Six Top Performances From The First Four Days At The Swimming World Championships

The first four days of swimming at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships have lived up to the hype.

And we’ve still got four more days to go.

Already, Americans Kate Douglass, Katie Ledecky and Ryan Murphy have claimed gold medals in the pool in Fukuoka, Japan, while Team USA’s 17 total medals are nearly double the number of the next best country.

With several big races still to come, here’s a look at six top Team USA performances so far.

Before diving into the pool, Katie Grimes made history in the open waters of Hakata Bay. In a thrilling finish to a two-hour race, the 17-year-old from Las Vegas out-touched the past two Olympic champions by the smallest of margins to finish third in the open-water 10K on July 15, in the process becoming the first athlete in any sport to officially qualify for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team.

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be her second Games, after the 15-year-old Grimes was the youngest member of the entire 2020 U.S. Olympic Team. The teen, who won a pair of silver medals in the pool at last year’s world championships, also finished eighth in the women’s 1,500 freestyle on Tuesday and has the 400 IM coming up with a Sunday final.

The cameras in Fukuoka had to zoom out to capture the end of the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle on Tuesday. That happens when Katie Ledecky is racing. The 26-year-old dominated her signature event once again, winning by an amazing 17 seconds. Ledecky’s time was the third fastest ever, which means the Maryland native now owns the 16 fastest times in the event’s history.

In winning, Ledecky also tied Michael Phelps’ record of 15 individual world titles while also becoming the first woman to win 20 total world titles. In addition, Ledecky is the first swimmer to have five world titles in two events — the 800 and 1,500 frees. Ledecky, who won a silver medal in the 400 free earlier this week, will go for a sixth world title in the 800 on Saturday.

Give Ryan Murphy a backstroke event, and chances are he’ll find a way onto the podium. The 28-year-old claimed his 15th world championships medal on Tuesday with a second-half surge in the men’s 100-meter backstroke. U.S. teammate Hunter Armstrong finished third.

The gold was Murphy’s first in the 100 back at the world championships, though he also won the event at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Murphy added a bronze medal in the mixed 4x100-meter medley on Wednesday. The six-time Olympic medalist will be back in the pool for his other specialty, the 200 back, with finals set for Friday. He is the reigning world champ in the event. 

Those long hours in the pool back in Charlottesville, Virginia, paid off. University of Virginia teammates Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh closed ranks to finish 1-2 in the women’s 200-meter IM on Monday, with Douglass earning the U.S. its first gold medal in the pool in Fukuoka. The pair, who helped the Cavaliers win the last three NCAA titles, also medaled in the event at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, with Walsh finishing second and Douglass third.

They battled throughout Monday’s race, with reigning world champ Walsh leading the first two laps before the recently graduated Douglass surged forward in the breaststroke leg and sealed it in the freestyle lap. Two of the brightest young stars in the sport, Walsh goes for another medal in the 400 IM on Sunday, while the multi-talented Douglass has already claimed two more medals in relays and still has to race individually in the 100 free and 200 breast (both finals Friday).

No one wanted the bronze medal in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke on Monday. Instead, three swimmers — including American Nic Fink — touched the wall at the exact same time to all secure silvers. China’s Qin Haiyang took gold, with Fink, Italy’s Nicolò Martinenghi and the Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga all coming in just over a second behind at 58.72 seconds. The result improved upon the bronze medal Fink won in the event last year.

The 30-year-old Fink added a second silver medal, again finishing behind Qin, in the 50 free on Wednesday. In addition to his individual medals, Fink also earned a bronze medal in the mixed 4x100-meter medley on Wednesday along with Ryan Murphy, Torri Huske and Kate Douglass.

A move to Arizona continues to pay off for Regan Smith. The 21-year-old Minnesotan, already an Olympic medalist and four-time world champ, is enjoying a strong season after turning pro and teaming up with coach Bob Bowman in the Phoenix area. And in one of the most anticipated finals in Fukuoka so far, Smith battled with Australia’s Kaylee McKeown until the final moments of the women’s 100-meter backstroke Tuesday before McKeown — the world record holder and defending Olympic champ — just beat Smith to the wall.

Fellow American Katharine Berkoff took the bronze medal. Though Smith fell short of defending her world title in the 100 back, she qualified for worlds in four individual events and broke the American record in the 50 back semifinals Wednesday.