SWIMMING: Wang strikes for 400 m Free World Record in Budapest World Cup

World-record setter Jianjiahe Wang (CHN)

She set the stage with two World Junior Records in the FINA Swimming World Cup short-course opener last week in Eindhoven (NED), but China’s 16-year-old Jianjiahe Wang etched her name deeper into the record books with a World Record for short-course (25 m) pools in the 400 m Freestyle in Budapest (HUN).

Wang led the qualifying at 4:01.94 in the morning, then took the lead from the start in the final and went wire-to-wire to win in 3:53.97. That trashed the 3:52.54 mark by Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia from 2013, and was also – of course – another World Junior Record, breaking her own mark of 3:54.63 from Eindhoven last week.

Wang also set a World Junior mark in the 800 m Free last week, so watch for her in that event on Saturday!

That wasn’t the only record action as far as U.S. fans were concerned, as Kathleen Baker continued her hot swimming by equaling Katie Meili’s 2016 American record of 58.02 in finishing third in the 100 m Medley behind Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom. Baker had an American Record in the 100 m Back in Eindhoven.

Speaking of Hosszu, she won the Medley and the 200 m Fly and is entered in almost every one of the remaining events. In the men’s events, Russian Vladimir Morozov won the 50 m Free and the 100 m Medley.

In Budapest, prize money of $1,500-1,000-500-400-300-200 is available for the top six placers. Look for the results here. Summaries so far:

FINA Swimming World Cup 4
Budapest (HUN) ~ 4-6 October 2018
(Full results here)

Men

50 m Freestyle: 1. Vladimir Morozov (RUS), 20.51; 2. Benjamin Proud (GBR), 20.89; 3. Bradley Tandy (RSA), 21.06. Also: 8. Michael Andrew (USA), 21.42.

400 m Free: 1. Mack Horton (AUS), 3:41.78; 2. Blake Pieroni (USA), 3:42.74; 3. Wojciech Wojdak (POL), 3:43.52.

100 m Fly: 1. Chad la Clos (RSA), 49.22; 2. Mehdy Metella (FRA), 49.71; 3. Nicholas Santos (BRA), 50.12.

100 m Breast: 1. Felipe Lima (BRA), 56.69; 2. Anton Chupkov (RUS), 56.97; 3. Lizhuo Wang (CHN), 57.03. Also: 7. Nic Fink (USA), 57.73.

100 m Medley: 1. Morozov (RUS), 50.32; 2. Andrew (USA), 51.55; 3. Kosuke Matsui (JPN), 53.08. Also: 4. Fink (USA), 53.32.

Women

50 m Free: 1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED), 23.23; 2. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 23.36; 3. Femke Heemskerk (NED), 23.67.

400 m Free: 1. Jianjiahe Wang (CHN), 3:53.97 (World Short-Course Record; old, 3:54.52, Mireia Belmonte Garcia (ESP), 2013; also a World Junior Record; old, 3:54.64, Wang, 2018); 2. Leah Smith (USA), 3:58.94; 3. Heemskerk (NED), 4:00.03.

50 m Backstroke: 1. Emily Seebohm (AUS), 26.05; 2. Georgia Davies (GBR), 26.13; 3. Kromowidjojo (NED), 26.19. Also: 4. Kathleen Baker (USA), 26.30.

200 m Breast: 1. Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 2:17.88; 2. Vitalina Simonova (RUS), 2:19.43; 3. Melanie Margalis (USA), 2:20.30.

200 m Fly: 1. Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 2:03.14; 2. Yufei Zhang (CHN), 2:03.29; 3. Kelsi Dahlia (USA), 2:03.33.

100 m Medley: 1. Hosszu (HUN), 57.64; 2. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 57.75; 3. Baker (USA), 58.02 (equals American Record, 58.02, Katie Meili, 2016). Also: 6. Margalis (USA), 59.11.