Saturday, October 9, 2021
U.S. Posts World Junior Record, American Record and 10 Medals on Final Night of FINA Swimming World Cup Budapest Leg
Archive photo of Charlotte Hook
The Budapest leg of the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup concluded today, seeing the U.S. finish on top of the total medal table with 18 as well as at the top of the gold medal standings with eight. The top-of-the-table position was spurred on by a 10-medal surge on the day to close the short-course-meter competition.
The highlight of the night came on the last swim of the competition, as the U.S. mixed 4x50-meter medley relay team set a new world junior record by going 1:41.21 to pick up the gold medal. Capturing the medal and record was Quintin McCarty (Pikes Peak Aquatics), Zhier Fan (Metroplex Aquatics), Charlotte Hook (TAC Titans) and Kristina Paelge (Indiana Swim Club). The win makes the U.S. three-for-four on relay golds across their time at the Budapest and Berlin legs of the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup.
A world-junior-record setting relay performance wasn’t the only U.S. headline on the closing night, as the team rallied off three-consecutive golds during the evening’s finals. The first gold on the day came from Cavan Gormsen (Long Island Aquatic Club), whose 8:16.76 in the 800m freestyle was nearly three seconds ahead of the field. The gold completes an 800m freestyle sweep for Gormsen across the Berlin and Budapest legs of the competition and leaves her with four medals (two gold and two silver) during her time in Europe.
Following Gormsen was a gold from U.S. National Team member Linnea Mack (Team Elite), who went 56.77 in the 100m butterfly to finish first by just four hundredths. The win is the first gold of Mack’s FINA Swimming World Cup career and gives her the second medal, following yesterday’s bronze in the 100m backstroke, of her time in Budapest.
Rounding out the U.S. three-peat was Tom Shields (California Aquatics), who completed the week’s butterfly sweep by winning today’s 50m event in an American-record time of 21.99. Shields was the only swimmer in the final to go sub-:22 and bested the Olympian talents of Kristof Milak (HUN), Vladimir Morozov (RUS) and Bradley Tandy (RSA). Shields would later go on to win gold in the 100m backstroke in 50.50 as well. With his four-medal haul this weekend, Shields now has 22 gold and 77 total medals on his career in FINA Swimming World Cup competitions.
The women’s 50m breaststroke featured a U.S. duo standing the podium, as Seward Tsunami Swim Club’s Lydia Jacoby went 29.97 and University of Denver Hilltoppers’s Emma Weber went 30.73 to claim silver and bronze, respectively.
YMCA Westside Silver Fins’s Kennedy Noble broke into the medal column with a bronze in today’s 200m backstroke. Her time of 2:05.33 gives her a new personal best and was nearly half a second faster than her performance in Berlin last weekend.
Daniel Diehl, of YMCA of Cumberland, added a bronze of his own by way of the 100m backstroke, stopping the clock in 52.27 to secure his first individual podium spot of the competition. Shortly following Diehl’s medal-clinching swim was another bronze from Fan (Metroplex Aquatics) in the 200m breaststroke, which also gave the young athlete the first individual medal of his two-week stint in Europe.
Additional U.S. performances in today’s finals include:
• Leah Hayes (Fox Valley Park District Riptides): 4th, 200m I.M., 2:09.06
• Charlotte Hook (TAC Titans): 4th, 100m butterfly, 57.73
• Linnea Mack (Team Elite): 4th, 100m freestyle, 52.68
• Quintin McCarty (Pikes Peak Aquatics): 4th, 100m backstroke, 52.29
• Hayden Miller (Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club): 4th, 800m freestyle, 8:26.19
• JoJo Ramey (Fishers Area Swimming Tigers): 4th, 200m backstroke, 2:05.80
• Zoe Zixon (NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc): 5th, 200m I.M., 2:10.22
• Kristina Paegle (Indiana Swim Club): 5th, 100m freestyle 53.83
• Josh Parent (Bluefish Swim Club): 5th, 400m I.M.4:20.05
• Nick Simons (Sandpipers Of Nevada): 5th, 100m backstroke, 52.94
• Spencer Aurnou-Rhees (New Albany Aquatic Club): 6th, 400m I.M., 4:21.01
• Caleb Maldari (Bluefish Swim Club): 6th, 100m backstroke, 53.02
• Zoe Skirboll (Racer X Aquatics): 6th, 50m breaststroke, 31.17
• Michael Cotter (TAC Titans): 7th, 200m freestyle, 1:46.05
• Erin Gemmell (Nation’s Capital Swim Club): 7th, 800m freestyle, 8:31.22
• Caleb Maldari (Bluefish Swim Club): 7th, 400m I.M., 4:21.06
• Claire Tuggle (Santa Maria Swim Club): 7th, 100m freestyle, 54.68
• Paige Kuwata (Sandpipers Of Nevada): 8th, 800m freestyle, 8:38.54
• Brice Barrieault (Sandpipers Of Nevada): 17th, 400m I.M., 4:46.14
The Budapest leg of the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup concluded today, seeing the U.S. finish on top of the total medal table with 18 as well as at the top of the gold medal standings with eight. The top-of-the-table position was spurred on by a 10-medal surge on the day to close the short-course-meter competition.
The highlight of the night came on the last swim of the competition, as the U.S. mixed 4x50-meter medley relay team set a new world junior record by going 1:41.21 to pick up the gold medal. Capturing the medal and record was Quintin McCarty (Pikes Peak Aquatics), Zhier Fan (Metroplex Aquatics), Charlotte Hook (TAC Titans) and Kristina Paelge (Indiana Swim Club). The win makes the U.S. three-for-four on relay golds across their time at the Budapest and Berlin legs of the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup.
A world-junior-record setting relay performance wasn’t the only U.S. headline on the closing night, as the team rallied off three-consecutive golds during the evening’s finals. The first gold on the day came from Cavan Gormsen (Long Island Aquatic Club), whose 8:16.76 in the 800m freestyle was nearly three seconds ahead of the field. The gold completes an 800m freestyle sweep for Gormsen across the Berlin and Budapest legs of the competition and leaves her with four medals (two gold and two silver) during her time in Europe.
Following Gormsen was a gold from U.S. National Team member Linnea Mack (Team Elite), who went 56.77 in the 100m butterfly to finish first by just four hundredths. The win is the first gold of Mack’s FINA Swimming World Cup career and gives her the second medal, following yesterday’s bronze in the 100m backstroke, of her time in Budapest.
Rounding out the U.S. three-peat was Tom Shields (California Aquatics), who completed the week’s butterfly sweep by winning today’s 50m event in an American-record time of 21.99. Shields was the only swimmer in the final to go sub-:22 and bested the Olympian talents of Kristof Milak (HUN), Vladimir Morozov (RUS) and Bradley Tandy (RSA). Shields would later go on to win gold in the 100m backstroke in 50.50 as well. With his four-medal haul this weekend, Shields now has 22 gold and 77 total medals on his career in FINA Swimming World Cup competitions.
The women’s 50m breaststroke featured a U.S. duo standing the podium, as Seward Tsunami Swim Club’s Lydia Jacoby went 29.97 and University of Denver Hilltoppers’s Emma Weber went 30.73 to claim silver and bronze, respectively.
YMCA Westside Silver Fins’s Kennedy Noble broke into the medal column with a bronze in today’s 200m backstroke. Her time of 2:05.33 gives her a new personal best and was nearly half a second faster than her performance in Berlin last weekend.
Daniel Diehl, of YMCA of Cumberland, added a bronze of his own by way of the 100m backstroke, stopping the clock in 52.27 to secure his first individual podium spot of the competition. Shortly following Diehl’s medal-clinching swim was another bronze from Fan (Metroplex Aquatics) in the 200m breaststroke, which also gave the young athlete the first individual medal of his two-week stint in Europe.
Additional U.S. performances in today’s finals include:
• Leah Hayes (Fox Valley Park District Riptides): 4th, 200m I.M., 2:09.06
• Charlotte Hook (TAC Titans): 4th, 100m butterfly, 57.73
• Linnea Mack (Team Elite): 4th, 100m freestyle, 52.68
• Quintin McCarty (Pikes Peak Aquatics): 4th, 100m backstroke, 52.29
• Hayden Miller (Cypress Fairbanks Swim Club): 4th, 800m freestyle, 8:26.19
• JoJo Ramey (Fishers Area Swimming Tigers): 4th, 200m backstroke, 2:05.80
• Zoe Zixon (NOVA of Virginia Aquatics, Inc): 5th, 200m I.M., 2:10.22
• Kristina Paegle (Indiana Swim Club): 5th, 100m freestyle 53.83
• Josh Parent (Bluefish Swim Club): 5th, 400m I.M.4:20.05
• Nick Simons (Sandpipers Of Nevada): 5th, 100m backstroke, 52.94
• Spencer Aurnou-Rhees (New Albany Aquatic Club): 6th, 400m I.M., 4:21.01
• Caleb Maldari (Bluefish Swim Club): 6th, 100m backstroke, 53.02
• Zoe Skirboll (Racer X Aquatics): 6th, 50m breaststroke, 31.17
• Michael Cotter (TAC Titans): 7th, 200m freestyle, 1:46.05
• Erin Gemmell (Nation’s Capital Swim Club): 7th, 800m freestyle, 8:31.22
• Caleb Maldari (Bluefish Swim Club): 7th, 400m I.M., 4:21.06
• Claire Tuggle (Santa Maria Swim Club): 7th, 100m freestyle, 54.68
• Paige Kuwata (Sandpipers Of Nevada): 8th, 800m freestyle, 8:38.54
• Brice Barrieault (Sandpipers Of Nevada): 17th, 400m I.M., 4:46.14
For more on the Budapest leg of the 2021 FINA Swimming World Cup, click here.