World University Games, Day 5 Finals: United States Opens With Three More Gold Medals
Through the first four days of swimming at the World University Games, the United States had captured 12 gold medals of the 20 awarded. Only the team of neutral athletes (Russia) had captured more than one. That momentum continued at the start of night five as American swimmers stormed to three consecutive gold medals.
Leah Shackley came from behind for gold in the women’s 100 butterfly before Matt King took down South Africa’s Pieter Coetze in the men’s 100 freestyle final. Next, Kate Hurst and Gena Jorgenson pulled off a 1-2 finish in the women’s 1500 free. Later on, finals were contested in the men’s 50 backstroke, women’s 200 breaststroke and mixed 400 freestyle relay, and there were five semifinal races.
Women’s 100 Butterfly Final
Leah Shackley of the United States was upset one day earlier in the 100 backstroke final, but she got the better of the field in this 100 butterfly. Shackley was just off the lead at the halfway point, training Australia’s Josephine Crimmins and Hungary’s Beatrix Tano, but a 31.00 closing split blasted her ahead of the field by almost four tenths.
Shackley secured gold in 58.16, her fourth medal of the Games after earlier winning 200 back gold, 100 back silver and mixed 400 medley relay gold. Tanko took silver in 58.55, just clipping Crimmins (58.62).
Men’s 100 Freestyle Final
South Africa’s Pieter Coetze is in the midst of a phenomenal week of racing in Berlin, having clocked a sub-52 performance for gold in the 100 backstroke two days earlier, and he was the slight favorite for gold in the 100 freestyle after splitting 47.88 leading off his country’s 400 freestyle relay. But American Matt King had other plans. King went out first at the halfway point and held tough as Coetze closed in the finishing meters.
King touched in 48.01 to win gold, just off the 48.00 he split leading off the Americans’ gold-medal-winning 400 free relay. King will have further chances to swim the event with the mixed 400 free relay at the end of Monday’s session and the men’s medley relay at the end of the meet. Coetze took silver in 48.12, with neutral athlete Aleksandr Shchegolev earning bronze in 48.34, just ahead of Romania’s Patrick-Sebastian Dinu (48.40).
Women’s 1500 Freestyle Final
Japan’s Niko Aoki had the advantage for the first half of the 1500 free final, but American swimmers Gena Jorgenson and Kate Hurst climbed back into contention and eventually took over the race. In the final third of the event, the two Americans swam nearly stroke-for-stroke. Jorgenson led at most intermediate splits, and she had upped the advantage to 0.61 on the final turn, but Hurst had something left to give in the closing meters.
Coming home in 29.80, Hurst came over the top of Jorgenson at the very end. She touched in 16:15.40, four hundredths ahead of Jorgenson’s 16:15.44. Hurst’s gold medal was the 15th for the U.S. team while this podium sweep gave the team 27 medals for the competition. Aoki was unable to remain in contention for the top-two spots, but she secured bronze in 16:19.81, well clear of fourth-place British swimmer Fleur Lewis (16:25.71).
Men’s 50 Breaststroke Semifinals
The top-four swimmers in the men’s 50 breaststroke semifinals all came out of the second heat, with Italy’s Federico Rizzardi leading the way in 27.28. He was followed by Japan’s Reo Okura (27.42), Germany’s Jeremias Pock (27.53) and the Czech Republic’s Vojtech Janecek (27.68).
The United States’ Nate Germonprez was the winner of the first semi in 27.71, just ahead of Poland’s Dawid Wickiera (27.72). Wickiera is the only swimmer in the final who has already won a medal this week, taking silver in the 100 breast and bronze in the 200-meter race, while Germonprez just missed in fourth place in the 100. Brazil’s Henrique Borges Fonseca (27.81) and Great Britain’s Archie Goodwin (27.82) got into the final, just denying Estonia’s Henrique Borges Fonseca (27.83) and Brazil’s Guilherme De Godoy Camossato (27.84).
Women’s 50 Backstroke Semifinals
Fresh off her gold medal in the 100 fly, Leah Shackley grabbed lane four in the 50 back final, breaking the Games record in the process. Shackley came in at 27.66, breaking the previous record set by Poland’s Adela Piskorska two years ago. Shackley has now broken the FISU records in all three backstroke events this year after twice crushing the mark in the 200 back and also lowering the mark in the 100 back semis.
Shackley will not be going for a backstroke sweep in the final because fellow American Kennedy Noble got the win in Games-record time in the 100 back. Noble took second in the 50-meter semis in 27.81, also under the previous record. Third went to South Africa’s Olivia Nel at 27.96. Shackley, Noble and Nel all compete for NC State University.
South Africa’s Michaela De Villiers (28.00), Piskorska (28.14), Italy’s Federica Toma (28.35), Korea’s Eunji Lee (28.56) and Italy’s Francesca Pasquino (28.69) also reached the final.
Women’s 200 IM Semifinals
Expect another dominant swim from Leah Hayes in the women’s 200 IM final. She already topped the 400 IM by almost four seconds, and she led the semifinal round of the 200 IM by 1.77 seconds. Hayes posted a time of 2:10.01, clipping the Games record of 2:10.03 set in 2017 by Japan’s Yui Ohashi. Hayes also surpassed her previous season-best time, the 2:10.83 which she swam for fourth place at U.S. Nationals.
Taking second in the round was Teagan O’Dell, the other American who already took silver behind Hayes in the 400 IM. Another 1-2 finish could be in order after O’Dell clocked 2:11.79, well ahead of third-place swimmer Ashley McMillan of Canada (2:13.08). Also qualifying for the final were France’s Camille Tissandie (2:14.07), Italy’s Chiara Della Corte (2:14.20), neutral athlete Iana Shakirova (2:14.46), China’s Ge Chutong (2:14.62) and Japan’s Rio Sato (2:14.71).
Women’s 200 Freestyle Semifinals
Men’s 50 Backstroke Final
Men’s 100 Butterfly Semifinals
Women’s 200 Breaststroke Final
Mixed 400 Freestyle Relay Final
