World Championships, Day Two Finals: Nic Fink Wins 100 Breast Ahead Of Nicolo Martinenghi; Adam Peaty Returns To Podium

Nic Fink: Andrea Masini/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

World Championships, Day Two Finals: Nic Fink Wins 100m Breaststroke Gold Ahead Of Nicolo Martinenghi; Adam Peaty Returns To Podium

Nic Fink won the 100m breaststroke gold to add the world long-course title to his short-course crown in Doha.

The USA athlete had a huge start, coming up well in front, to lead throughout despite the attack of Adam Peaty, to take the title in 58.57 and claim his country’s first gold of the World Championships.

Nicolo Martinenghi came from fifth at halfway to take second in 58.84 following the fastest second 50 of 31.41 with Peaty clinching bronze in 59.19 as he returned to the world long-course podium for the first time since Gwangju 2019.

Fink now has a medal of each colour at the last three worlds with silver in Fukuoka last year in a three-way tie with Arno Kamminga and Martinenghi which followed bronze at Budapest 2022.

Splits:

26.98/31.59: Fink

27.53/31.41: Martinenghi

27.08/32.02: Peaty

Nic Fink: photo courtesy: Andrea Masini/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

Fink said:

“It’s definitely crazy getting the first worlds gold in 100m breaststroke at the age of 30.

“The fact I was able to accomplish so much in my career and I’m still experiencing new things is being really fun right now.

“To keep experiencing firsts at this point of my career, that’s really cool.

“The race has been super awesome, it’s been a super fun ride.

“So many fast names are here in breaststroke, that group is gearing so fast here, and I’m just happy I put my hands on the wall first.”

“I had goals here in Doha and that was one, to win this one. I’m really happy with my time, it’s great.”

Fink will be reunited with the likes of Peaty and Martinenghi in the 50m in which he won the world title at Budapest 2022 followed by silver in 2023.

He added:

“My next goal will be to win the 50m breaststroke too.

“I’ve got a great sports staff, my team, my wife, my family, they all support me and it makes it a whole lot easier. It’s not just like technical help you get, it’s everything outside the water, too.

“When you get to swim in a quality race like this and you win gold, you know trials are going to seem a lot less stressful.”

Nicolo Martinenghi: photo courtesy: Giorgio Perottino / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Martinenghi won gold in Budapest two years ago before straight silvers in Fukuoka and Doha.

The Italian bronze medallist said:

“It was an insane race, a very strange one.

“It’s my third (100m breaststroke) medal in three different World Championships, so I can’t be happier than now.

“It was tough for me last year, so I’m really proud of myself and my team. It was a good race.

“Swimming is a continuous race against yourself and against time. Sometimes it’s tough, but it’s what we do, what we love doing. So, I want to improve myself a little bit every day.”

Although defending champion Qin Haiyang bypassed Doha, it was a quality field including all the Tokyo medallists.

Martinenghi added:

“It’s always a pleasure to compete against the best. I saw Nic next to me and I tried to catch him.

“We (Martinenghi and his team) are going in the right way, and we will continue to push.

“I don’t know how close I was to winning today, but I have a lot of work to do. I have to focus on myself.”

Peaty had never been beaten in an individual final over 50 or 100m at worlds and won the double at Kazan 2015, Budapest 2017 and Gwangju 2019, where he set his world record of 56.88.

However, the 29-year-old missed Budapest 2022 because of a foot injury and withdrew from the British trials for Fukuoka last year to focus on his mental health.

Nicolo’ Martinenghi of Italy, silver, Nic Fink of United States of America, gold, Adam Peaty of Great Britain: photo courtesy: A.Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

Peaty told Swimming World last year that he had considered quitting “a thousand times,” such was the severity of his desolation and loneliness, in early 2023.

He qualified fastest in 58.60 – his best time since Tokyo gold – and of his bronze, he said:

“It’s bittersweet because we didn’t come here for medals, I wasn’t really too fussed about aiming for those medals here because that’s just not the target, we’ve come off a hard bank of work.

“Last night gave me a little glimmer of hope that I could get faster even today, and maybe I would have if I’d executed those skills. I’m disappointed in that, but I have also got to make sure I don’t wear it, because it has been a long time since I’ve been in this.

“You’ve got to get that balance right. My happiness now in the sport comes from knowing I couldn’t have done anything more, and tonight I knew I could have done something more.

“But I said out there that if I’d got what I wanted tonight and maybe it would have equalled the best possible performance I could have done here, maybe that would have been just as dangerous as not getting what I wanted, because this is going to push me, to make sure we’re executing those skills perfectly.”

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