2022 FINA WORLD AQUATIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 18-25, 2022 (pool)
• Budapest, Hungary
• Duna-Arena
• LCM (50 meter format)
• Meet Central

In numbers :

• World record: 56.88, peated adam (GBR), 2019 World Championships
• Junior world record: 59.01, Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA), 2017 World Junior Championships
• 2020 Olympic Champion: peated adam (GBR), 57.37
• 2019 World Champion: peated adam (GBR), 57.14

peated adam is the best 100m breaststroke in history and if he raced in Budapest he would easily be our choice to win gold in this event. But he does not race in Budapest. Without the world record holder, who is the only man to swim under 57 seconds in the event, there will always be a man in Budapest who has broken the 58 second mark.

Favorite

Arno Kamminga is the number 2 in history, with a best time of 57.80 at the Tokyo 2020 Games. He first broke the barrier a few months before winning Olympic silver by reaching a 57.90. In addition to those 57s, Kamminga swam a myriad of 58s including 11 strokes between 58.00 and 58.52.

One of those swims was just a few months ago, in February 2022, when Kamminga clocked a season-best 58.52, making him the third-fastest man in the world for 2021. -2022.

A best time of 57.80 and a consistent ability to hit 58 seconds is the result of significant improvement for Kamminga since the last world championships, where he finished 15th in 59.49. The two-time Olympic silver medalist and second best man in history is clearly the one to beat in Budapest and we expect him to take full advantage of a peat-free pitch. He is our first choice for gold.

The 58-Bas

Beyond Arno Kammingaa group of four men who race in Budapest have recorded times in recent years between 58.14 and 58.46: Michael Andre, Nicolo Martinenghi, Nick Finkand Jacques Wilby.

Nicolo Martinenghi made it a 100% European podium at the Tokyo Games by clocking 58.33 in the final to win the bronze medal behind Peaty and Kamminga. Although that time was quite quick for bronze, he was a little quicker in the semis when he clocked an Italian record 58.28. Martinenghi’s second fastest time in the event came a few weeks before the Olympics when he posted a 58.29 at the 2021 Sette Colli Trophy.

Martinenghi has risen through the ranks over the past few years to become a constant threat in this event and consistently swam medal times last year. Between April and July 2021, Martinenghi completed five races between 58.28 and 58.45. This season, the 22-year-old has already turned under 59 twice, clocking times of 58.57 and 58.78 at the Italian Championships. It now looks like a promising candidate to enter the 58 lineup and will be our pick for silver in this event.

The next two men who have swum faster than 58.50 in recent years are Americans Michael Andre and Nick Fink. Andrew pulled off the feat twice at the 2021 Olympic Trials with a 58.14 and a 58.19 (coming in the heats and semis), but he wasn’t as quick in Tokyo later this year- there, eventually placing fourth in 58.84 (58.62 in the preliminaries). This year at the USA International Team Trials, Andrew clocked a 58.51 to make the team.

Andrew has a lot to do at these World Championships, having qualified to race the 50 and 100 breaststroke, 50 and 100 butterfly, 50 freestyle and probably many relays. The 100 breaststroke will be his first individual final of the competition, which will take place on Day 2. Andrew’s speed and timely placement in this event makes him our pick for the bronze medal, but it’s a real draw between him and his compatriot, Nick Fink.

Fink had a later breakthrough than most on the international swimming scene when he qualified for the Olympics last year at the age of 27. of 2:07.93. However, as the second NCAA runner-up in the 100m breaststroke, he established himself in the 2021–22 season as America’s next go-to breaststroke at both distances.

At the 2022 World Trials, Fink qualified to run the 200 breaststroke again, but he also managed to take the victory in the 100 breaststroke. At trials, Fink swam a 58.37 to Andrew’s 58.51. This time for Fink was a new best time and put him into the elite 58 breaststroke low 100 group. That Fink had already beaten Andrew in the pool this year, and that he is currently the man no World No. 1 this season, it’s hard to let him off the podium here. But with just three career under-59 races for Fink, Andrew looks like a safer bet for bronze and we’ll put Fink in fourth place.

The last man on our list of 58 low swimmers is peated adamthe compatriot of Jacques Wilby, who has held a lifetime record of 58.46 since 2019 when he won silver in the event at the World Championships. Since then, Wilby has managed 59 points a few times, most notably at the Tokyo Games when he swam a 58.96 in the final. Wilby’s ceiling is worthy of a medal, but it hasn’t matched the top three for the past few years.

The best of the rest

Although they did not break the 58.50 mark, our next selection for the final in Budapest is China Yan Zibei, who just finished sixth at the Olympics with a time of 58.99. Yan was actually faster in the preliminaries and semifinals, clocking 58.75 and 58.72 respectively. Additionally, Yan has been the reigning World Championship bronze medalist since 2019 when he finished third with an Asian record 58.63.

This season, Yan has demonstrated that he is still in the conversation, having swum a 58.87 in September 2021. Although it is unclear how fast he has swum so far in 2022, Yan is expected to race in Budapest and will probably earn a place in the championship final.

The field becomes slightly thinner beyond Yan, partly due to a number of absences in this year’s competition. In addition to Peaty, Olympic finalists Andre Wilson and Ilya Chymanovich will also be absent this year (Wilson has retired and Shymanovich’s home country of Belarus has been banned from competition).

The next fastest man in the world is the Japanese Ryūya Murawho posted a time of 59.31 a few weeks ago, while his teammate Shoma Sato swam a 59.58 but did not end up qualifying. Mura reached the semi-final of this event at Tokyo 2020 with a 59.82, so if he continues to put up time, he could be our next man to crack 59.

It will be interesting to see how the recent 200m world record holder breaststroke, Zac Stubblety-Cook, resists this event. Stubblety-Cook clocked a 59.60 in the 100 breaststroke at the Australian Trials, which is her best ever in the event. It won’t be enough to crack the top three at Worlds, but it could give him one last swim before starting his main event.

The other contenders this year in the 100m breaststroke will be the Olympic semi-finalists Lucas Matzerath and Fabian Schwingenschlögl from Germany, and Andrius Sidlauskas from Lithuania.

Another swimmer to watch is fellow Kamminga Caspar Raven. Corbeau was not named to the Dutch team in the 100 breaststroke (qualified in the 200 breaststroke), but delivered an in-season pair of 59s in early March at the San Antonio Pro Swim. Provided the Dutch federation allows him to participate in the event, he is a threat for the final.

SWIMSWAM’S CHOICES