news-engine

This article is the second of three articles in this series; see the first one (women’s individual events) here. While Junior Pan-Pacs are still ongoing, the majority of the end-of-season championship meets have concluded. For some, this period is a rest, a break, and a reset before the start of the short-course season, whether in yards or meters. For us here at SwimSwam, the news cycle never ends, and we continue to keep up with the latest information. However, we do get a little introspective and reminiscent (maybe it’s just me), and with Pan-Pacs, European Championships, and the Commonwealth Games concluded, it’s time to look back on the results and see who actually came out on top. It’s been eight years since the world’s best swimmers were split like this, as the last time these three meets occurred in the same calendar year was in 2018. The Pan-Pacs were slated for 2022 but were postponed when World Aquatics, then FINA, opted to hold a World Championships in 2022, after the 2021 World Championships were postponed to 2023. There is no perfect way to compare the times from the meets, as each had very different paths to qualification and varying formats. The Commonwealth Games had Great Britain split into its constituent nations and allowed three swimmers from each nation to contest the final. Pan-Pacs had no limit on the number of swimmers per nation in the event, but limited the final to just two per nation, while the European Championships had four swimmers per nation in prelims, and a limit of two per semifinal and final. Pan-Pacs had no semifinals, but contested B-Finals. Commonwealth Games had semifinals, but only for events under 200 meters, while the European Championships had semifinals for events 200 meters and down. There is no obvious way to compare the results, but we are going to try nonetheless. We are going to follow the World Championship format of only two swimmers per nation in the final, and while several nations, Australia, Great Britain, and Canada, to name a few, competed at multiple meets, we will only use each individual’s fastest performance in the event. The United States opted to select their team for the Pan-Pacs last year, as it is their right, but had several strong performances at their Nationals this summer, and those results will be listed with a notation if they produced a medal-winning time. In the women’s individual events we covered yesterday, we saw the Pan-Pacs dominate the top of the podium, claiming 12 of the 17 gold medals on offer. However, the men’s events showed more parity, with nine golds (just over half) going the way of the European Championships. Of the remaining eight golds, six went to the Pan-Pacs, with two being scooped up by the Commonwealth Games. Australia’s Lani Pallister earned three individual golds on the women’s side and is the only swimmer to do so, as her compatriot Sam Short tied with Hungary’s Hubert Kos in collecting two gold medals. Short, like Pallister, competed at the Commonwealth Games before heading west to the Pan-Pacs a month later. Short won the 400-800-1500 triple in Glasgow, with his 800 time setting a new Games Record (there wasn’t one previously). In Irvine, Short again won the 400-800-1500 treble, improving his times in each event and rewriting the championship record in all three. Short had a very good shot at earning a third gold in our combined results, but Germany’s Johannes Liebmann obliterated the field and the world record in the 1500 free at the European Championships. The 19-year-old became the first swimmer under the 14:30 barrier, setting a new world best of 14:26.79. Instead, Short’s two golds sit tied with Hubert Kos, who posted the fastest times in the 200 back and 200 IM. In the latter of the two events, Kos had a thrilling race against Spain’s Hubert Gonzalez, while in the 200 Back, Kos set a European record in the semifinals before prevailing in the final with a time of 1:53.08. His semifinal time of 1:52.30 stands as a textile suit record, and trails only Aaron Piersol’s World record in the rankings. The Commonwealth Games saw two gold medals as Cameron McEvoy claimed victory in the 50 free and South Africa’s Pieter Coetze earned the gold in the 100 back. The pair both opted to target this meet as their long-course end-of-season meet and therefore did not travel to Irvine with their compatriots for the Pan-Pacs. McEvoy, the World Record holder in the event, was and remains the lone active swimmer to post results under the 21-second barrier, as his winning time of 20.97 clocks in as the 4th-fastest performance of all time, making the Australian the first swimmer with multiple times under that barrier. The gold medal winner at the European Champs, Ukraine’s Nikita Sheremet, wasn’t too far off, as his 21.13 ranks tied as the 14th-fastest performance of all time. The USA’s decision to select their Pan-Pac team last year hurt them on the medal table, as four swimmers posted times that would have earned their nation a podium spot. Caeleb Dressel‘s 21.35 at US Nationals would have tied with Jamie Jack‘s winning time at Pan-Pacs, a mark that ranks 3rd amongst these results. Ilya Kharun, too, could have picked up a bronze medal, as his 22.59 in the 50 fly would have won at both Pan-Pacs and the Commonwealth Games and placed 3rd in the overall list. Kharun’s case is complicated, however, as he is in the process of changing sporting nationalities and likely would not have been able to compete at either meet. The US could have really reinforced their return to form in the breaststrokes, had Josh Bey and Gabe Nunziata competed at Pan-Pacs. The pair went 2:07.58 and 2:07.62 at US Nationals, marks that would top our rankings, as the European and Commonwealth Champion Filip Nowacki claimed our hypothetical gold in 2:07.70. There do seem to be stark differences between the European Championships and other meets: European swimmers are extremely dominant in backstroke and sprint fly, while the Pan-Pacs really shone in sprint breaststroke and mid-distance free. I wouldn’t read too much into this, as several swimmers were absent from the Commonwealth Games/Pan-Pacs, but it does seem like the European men have a lock on the sprint fly events, and the Pan-Pac nations (outside of South Africa) are looking for backstroke help. Medal Table | Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | | 1 | Australia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | | 2 | Hungary | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | | 3 | United States | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | | 4 | NAB | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | | 5 | France | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | | 6 | Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | | 7 | Japan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | | 8 | South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | | 9 | Romania | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | | 10 | Czech Republic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | 11 | Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | | 12 | Greece | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | | 13 | Ukraine | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | 14 | China | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | 15 | Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | 16 | Spain | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | | 17 | Italy | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | | 18 | NAA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 19 | Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | All Three Meets For the data nerds out there | Event | Golds | Silvers | Bronzes | | 50 Freestyle | PP – Jamie Jack (AUS) – 21.35 CG – Cameron McEvoy (AUS) – 20.97 EU – Nikita Sheremet (UKR) – 21.13 | PP – Jack Alexy (USA) – 21.42 CG – Flynn Southam (AUS) – 21.44 EU – Egor Kornev (NAB)/ Andrej Barna (SRB) – 21.37 | PP – Guilherme Caribé (BRA) – 21.54 CG – Jamie Jack (AUS) – 21.47 EU – N/A | | 100 Freestyle | PP – Jack Alexy (USA) – 47.14 CG – Flynn Southam (AUS) – 47.13 EU – David Popovici (ROU) – 46.56 | PP – Patrick Sammon (USA) – 47.62 CG – Matt Richards (WAL) – 47.64 EU – Egor Kornev (NAB) – 46.74 | PP – Guilherme Caribé (BRA) – 47.89 CG – Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – 47.74 EU – Kristóf Milák (HUN) – 46.87 | | 200 Freestyle | PP – Luke Hobson (USA) – 1:43.85 CG – Kai Taylor (AUS) – 1:45.22 EU – David Popovici (ROU) – 1:44.15 | PP – Gabriel Jett (USA) – 1:43.96 CG – James Guy (ENG)/Matt Richards (WAL) – 1:45.72 EU – Tomas Navikonis (LTU) – 1:44.55 | PP – Zhang Zhanshuo (CHN) – 1:44.59 CG – N/A EU – James Guy (GBR) – 1:44.87 | | 400 Freestyle | PP – Samuel Short (AUS) – 3:40.52 CG – Sam Short (AUS) – 3:41.25 EU – Léon Marchand (FRA) – 3:43.14 | PP – Zhang Zhanshuo (CHN) – 3:42.42 CG – Elijah Winnington (AUS) – 3:45.56 EU – Olivér Pápai (HUN) – 3:44.46 | PP – Aaron Shackell (USA) – 3:43.44 CG – Ben Goedemans (AUS) – 3:45.57 EU – Lukas Märtens (GER) – 3:44.57 | | 800 Freestyle | PP – Samuel Short (AUS) – 7:37.02 CG – Sam Short (AUS) – 7:39.81 EU – Johannes Liebmann (GER) – 7:37.59 | PP – Bobby Finke (USA) – 7:42.52 CG – Ben Goedemans (AUS) – 7:46.49 EU – Sven Schwarz (GER) – 7:41.16 | PP – Ben Goedemans (AUS) – 7:44.67 CG – Matthew Galea (AUS) – 7:47.10 EU – Zalán Sárkány (HUN) – 7:41.75 | | 1500 Freestyle | PP – Samuel Short (AUS) – 14:33.97 CG – Sam Short (AUS) – 14:42.11 EU – Johannes Liebmann (GER) – 14:26.79 WR | PP – Kazushi Imafuku (JPN) – 14:42.59 CG – Daniel Wiffen (NIR) – 14:44.70 EU – Zalán Sárkány (HUN) – 14:39.45 | PP – Bobby Finke (USA) – 14:44.26 CG – Ben Goedemans (AUS) – 14:49.50 EU – Oliver Klemet (GER) – 14:40.64 | | 50 Backstroke | PP – Quintin McCarty (USA) – 24.51 CG – Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 24.18 EU – Miroslav Knedla (CZE) – 24.11 | PP – Isaac Cooper (AUS) – 24.59 CG – Oliver Morgan (ENG) – 24.48 EU – Kliment Kolesnikov (NAB) – 24.12 | PP – Will Modglin (USA) – 24.66 CG – Ruard van Renen (RSA) – 24.51 EU – Pavel Samusenko (NAB) – 24.14 | | 100 Backstroke | PP – Blake Tierney (CAN) – 53.18 CG – Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 51.77 EU – Apostolos Christou (GRE) – 52.27 | PP – Will Modglin (USA) – 53.37 CG – Oliver Morgan (ENG) – 52.66 EU – Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 52.28 | PP – Jack Aikins (USA) – 53.46 CG – Ruard van Renen (RSA) – 53.31 EU – Pavel Samusenko (NAB) – 52.57 | | 200 Backstroke | PP – Yumeki Kojima (JPN) – 1:55.38 CG – Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 1:54.22 EU – Hubert Kós (HUN) – 1:53.08 | PP – Blake Tierney (CAN) – 1:56.29 CG – Oliver Morgan (ENG) – 1:56.44 EU – Apostolos Siskos (GRE) – 1:53.81 | PP – Ethan Ekk (CAN) – 1:56.85 CG – Luke Greenbank (ENG) – 1:56.58 EU – Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 1:53.96 | | 50 Breaststroke | PP – Sam Williamson (AUS) – 26.36 CG – Sam Williamson (AUS) – 26.50 EU – Nicolò Martinenghi (ITA) – 26.57 | PP – Michael Houlie (RSA)/Van Mathias (USA) – 26.42 CG – Michael Houlie (RSA) – 26.77 EU – Koen de Groot (NED)/Simone Cerasuolo (ITA) – 26.62 | PP – N/A CG – Adam Ramsay-Peaty (ENG) – 26.94 EU – N/A | | 100 Breaststroke | PP – Van Mathias (USA) – 58.02 CG – Sam Williamson (AUS) – 59.17 EU – Nicolò Martinenghi (ITA) – 58.58 | PP – Shin Ohashi (JPN) – 58.54 CG – Filip Nowacki (JER) – 59.34 EU – Ivan Kozhakin (NAB) – 58.68 | PP – Sam Williamson (AUS) – 59.34 CG – Adam Ramsay-Peaty (ENG) – 59.65 EU – Simone Cerasuolo (ITA) – 58.90 | | 200 Breaststroke | PP – Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) – 2:08.09 CG – Filip Nowacki (JER) – 2:07.87 EU – Filip Nowacki (GBR) – 2:07.70 | PP – Josh Matheny (USA) – 2:08.25 CG – Oliver Dawson (CAN) – 2:08.39 EU – Caspar Corbeau (NED) – 2:07.78 | PP – Shin Ohashi (JPN) – 2:08.27 CG – Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) – 2:08.91 EU – Luka Mladenovic (AUT) – 2:08.91 | | 50 Butterfly | PP – Ben Armbruster (AUS) – 22.75 CG – Kyle Chalmers (AUS)/Ben Armbruster (AUS) – 22.73 EU – Egor Kornev (NAB) – 22.52 | PP – Van Mathias (USA) – 22.84 CG – N/A EU – Maxime Grousset (FRA) – 22.54 | PP – Guilherme Caribé (BRA) – 22.88 CG – Cameron McEvoy (AUS) – 22.92 EU – Hryhory Pekarski (NAA) – 22.68 | | 100 Butterfly | PP – Matthew Temple (AUS) – 50.39 CG – Joshua Liendo (CAN) – 50.42 EU – Kristóf Milák (HUN) – 49.48 | PP – Ben Armbruster (AUS) – 50.59 CG – Matthew Temple (AUS) – 50.43 EU – Maxime Grousset (FRA) – 49.70 | PP – Luca Urlando (USA) – 50.99 CG – Ben Armbruster (AUS) – 50.58 EU – Noè Ponti (SUI) – 49.93 | | 200 Butterfly | PP – Luca Urlando (USA) – 1:53.11 CG – Lewis Clareburt (NZL) – 1:55.05 EU – Léon Marchand (FRA) – 1:51.72 | PP – Carson Foster (USA) – 1:53.67 CG – Harrison Turner (AUS) – 1:55.38 EU – Richárd Márton (HUN) – 1:54.06 | PP – Harrison Turner (AUS) – 1:54.44 CG – Matthew Temple (AUS) – 1:55.45 EU – Apostolos Siskos (GRE) – 1:54.13 | | 200 IM | PP – Tomoyuki Matsushita (JPN) – 1:56.02 CG – Duncan Scott (SCO) – 1:56.38 EU – Hubert Kós (HUN) – 1:54.24 | PP – Carson Foster (USA) – 1:56.37 CG – Lewis Clareburt (NZL) – 1:56.77 EU – Hugo González (ESP) – 1:54.44 | PP – William Petric (AUS) – 1:56.65 CG – Tom Dean (ENG) – 1:57.22 EU – Mikhail Shcherbakov (NAB) – 1:56.16 | | 400 IM | PP – Tomoyuki Matsushita (JPN) – 4:06.75 CG – Lewis Clareburt (NZL) – 4:08.72 EU – Ilya Borodin (NAB) – 4:08.17 | PP – Carson Foster (USA) – 4:07.11 CG – William Petric (AUS) – 4:11.02 EU – Alberto Razzetti (ITA) – 4:10.40 | PP – Bobby Finke (USA) – 4:07.59 CG – Lorne Wigginton (CAN) – 4:11.38 EU – Max Litchfield (GBR) – 4:11.58 |