Eleven days after Finswimming showed its great olympic potential at The World Games in Wroclaw (Poland), the CMAS’ underwater sport discipline comes back in the lanes and turns spotlights on its own future, with the World Junior Championships, held in Tomsk (Russia) from 2 to 5 of August. Involving 26 federations and 231 athletes, World Junior Championhisps represent a key time to understand wich direction Finswimming can take in the next years.
Start
From Wroclaw to Tomsk, the athlete who, over all, will link the two events will be 15 years old russian Ekaterina Mikhaylushkina: at the World Games she won one individual gold (100 surface) and one silver (200 surface), adding the gold won with the 4×100 relay. In Tomsk she will compete in the first event of the Championshisp, the 100 surface, where she claims the junior world record (38″55) and the best entering time (38″70 in season). Mikhaylushkina who claims best season time even on 200 surface in 1’28″97, even if she swam faster at the European Senior Championships in Wroclaw, gaining silver medal and setting world junior record in 1’26″39, in the 50 surface (17″58) and in 50 apnea (16″82). Second best entry time in 100 and 200 is for 15 years old ukrainian Yelyzaveta Vakareva (40″32 e 1’30″68). Fighting for gold on 200 surface also the german Johanna Shikora, who swam this season in 1’30″80.
First day
In 100 surface men only two athletes can boast times under 37″: 16 years old italian Guglielmo Alicicco (36″77) and 15 years old russian Andrey Avdushkin (36″94). In 100 bi-fins women there are 5 athletes who came with credentials for gold: hungarians Dorothy Hamlin and Anita Szabo (both with 49″63), italian Viola Magoga (49″70), russian Valeriia Andreeva (49″72) and estonian Svetlana Silitsenko (49″90). On 100 bifins men the only one under 44″ is the 17 years old russian Daniil Kolosov (43″89), with his 15 years fellow countryman Aleksey Fedkin with 44″18. In 400 surface women no one can come near the 3’17″50 of 15 years old Schikora (who setted the world junior record last 4 July at the European Senior Championships in 3’17″47, only 0″4 shy from bronze medal), with greek Eleftheria Dionysia Poulopouloua with 3’22″35. The same happens on 400 men, with 16 years old ukrainian Oleksii Zakharov who can claim a 3’00″63 that only hungarian Alex Mozsar can bring near (3’06″90).
Fight
The second day of the Championships will open with 100 immersion women and with two russians with the best entry times: 17 years old Viktoria Partakhashvili (38″88) and 15 years old Sofia Strelets (39″46). In the 100 immersion men there are 5 athletes under the wall of 36″: ukrainian Andrii Poltavets (35″45), czech Jakub Kovarik (35″46), the other ukrainian Vitalii Sushchenko (35″68), russian Alexandr Khudyshkin (35″84) and italian Alicicco (35″98). On 1500 surface women there are two athletes with quite same time: 16 years old turkish Ak Zynep (14’32″35) and 15 years old tunisian Hiba Mahdaoui (14’32″85). On 1500 men is the chinese taipei Po-Han Chen who claims the best entry time in 13’23″00, with german Duncan Gaida secondo in 13’24″30. Two hungarians claim the best times in 200 bifins women: Dorothy Hamlin (1’49″00) and Csenge Stadler (1’49″20). And two russians claims the best times on 200 bi-fins men: Daniil Kolosov (1’39″21) and Aleksey Fedkin (1’39″99). With the time of 1’25” there are 5 athletes with the best entries in 200 surface men: russians Egor Kachmashev and Avdushkin, italians Alicicco and Tommaso Cresci, greek Vasileios Kolipetris. Alicicco who is the faster this season even on 50 surface in 16″35, with south korean Jae Uk Song second in 16″55. Very close times on 50 bi-fins women: season best is for hungarian Anita Szabo (22″36), followed by russian Valeriia Andreeva and italian Magoga (22″88 for both), estonian Silitsenko (22″89) and south korean Min Jeong Kim (22″96). Only two men swam under the 20″ wall in 50 bifins: poland Marcin Lukowicz (19″84) and kazach Yegor Makeshin (19″89). Best time in 400 immersion women is for spanish Elba Cantero Zapata (3’31″76), in 400 immersion men is for french Zugmeyer Colas (3’10″18). Turkish Nazil Su Duru claims best time in new discipline of 400 metres bi-fins (4’06″32), with south korean Min Seo Ryu and ukrainian Anna Kozyr quite far respectively in 4’09″38 and 4’09″40. It happens not the same in 400 bifins men, with 4 athlets on 3”51″: spanish Fernando Garrote Escalante (3’51″30), french Lacan Guillaume (3’51″46), turkish Yigit Kaan Kustemir (3’51″58) and kazach Ratibor Chsherbakov (3’51″82).
Last day
The last day of the Championships will open with the the two 50 apena: in men field, south koreans Gun Young Han and Bo Seong Jang lead the entry times with the same 14″97. Hungarian Lili Hajnacs and Konstantina Dionysopoulou leads the field in 800 surface women (respectively 7’23″30 and 7’23″64), south korean Seong Hyun Jun leads the 800 surface men in 6’53″69, followed by ukrainian Borys Tkalenko (6’54″91) and italian Pietro Alfì (6’58″82). Every day of the World Junior Championships will close with the relays: 4×100 bifins mixed, 4×50 surface mixed, 4×200 surface women and men, 4×100 surface women and man the last day.
