World Championships, Day 2 Prelims: Russia Return, Olympic Champs Bolster 100 Back Field
It’s been a while since the full men’s 100 backstroke field has been assembled, thanks to the exclusion of Russia from international competition since 2022. Monday’s preliminaries at the 2025 World Championships is a chance to see the country’s backstroke contingent in action again.
In Kliment Kolesnikov and world junior record holder Miron Lifintsev, the Neutral Athletes B team has two of the top four seeds in the men’s 100 back. It’s a loaded field, with Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon of Italy and 200 back Olympic champ Hubert Kos also entered, mounting a challenge for a younger contingent of American men.
The second day of prelims also brings a second event for Katie Ledecky in the 1,500 freestyle and a chance to see Regan Smith and Kaylee McKeown renew acquaintance in the women’s 100 backstroke. The five prelims events from the second day in Singapore:
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Women’s 100 backstroke
Regan Smith confidently stroked away from the final heat of six to set the fastest time in 58.20. Second was fellow American Katharine Berkoff in 58.55, .02 ahead of Kaylee McKeown of Australia, the three that comprised the podium at the Paris Olympics last summer.
All the expected names made it through without issue. China’s duo of Peng Xuwei and Wan Leitan are fourth and fifth, respectively. Roos Vanotterdijk continues an excellent summer by going 59.37 for seventh. Taylor Ruck and Kylie Masse are both safely in the semifinals representing Canada, as is Marrit Steenbergen in a tie for 11th with Carmen Weiler Sastre.
Men’s 100 backstroke
The intro involved the good in the men’s 100 backstroke field. The bad, from an American perspective, is that the semifinals – not the finals but the semifinals – will proceed without an American.
Tommy Janton finished 18th in his first Worlds swim in 53.87. Hope that the gastroenteritis that has swept through the team is abating was not given any hope by Jack Aikins finishing 44th in 56.54. Janton was 53.00 at trials, Aikins 53.19.
At the other extreme was Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, who swam a best time of 52.30 to set the pace in prelims. That’s within .19 seconds of a 15-year-old French record belonging to Camille Lacourt.
Kliment Kolesnikov was second, the Neutral Athlete second in 52.57. Hubert Kos showed off his speed work in Texas, the 200 specialist going 52.60 for the third-best time. Greece’s Apostolou Christou. There’s an Italian in fifth, but it isn’t Thomas Ceccon. Instead, it’s Christian Bacico in 52.72. Ceccon was 13th in 53.65, in the final by just over a tenth. (Recall that he was 12th in prelims in Paris before winning gold.)
Miron Lifintsev was sixth, Pieter Coetze seventh and Ksawery Masiuk eighth. Among the other stragglers was China’s Xu Jiayu, the 2017 and 2019 champion into semis in 14th.
Women’s 100 breaststroke
Men’s 200 freestyle
Women’s 1,500 freestyle
