The 2019 World Masters Swimming Championships entered its third day of competition in South Korea, where some of the sport’s most dedicated athletes have continued to showcase their talents on the international stage.
Night Three saw a slew of historic swims, as four age group world records fell along with three championship age group records, making for the most climactic night of competition thus far. The athletes are showing no signs of fatigue heading into the fourth day, where a plethora of highly anticipated swims are set to take place. As summer championships wind down, the show in Gwangju is just getting started, where these seasoned veterans are bound to deliver.
Women’s 400 IM
Japan immediately established its dominance in the women’s 400 IM, as Fusae Maryama turned in an impressive 12:48.76 to seize the win in the 80-84 age division. Daniela Barnea immediately shifted the momentum in favor of the United States, beating Japan’s Seiko Hasebe (8:36.49) for the gold with a 7:56.10.
Germany’s Brigitte Merten (7:38.26) clinched a narrow victory in the 70-74 age group, edging out Toth Magdolna Csanadine (7:38.29) of Hungary by 0.03 to reserve the topmost step on the medal podium.
Mexico’s Laura Vaca continues to dominate the 65-69 age group, tallying another gold with a time of 6:33.86. America’s Bonnie Lynn Spivey is also making a habit of earning hardware, as her time of 5:58.81 was good enough for first in the 60-64 age division.
Susanne Reibel-Oberle made a statement in the 55-59 age class, clocking in at 5:39.37 to tally another gold for Germany. Her compatriot, Claudia Thielemann, turned heads with a 5:34.09 in the 50-54 division, earning top honors with relative ease.
Britain’s Nicole Latty exhibited back-end speed, adding legs in the final lap to split a 37.71, finishing with a final time of 5:38.81 to win the 45-49 age group. Germany’s Annett Von Rekowski jumped to an early lead in the 40-44 race, leaving the rest of the field after the backstroke leg and building to a stellar 5:33.28 finish.
Britain’s Hayley Davis dropped a 5:31.60 for the win in the 35-39 age group after jumping to an early lead. Maren Spietzack of Germany followed up with a stellar performance of her own, posting a 5:09.35 to earn top honors in the 30-34 class.
Rachel Ripley (5:08.34) of the United States managed to get her hand on the wall first after she and Marina Heller Hansen (5:08.37) traded leads throughout the race. Ripley’s backend speed proved invaluable, as she came up from behind to emerge victorious in the 25-29 age division.
Men’s 400 IM
The United States’ Bill Lauer kicked off the men’s schedule with a decisive win in the 400 IM, cruising to an 8:45.80 to take the 85-89 age division; while John Cocks of Australia handled things in the 80-84 class with an impressive 7:43.78.
Rudolf Smerda of the Czech Republic made quite the statement in the 75-79 age group, posting a 7:13.90 to leave the rest of the field. Tucker Gerry was the one to beat in the next age bracket, as the Australian split a near-perfect race to drop a 7:06.85.
Israel forced its name on the scene after an impressive performance from Dov Nisman, whose 5:51.00 locked down the gold in the 65-69 division. Brazil reemerged as a powerhouse after Djan Madruga earned the country’s first gold medal of the night with a 5:25.75.
Puerto Rico’s Arnaldo Perez jumped to an early lead in the 55-59 race, dropping a 5:14.56 to seize the win. Brent Foster of New Zealand swam an intelligent race, building to an impressive final time of 5:01.47 for the 50-54 age group victory.
Italy’s Igor Piovesan was the only man under 5:00 in the 45-49, as he surged ahead of the pack to post a 4:56.10 for the win. Claus Lerche Iversen of Denmark owned the 40-44 age division, clocking in at 4:48.94 after attaining a commanding lead.
In the most climactic race of the evening, Greece’s Ioannis Drymonakos made history in the 35-39 age class, surging to a 4:36.66 to better the previous age group world record by 0.7. Throughout the race, Drymonakos showed no signs of fatigue despite a quick first half. Exhibiting uncanny closing speed, the IM stalwart built to a perfect finish in order to shatter D. Yabe’s prior mark of 4:37.36.
Italy’s Matteo Montanari took the next age bracket with a 4:39.19, fending off Lithuania’s Edgaras Stura (4:41.95) for the win. His compatriot, Giacomo Rigon, earned top honors in the 25-29 division, finishing strong to post a 4:52.27.
Women’s 200 Free
Australia’s Dorothy Dickey kicked off the women’s 200 free with another gold-medal worthy performance, clocking in at 4:19.02.
Japan’s Yoshiko Osaki made the 80-84 race all her own, attaining a commanding lead early on. The clock turned out to be her biggest competitor, as she chased the world record line, ultimately crashing the pads with a 3:07.36 to go 0.04 under Jane Asher’s previous mark of 3:07.40.
Elisabeth Kruger of South Africa followed up with another stellar swim in the 70-74 age class, reserving the topmost step of the podium with a 2:06.64. Britain’s Jayne Stephenson dropped a 2:44.81 to earn top honors in the 65-69 section, pulling ahead in the middle of the race to show off her stellar closing speed. Her compatriot, Helen Kula-Przezwanski, followed up with a winning performance of her own, finishing with a 2:33.54 to take the 60-64 age group win.
Sweden forced its name on the scene with a standout performance by Ingri Lindelow Berntsson, as she reserved the top spot on the podium with a 2:35.90. Germany’s Ina Ziegler (2:21.81) proved to be a force to be reckoned with, as she seized the 50-54 age group win with ease.
Cam Johansson-Sponseller of Sweden showed no signs of slowing in the 45-49 race, boasting an impeccably well-split race to take top honors with a time of 2:21.86. Britain’s Cari Edwards used a similar strategy to earn the 40-44 win, posting a time of 2:15.30.
Thailand’s Chorkaew Choompol (2:16.58) and Natthanan Junkrajang (2:02.35) tallied two golds for the country in the 35-39 and 30-34 age groups, respectively; while Marina Hiller Hansen (2:05.81) made her second appearance of the night, this time shattering the age group championship record in addition to earning the gold.
Men’s 200 Free
Josef Krejci of Switzerland turned in a 3:49.55 to seize the 85-89 age group win; while Germany’s Werner Schnabel secured the victory in the 80-84 division.
Rudolf Smerda (2:47.62) of the Czech Republic managed to hold off Spain’s Joaquin Canales (2:51.07) to take gold in the 75-79 age class before the U.S. went 1-2 in the 70-74 group, courtesy of Alan Bernard (2:27.26) and Julian Sapirstein (2:34.50).
Another U.S. native proved to be the one to beat in the 65-69 age division, as Larry Bruce Krauser maintained a healthy lead over Italy’s Claudio Berrini (2:26.85) to cinch the win. The streak didn’t stop there, as Thomas Taylor proceeded to drop a 2:17.55 in order to nab the 60-64 age division win. Additionally, Fred Schuster (2:07.42) locked down gold in the 55-59 class with an impressive effort of his own.
Australian native Mark Thompson (2:03.39) proved unstoppable in the 50-54 age group, as he edged out Italy’s Dino Schorn (2:03.65) by 0.26 to cinch the narrow win. Igor Piovesan took the next age bracket by a similar margin, bettering Frederic Tonus’ mark by just 0.08 to earn gold.
Denmark remained consistent, tallying another gold after Claus Lerche Iverson’s performance in the 40-44 age bracket. The only man under 2:00 in his division, Iverson bettered the rest of the field by over two seconds. Felipe Maia proved lethal in the 35-39 class, churning out a 1:59.62 for the win.
Italy’s Matteo Montanari went 1:57.43 in the 30-34 age group race, emerging victorious despite a scare from Robert Doran (1:59.15) of Great Britain. Siwat Matangkapong furthered his already impressive individual schedule with a win in the 25-29 age class, posting a 1:57.05.
Women’s 50 Fly
Hungary’s Katharina Flora recorded a historic swim in the opening heat of the women’s 50 fly, whipping out a 48.90 to reset the world record in the 85-89 age division.
Marcela Stastna of the Czech Republic followed up with a 56.17, earning top honors in the 80-84 bracket. Canada’s Georgina Lopez dropped a quick lap of her own, seizing the 75-79 championship with a 49.85.
Germany’s Brigitte Merten was the only woman under 40.00 in the 70-74 age class, posting a 39.57 to reserve her spot on the medal podium. In true form, Britain’s Christina Victor defended her honor as one of the top sprinters in the 65-69 age group, crashing the pads with a 37.93.
Moira Parks of Peru escaped with a narrow victory in the 60-64 age division, finishing with a 34.27 to better Lola Baalibuena Esparza’s mark by 0.09. Italy’s Carola Castelli claimed her victory by a wider margin, clocking in at 32.21 to earn gold by nearly a second. Her compatriot, Franca Bosisio, dropped an equally impressive race, seizing the 50-54 win with a 30.05.
Members of Michelle Ware’s heat chased her to no avail, as she sprinted to a 30.12 to cinch a decisive win in the 45-49 age category. Russia’s Ekaterina Yudina was the first woman of the night under :30, as she went on to win the 40-44 age bracket with a 29.46.
Singapore reemerged on the scene through Cindy Ong, whose 28.68 landed her at the top of the 35-39 age bracket. Finland’s Suvi Pulkkinen reset the championship record with her 27.75 swim; while Germany’s Jennifer Thater (28.40) rounded out the women’s schedule with a climactic victory in the 25-29 age group.
Men’s 50 Fly
Australian native Bill Walker earned top honors in the 90-94 age group, posting a 1:50.32 to open up the men’s 50 fly. His compatriot, Patrick Galvin, tallied another win for the international powerhouse in the 85-89 division, resetting the championship age group record with a 45.98. Aussie dominance didn’t stop there, as Tony Goodwin claimed a decisive victory in the 80-84 age class, turning in a 44.82.
Age group championship records continued to come crashing down, as Italy’s Joseph Claret (33.17) went a personal best time to make for a historic swim in the 75-59 age bracket.
America’s Lee Childs secured the win in the 70-74 division, posting an impressive time of 31.47. Great Britain went 1-2 in the next class, as Graeme Milne and Steve Braine churned out times of 30.51 and 31.41, respectively.
Hugo Bregman of the Netherlands posted the only sub-30 time of the 60-64 division, using his strong underwaters and fast tempo to arrive at a 28.42. Fred Schuster used a similar method to cinch the 55-59 win, cranking out a 28.24 for the victory.
Britain’s Mike Hodgson broke 27.00 in a climactic sprint to the finish, clocking in at 26.95 to cinch the win in the 50-54 division.
In one of the most anticipated races of the night, Japan’s Hideaki Hara made history, dropping a 25.26 to reset the 45-49 age group world record, previously owned by Eiji Nomura’s at 25.39.
South Africa’s Mark Kevin Allan impressed with a 25.22 to reset 40-44 age group championship record, continuing to fuel an already historic night.
Russia’s Nikolay Skvortsov gained a healthy lead despite the short nature of the event, stopping the clocks at 24.75 to take the 35-39 age division win.
Hailing from the Ukraine, Viacheslav Semhaikin earned the 30-34 age group gold, clocking in at an impressive 24.89. His time would have been competitive with the 25-29 age group champion, Jack Marriott, whose 24.66 gave Great Britain the last word headed into Day Four.
Dov Nisman’s 3rd gold in 3 starts – 3000 open water, 800 free, and now the 400 IM.
More to come…
He’s on track to 5 or 6 personal (non relay) golds.
Look out!
Eileen ? Mark has made international news as well. Well Done Mark ??
Wonderful Marc Allan congrats from all the family in Cape Town Yippee
Way to go, Bill Laurel, from all your buddies at the U. Of Tennessee Aquatic Center!
Super Congratulations to Lee Childs, finishing first place in the 50 fly!!!!!!!