Day 8 Finals Live Recap

2022 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The time has come for the final session of the 2022 World Swimming Championships. The 8th day of racing is upon us and will feature the last 7 finals of this meet. We’ll start off with the men’s 50 backstroke and women’s 50 breast, followed by the men’s 1500 freestyle. Then the sprinting action will start up again with the women’s 50 freestyle final. The last individual event of the session is the women’s 400 IM and then we’ll round out the meet with a pair of 4×100 medley relays.

DAY 8 LINKS

50 backstroke and 50 breaststroke world record holders are going to be starting us off as Hunter Armstrong and Benedetta Pilato take to their respective sprint events. In the backstroke, Armstrong is the #2 seed heading into the final to teammate Justin Ress but 100 backstroke standouts Thomas Ceccon and Apostolos Christou will be flanking the Americans and fighting for a spot on the podium. In the 50 breast, 2012 Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte will look for a shot at getting on the podium again this week after taking bronze in the 50 breast. Former world record holder Lilly King is on the outside of the pool in this event, having swum a 30.35 during semi-finals.

We’ll see familiar faces in the men’s 1500 freestyle including Olympic medalists Bobby Finke, Mykhailo Romanchuk, and Florian Wellbrock. Bobby Finke might collect his second gold of the meet but surely the field will be prepared for his signature strategy of running down his competitors in the final 50 meters.

As for the 50 freestyle, we’ll see if top seed Kasia Wasick can pick up a medal for Poland here after her swim of 24.11 during semis. Sarah Sjostrom, Torri Huske, Zhang Yufei, Erika Brown, Julie Kepp Jensen, Anna Hopkin, and Meg Harris all swam between a 24.15 and a 24.86 during the second round of racing, however, meaning that it will likely be a close race.

Katie Grimes and Summer McIntosh have set up a nice race in the middle of the pool in the women’s 400 IM final. Grimes and McIntosh raced during prelims and finished less than a second apart, making them the favorites to reach the top 2 tonight. But Katinka Hosszu, one of the most accomplished 400 IMers in history, won’t go down with a fight. She’s not been at her best in recent years but it’ll be interesting to see if a home crowd swim can give her the push she needs to reach the podium.

Yui Ohashi is already slated to beat her 13th place finish in the 200 IM earlier this week, but it’s unclear whether she’ll be able to win gold here as she did in Tokyo. Keep an eye out for her, along with China’s Ge Chutong and USA’s Emma Weyant. Then we’ll close out the session with the men’s and women’s 4×100 medley relays in which the USA and Australia enter as the respective top seeds. Follow along here for all the live results and analysis you’ll need.

Read a full preview of the session here.

SWIMSWAM WATCH PARTY

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 23.71, Hunter Armstrong (USA) – 2022 U.S. Trials
• Championship Record: 24.04, Liam Tancock (GBR) – 2009 World Championships
• 2019 World Champion: Zane Waddell (RSA), 24.43

1. Justin Ress (USA) – 24.12
2. Hunter Armstrong (USA) – 24.14
3. Ksawery Masiuk (POL) – 24.49
4. Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 24.51
5. Apostolos Christou (GRE) / Robert Glinta (ROU) – 24.57
7. Ole Braunschweig (GER) – 24.66
8. Isaac Alan Cooper (AUS) – 24.76

After winning the world title with a 24.12 and making his way to the interview area, it was announced that Justin Ress had been disqualified from the men’s 50 backstroke final. He put up one of the fastest times in history but then got eliminated, making Hunter Armstrong the champion.

Armstrong’s time of 24.14 was enough to win the event but was a bit slower than his world record and lifetime best of 23.71 from the 2022 US World Champ Trials. Armstrong was faster here than in his semi-finals swim by just 0.02 seconds, having hit a 24.16 in the second round.

Poland’s Kswaery Masiuk touched third, but considering the DQ he will take the silver medal here with his swim of 24.49. Masiuk was just shy of his own Polish record in this event of 24.48 from earlier at this meet. He was joined on the podium by Thomas Ceccon of Italy who notched a 24.51 for the bronze medal. This is Armstrong and Ceccon’s second individual medal of the meet as that duo took bronze and gold, respectively in the 100 back.

Apostolos Christou and Robert Glinta tied each other for 4th place here, each swimming a 24.57 and Ole Braunschweig of Germany hit a 24.66for 7th place. 7th overall went to Australia’s Isaac Alan Cooper in a 24.76.

Update: Justin Ress‘ DQ has been overturned and he is now the World Champion, moving Armstrong to silver and Masiuk to bronze.

WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 29.30, Benedetta…