Sunday, December 18, 2022
World Record Dead Heat Closes out FINA World Championships (25m)
The 2022 FINA World Championships (25m) concluded this evening in Melbourne, Australia, seeing the United States take the “Team of the Meet” honor following a 17-gold and 36-total medal performance. Veteran backstroker and U.S. team captain Ryan Murphy also was named “Male Athlete of the Meet” following his backstroke sweep and six total medals at the competition.
“The facility is awesome,” head coach Braden Holloway said. “The team did a great job preparing for the elements – the weather looked a little rough for a while. We had some ups and downs. Not everything was perfect but our team never stopped. They kept coming and coming. This team was tough and resilient. It built up to a really big finish at the end with tonight’s relays, which was fun.”
Headlining the session was the final race of competition, the men’s 4x100m medley relay. The race featured a dead heat between the U.S. and Australia for both gold and a new world record.
The U.S. got out to the early lead courtesy of Murphy’s backstroke leg and Nic Fink’s breaststroke, putting the team at two seconds faster than world record pace entering the back half of the race. Trenton Julian entered the water for the butterfly leg, and Italy started slowly gaining ground.
As Kieran Smith dove in for the anchor freestyle, it was the U.S. in front, Italy nearly a half second back and Australia in third by more than a second behind the U.S.
Then, Australia’s Kyle Chalmers kicked it into a new gear and put Australia right back in the mix. The final five meters looked like it could go to any of the three federations, and immediately after the touch, both Chalmers and Smith celebrated in the pool as the U.S. and Australia had tied for both the gold and world record with a time of 3:18.98 – knocking down a 13-year-old record set by Russia in the “Super-Suit” era.
“To finish on a high like that setting a world record, even in a tie, having the Australian crowd go nuts – that was cool,” Murphy added.
The U.S. women also took down the world record in the 4x100m medley relay, clocking a 3:44.35 to knock .17 seconds off the U.S. previous world record set back in 2020.
The team led off with Claire Curzan just about an hour after her silver-medal performance in the 200m back, where she clocked a 2:00.53. Curzan handed it off to Lilly King, who was able to put the U.S. in front ahead of the butterfly leg, where Torri Huske managed to maintain. Kate Douglass once again brought it home for the U.S., swimming a 45.96 freestyle split to give the U.S. the gold and the record.
The best finish in an individual event for the U.S. this evening came in the men’s 200m backstroke, where Murphy and Shaine Casas posted a 1-2 finish. Murphy stopped the clock in 1:47.41 followed by Casas in 1:48.01.
“After day two, I was really looking forward to this night, to the 200 back and this relay,” Murphy said. “To cap off the meet – I’m feeling some fatigue tonight – I feel like I executed really well, swam really tough.
“I started the meet off a little shaky,” Casas added. “(I) had a couple of fourth-place finishes. I kept my head in it. Everyone pushed me and told me not to give up. I’m happy I was able to bounce back, enjoy and post a best time.”
With the gold, Murphy becomes the first male swimmer to ever sweep the backstroke events in the competition’s history. The result is also the first time since 2012, when a young Murphy won bronze and Ryan Lochte won silver, that two American men have shared the podium in the 200m back.
Fink also added another individual world title to his haul from Melbourne when he clocked a 25.38 in the men’s 50m breaststroke to win gold and set both a new meet record and American record, as well. His time beat out his own previous personal best and American record of 25.53, set at last year’s FINA World Championships (25m).
“I knew I had to get off the blocks really well and I think I did,” Fink said. “I knew Nicolo (Martinenghi) was right there the whole time. It was good to have him there pushing me the whole way. Definitely happy with the result.”
The gold was Fink’s second individual title of the meet—alongside his 100m breaststroke gold—and will see him leave Melbourne with medals (two gold, one silver) in all three breaststroke events.
Michael Andrew also swam in the final of the men’s 100m breaststroke, finishing fifth in 25.92.
Like many Americans today, Huske pulled double-duty and collected both a relay and an individual medal. Prior to her swim on the world-record relay, she captured silver in the 100m butterfly, finishing in 54.75 only behind a world-record, 54.05 performance from Canada’s Maggie Mac Neil. Huske’s time is good for the fourth-fastest swim in history and makes her just the second American to ever go under :55.
“I’m so excited and Team USA has been great as always, the USA Swimming staff making sure we always have what we need,” Huske said. “Being up in the stands – being super supportive and giving us all the energy – I feel like that’s what really makes the difference.”
The only other event contested on the night was the 200m freestyle, which saw fourth-place finishes by Erin Gemmell (1:52.56) and Drew Kibler (1:41.44) in their respective heats.
In total, the U.S. leaves Melbourne having set two world records, seven American records and tying for both the most gold and most total medals ever recorded by a nation at the FINA World Championships (25m).
Click here for more on the competition.