Sun Yang On Track for 400/800/1500 Sweep

FINA World Championships editorial coverage is proudly sponsored by SpeedoUSA. For all the latest coverage, check out our event coverage page.

BARCELONA, Spain, August 3. CHINA’s Sun Yang, the world-record holder in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle, posted an easy speed swim this morning in prelims as he looks to join Grant Hackett as the only men to ever sweep the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyles in a single FINA World Championships.

Sun raced his way to 14:54.65 this morning to top qualifying. That’s well off his world-leading time of 14:48.10 from Chinese Nationals earlier this year, but did what it needed to do and that is put him in the center lane during the finale tomorrow night.

Should Sun capture the title it would be his fifth world championship crown after busting onto the international scene with a bronze-medal in the 1500 free at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. He already has three medals this week with wins in the 400 and 800 freestyle as well as bronze in the 800-meter free relay almost completely thanks to his epic 1:43 anchor leg.

Canada’s Ryan Cochrane turned in a 14:55.15 to take the second seed heading into the finale. He’s going to need a career swim to slay the dragon that is Sun Yang, but if he accomplishes it, it would be his first win in the event after a pair of silvers in 2009 and 2011 so far.

USA’s Connor Jaeger posted a 14:56.62 for third, and has a chance at his second international medal after picking up his first with a bronze-winning effort in the 400 free earlier this week. Jaeger has been a revelation for Team USA, bursting onto the scene last year to make the Olympics. When all is said and done, he’s still a relative newcomer to the distance freestyle.

Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri (14:57.15), Faroes Island’s Pal Joensen (14:57.76), Australia’s Jordan Harrison (14:58.62), USA’s Michael McBroom (14:59.73) and Great Britain’s Daniel Fogg (15:00.48) also made their way into the championship finale.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x