Swimmer's Daily

  • When Gary Hunt arrived today at the high diving venue of the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju (KOR), he probably had one question in his mind. “How will I succeed in my ‘triple quad’”?

    The “triple quad” refers to Hunt’s favorite combination, a back 3 somersaults, with 4 twists in the free position – in the diving numbering, it’s simply a 5268D. This is a magic combination for the British star: with it, he won competitions; with it, he also lost. The most notable case was the 2017 edition of the World Championships in Budapest, two years ago.

    We had to wait until the fourth and last round of the competition to know the answer to that question in Hunt’s mind. But the reply couldn’t be clearer: with three perfect 10s from the judges, in a dive with a DD of 5.2, it’s easy to do maths: 30 by 5.2 equals 156.00 points. The maximum possible. The number of perfection. The score that allowed Hunt to recover the world crown, after the 2015 gold in Kazan and the unsuccessful performance on the shore of the Danube River two years ago.

    Before that, Steve LoBue (USA), world champion in 2017, seemed secure in the lead. He finished first on Monday, with a 8.85 advantage over Jonathan Paredes (MEX) and over 24 ahead from Michal Navratil (CZE). Came round three today and LoBue remained confident and flawless, performing also a 5461B, slightly worse than Hunt (95.40 for the North American, 97.20 for the British ace). In the last round, closing the field, LoBue was slightly short in the entry of his back 4 somersaults, 2 twists, getting 119.85 from the judges. That wasn’t enough to secure the gold, after Hunt’s massive score. In the end, LoBue had to content with silver, in 433.65.

    The bronze went to Jonathan Paredes, second after the first three rounds, but presenting a last dive with a lower DD (“only” 4.6). Despite executing an almost perfect back 3 somersaults, 3 twists, the 128.80 points for this dive were short to get the silver. The Mexican, bronze medal in Barcelona 2013 and silver in Kazan 2015, finished third in 430.15.

  • We’re getting a lesson on lessons in swimming! Learn how early to start your young ones and how to make sure they stay safe in the water.

  • The two-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel was born to swim, but see how the American phenom has realised that there’s more to life than swimming as he races to the top.

    https://youtu.be/BtuIrt-uJLQ

  • Enjoy the highlights of day 12 at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju! #FINAGwangju2019

  • USA’s Katie Ledecky was battling with illness at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju, and unfortunately, she was on the losing side this time. First, she withdrew from the 200m free heats in the morning, then she had to make the tough decision to abruptly finish her campaign here.

    Without her, the 1500m free crown was up for grabs and Simone Quadarella was quick enough to take it. The Italian added the world title to her European crown, she became the 4th best performer of all time and Italy’s second winner in this event – 10 years after Alessia Filippi. It was somewhat stylish that she brought down her predecessor’s NR set in Rome 2009 (15:40.89 – though Ledecky’s best ten times are still better than this). Germany’s Sarah Kohler was a distant second while China’s Wang Jianjiahe grabbed the bronze.

     

  • Another title defence closed the swimming session on day 12 of the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju: USA’s Lilly King led all the way in the 100m breast and won with the only sub –1:05 effort of the field, ahead of Yuliya Efimova (RUS). Martina Carraro came third, claiming Italy’s first-ever medal in female breaststroke events at the Worlds.

  • The men’s 100m Backstroke race at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju, brought a lot of excitements as four swimmers were heading towards the wall forming an almost straight line.

    Title-holder Xu Jiaju of China found the necessary extra gear to touch home first, 0.24sec ahead of Russia’s Evgeny Rylov. Tiny margins decided the bronze, three stormed in within 0.05sec, 2015 world champion Mitch Larkin (AUS) was the fastest, ahead of the two US Olympic champs (and the medallists in 2017) Ryan Murphy and Matt Grevers.