Fresh Faces Poised to Challenge for World Titles

ben proud, kylie masse, xu jiayu, morning splash

Ben Proud (left), Kylie Masse (top right) and Xu Jiayu (bottom right).

Morning Splash by David Rieder.

With some key exceptions (notably the United States and France), most of the world’s top swimming countries have held their World Championships qualification meets already, and in the grand scheme of things, there were no shocking upsets.

All the principle players earned tickets to Budapest—even though British Olympic silver medalists Siobhan-Marie O’Connor and Jazz Carlin cut it close. O’Connor was disqualified in her signature 200 IM, and Carlin had to be added to the team by national head coach Bill Furniss after she missed out on the requisite qualifying standards.

But that doesn’t mean nothing newsworthy came out of the April round of Trials meets. Far from it. After all, who would have considered Ben Proud, Kylie Masse and Xu Jiayu favorites (or at least co-favorites) to win World titles one month ago?

They are now. Each swam times quicker than the Olympic gold medal-winning times from Rio in their respective signature events and rank No. 1 in the world by far.

Ben Proud. Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

But remember which two countries have yet to hold their Trials meets: the U.S. and France. Proud finished fourth in the 50 free in Rio behind three swimmers from, you guessed it, the U.S. and France. Anthony Ervin, Florent Manaudou and Nathan Adrian will all have chances to respond at their respective Trials coming up.

Still, don’t be surprised if Proud arrives in Budapest still ranked first in the world. In fact, his time of 21.32 is tied for the second-fastest performance in history in a textile suit. Manaudou has been quicker with his monstrous 21.19 that he swam to win the world title two years ago in Kazan, but after that is a four-way tie between Manaudou (swum twice), Cesar Cielo and Proud.

Suits aside, Proud moved onto the all-time top ten performers list in the event, past the likes of Adrian and Bruno Fratus. It’s a legitimately excellent swim, and his 50 fly was not too shabby either, the time of 22.80 good for seventh on the all-time list in the event.

All it took was two eye-opening one-lap races over the weekend, and all the sudden Proud looks like a key member of the rising young core of British men’s swimming alongside Adam Peaty, James Guy and Duncan Scott.

Similarly, there’s no arguing about the times that Masse and Xu have put up in their respective 100 back races this month. Both posted big lifetime bests and just missed world records that aren’t exactly considered soft.

Xu swam a time of 51.86, one hundredth off the world record, but the only person capable of approaching that time is the only man who’s ever been quicker: Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy. And even though Murphy figures to make his long course season debut soon, he won’t be anywhere close to his best until U.S. Nationals at the end of June.

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Kylie Masse & Hilary Caldwell. Photo Courtesy: Kevin Light/Swimming Canada

On the ladies’ side, it’s not so clear-cut—at all. Masse swam a time of 58.21, just nine hundredths off Gemma Spofforth’s world record, but plenty of other women could get down to that level. Seven were under 59 at the Olympics last year, and all of them will be back for Budapest—except, perhaps, the Olympic gold medalist.

The women’s 100 back semi-finals take place right before the women’s 200 IM final in the World Championships program, and Katinka Hosszu, who was victorious in both event in Rio, might not want to risk anything for the IM.

Two years ago in Kazan, Hosszu scratched the 100 back semi-finals to focus on the 200 IM final—and she broke a six-year-old world record on her way to gold.

But even if Hosszu doesn’t compete, Masse will have her share of challengers. Emily Seebohm is the reigning World Champion in the event, and after a disappointing Olympics, she looked strong at Australia’s Olympic Trials, blasting a 58.62 which ranks second in the world this year behind Masse.

Coming in third in the world rankings is the woman who shared bronze with Masse in Rio, Fu Yuanhui, at 58.72. And while the Americans have yet to play their best cards, Ali DeLoof has already posted a mid-season time of 59.43, while Olympic finalists Kathleen Baker and Olivia Smoliga each posted big time drops in the 100-yard back at the NCAA championships.

So as close as Masse came to the world record, she’s got some serious competition trying to beat her out this summer in Budapest, as do Xu and Proud. But after their April efforts, all three have planted themselves in the driver’s seat.

*With all that said, no one in the sport had a better April than Sarah Sjostrom. Of course, Sjostrom was already a very familiar name to swimming fans—she was already heavily favored to win gold in both the 50 and 100 fly this summer in Budapest—but after her efforts this month, it’s hard not to like her chances in both the 50 and 100 free as well.

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Sarah Sjostrom. Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Her performances in the butterfly events at the Stockholm Cup were up to her own standards—and well above anyone else’s—but it was in the freestyles where she broke new ground. Her time of 23.83 in the 50 free was a tenth off the world record and much quicker than the 24.07 Pernille Blume swam to win Olympic gold.

In the 100 free, same deal, as Sjostrom’s 52.54 was quicker than the 52.70 Penny Oleksiak and Simone Manuel each swam to share Olympic gold in Rio.

Sjostrom won three medals in Rio—gold in the 100 fly (in world record-time), silver in the 200 free and a bronze in the 100 free—but she didn’t even make the final in the 50. Eight months later in Stockholm, she put up the fastest time ever in a textile suit in the 50 free while skipping the 200 free, perhaps signaling a slight change in focus at 23 years old.

Sjostrom has had a prolific international career over the past eight years, going back when she won her first World title and broke her first world record in the 100 fly as a 15-year-old in 2009, but World titles in sprint free events would certainly help cement her place as one of the top female swimmers of all-time.

Even after a successful Olympics, she changed coaches, moving from Carl Jenner to Johan Wallberg, who had mentored (and later married) six-time Swedish Olympic sprinter Therese Alshammar. So far, it sure seems like the change in scenery is working out.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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