5 Men To Watch At World Junior Swimming Championships

Commentary by Jeff Commings, Swimming World Senior Writer

The 2013 world junior swimming championships saw Americans Andrew Seliskar and Gunnar Bentz make big breakthroughs, while Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania continued her winning ways among her peers. It was also a major introduction for Australia’s Mack Horton to the international racing ranks, while several others got a taste of swimming in a big meet before representing their nations at the “senior” world championships this year.

In this pre-Olympic year, who will be the standout swimmers to watch in Singapore at this year’s world junior swimming championships? Now that the psych sheets have been released, we officially know who is swimming in the meet, and what events could be highlight races to follow.

Below, we present five of the top men to follow through the meet, in alphabetical order.

Brandonn Almeida, Brazil

Almeida is participating in his second world junior championships, and will find himself on the podium in multiple events after missing the finals in 2013. He had a very good showing at the Pan American Games last month, winning a gold medal in the 400 IM and bronze in the 1500 freestyle. He is the heavy favorite in both events, especially in the 1500 free. His 4:14.47 in the 400 IM is not listed as the world junior record, possibly because it was done so recently that it has not yet been ratified. But look for American Sean Grieshop to keep Almeida on his game in the 400 IM. Almeida could be one of the most successful swimmers in the meet if he can capture a third gold in the 800 free. Though he could have gained tons of experience if he had competed in the world championships in Kazan earlier this month, Almeida skipped it to be in better shape for a big meet in Singapore.

Michael Andrew, USA

This is Michael Andrew’s moment. The world junior championships marks his first major international meet after many years of excelling in American pools. He’s got a robust racing schedule in Singapore, with eight events on his docket, not including relays. His best races might be the 100 breast and 200 IM, where he has the opportunity to add “world junior record” to the list of records he’s broken in his young career. Breaking 2:00 in the 200 IM will be a major step forward for the 16-year-old, as will breaking 1:00 in the 100 breast. He’s got more golden opportunities in the 100 back and 100 fly, with the 50s being wild card races. Lifetime bests come easy for Andrew, but we’ll see how he performs on the world stage with competition coming from all lanes in the final.

Kyle Chalmers, Australia

Chalmers has been one of Australia’s most promising sprinters, and he got the opportunity to represent his country at the world championships earlier this month on relays. Next week, he’ll get the chance to swim individual events and make a case that he’s just getting started in his quest to take over the mantel of Australia’s next top sprinter. Watch for him in the 50 and 100 freestyles, and if he can break Matheus Santana’s world junior record of 48.25, it will put him in a good place for next spring’s Olympic Trials as one of the top four for the 400 free relay. Australia is looking for a strong 50 freestyler as well, and Chalmers is primed to take that position as well. Michael Andrew and Great Britain’s Thomas Fannon are seeded right behind Chalmers in the 50 free, where anything can happen.

Anton Chupkov, Russia

Chupkov had a great world championships, placing seventh in the 200 breast with a 2:09.96 and breaking the world junior record in semifinals with a 2:09.64 to earn that place in the final. Chupkov had a very large Russian fan base pushing him in Kazan two weeks ago; will he be able to swim as fast with a much quieter crowd? He’s the prohibitive favorite in the 200 breast, but he’s got rising star Reece Whitley of the United States primed for gold if Chupkov isn’t on his game. Chupkov might sweep the breaststrokes, but he might have to go under 1:00 to beat Michael Andrew and others in the 100 breast. As usual, the 50 breast is a toss-up, and Chupkov might not have the raw speed to challenge there.

Luke Greenbank, Great Britain

Greenbank was stellar at the first European Games earlier this month, breaking the world junior record in the 200 back with a 1:56.89. Li Guangyuan was the previous record holder, and he got it back at the world championships with a 1:56.79. Greenback has had almost two months at home to refine some details and get in another solid block of training, so we’ll see if he can reclaim the record. (The psych sheet does not list Li’s 1:56.79 as the new world junior record likely because FINA has not yet ratified it.) If Greenbank can swim faster in Singapore, he’ll be another top British swimmer who is helping that country in its return to the top of the swimming ranks just in time for the Olympic Games.

Tomorrow: The top five ladies to watch at the 2015 world junior championships.