seconds.
Women’s 200 Backstroke
Expected to be one of the stars of the week in Berlin, American Leah Shackley opened her program in positive fashion. The North Carolina State standout went 2:09.64 for the only morning effort under 2:10. Shackley led from start to finish in her heat and was followed as the second-fastest athlete in the morning by Korea’s Lee Eunji, who went 2:10.51. The United States’ Kennedy Noble clocked 2:11.09 for the third seed in the semifinals.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
Alessandro Fusco was the lone athlete to break the minute barrier in prelims, as his outing of 59.95 earned the top seed for the semifinals. But Fusco has a pair of well-known names tracking him. The United States’ Nate Germonprez of the University of Texas was second in 1:00.45 while Kyrgystan’s Denis Petrashov (Louisville) was 1:00.63 for third.
Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay
The American foursome of Caroline Larsen, Julia Dennis, Leah Hayes and Isabel Ivey comfortably secured the top seed for the evening final, on the strength of a 3:37.70 performance. Ivey closed the relay with a split of 53.80 and Team USA enjoyed a three-plus second margin over Italy (3:41.18) and China (3:41.40).
Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay
The United States posted the fastest time of the morning, as the squad of Camden Taylor, Mitchell Schott, Owen McDonald and David King delivered a swim of 3:14.77. That mark was slightly ahead of the 3:15.12 of Japan. South Africa went 3:17.61 for the third seed. Schott has the quickest split for the U.S., going 48.35.
