Six different nations qualify first in six events

For the first time in the competition the qualifying honours for the six events this morning were spread between six different nations, as the action continued in the Hamdan Sports Complex in the Day 4 heats of the 4th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships.

As has been the case on all three days of competition the first race of the morning saw a Championships record fall as New Zealand’s Gabrielle Fa’Amausili finished the girls 50m backstroke in 28.14 to qualify fastest for the semi finals tonight.

The team from New Zealand has been fairly quiet so far in this event, with only one other appearance in a semi final to date so Fa’Amausili will carry the hopes of a nation as she attempts to qualify for the final.

Iryna Glavynk of Ukraine qualified second, with Russia’s Daria Ustinova in third. Ustinova already has a gold from the 100m backstroke and a bronze from the 200m backstroke and will be looking to add a  third medal to her collection in tomorrow’s final.

South Africa also recorded its first fastest qualification time to date with Ryan Coetzee in the boys 50m butterfly finishing in 23.81. Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago also made it through to the semis. Carter just missed a medal in the 100m backstroke final, but will have two more chances when he appears in both the 50m butterfly and 50m backstroke finals tonight.

Australia maintained its form as the leading gold medal winning nation, posting the top two qualifying times in the girls 400m freestyle. Remy Fairweather finished in 4:09.75, ahead of teammate and 800m gold medallist Alanna Bowles. Fairweather is favourite for the final, having posted times almost two seconds faster than anyone else in the field prior to the Championships.

Russia dominated the heats yesterday, and while they could not repeat that performance this morning,  they still recorded the top two qualifying times for the boys 200m breaststroke. Mikhail Dorinov swam 2:13.40, with countryman Aleksandr Palatov second in 2:13.43. Ippei Watanabe of Japan qualified third.

Ruta Meiluttyte of Lithuania is one of the hardest working swimmers in this meet, contesting nine events. So far she has collected one gold and two silvers, and will be hoping to add to that after qualifying fastest for the girls 200m individual medley final in 2:15.10. Japan’s Emu Higuchi recorded the second best time, ahead of 400m IM gold medallist Ella Eastin of the US.

In the final heat of the program Great Britain took the honours in the boys 4x200m freestyle relay with a new Championship Record time of 7:19.93. Great Britain has yet to win gold, and face some tough opposition tonight from the US, Canada and Australia. The race is set to see another Mack Horton/ James Guy duel, so should be one of the highlights of the evening.

Nearly 800 swimmers from 91 nations have gathered in Dubai to contest the Championships which is for the top juniors in the world, girls aged 14-17 and boys aged 15-18, making this the largest World Junior Swimming Championships since its inception in 2006. 

The Championships run from 26 – 31 August, with heats each day from 10am – 1.00pm, and semi finals and finals each night from 6-8.30pm. Tickets are 20dhs per day or 80dhs for the week, and are available at the door during the event. The Hamdan Sports Complex is on Emirates Road (previously Dubai Bypass Road).

A free bus service operates each day from the Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Mall for the morning and evening sessions. All details are on the event facebook page.