{"id":265707,"date":"2017-07-12T17:00:07","date_gmt":"2017-07-13T00:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=265707"},"modified":"2017-07-13T11:02:21","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T18:02:21","slug":"fina-world-championships-predictions-mixed-400-medley-relay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/fina-world-championships-predictions-mixed-400-medley-relay\/","title":{"rendered":"FINA World Championships Predictions: Mixed 400 Medley Relay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like the women’s 1500 free<\/a> and\u00a0men’s 800 free<\/a>, the mixed 400 medley relay was also recently added as a new Olympic event<\/a> for 2020. While the event was exciting when it made its debut at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, the intensity and strategy should be ratcheted up to a new level this year in Budapest.<\/p>\n

In Kazan,\u00a0Adam Peaty\u00a0<\/strong>led Great Britian to gold almost single-handedly, splitting 57.98 to put the Brits well in front, and\u00a0Siobhan-Marie O’Connor\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Fran Halsall<\/strong> held on from there. But it’s tough to see that strategy paying off again with Halsall retired and Britain’s male backstrokers struggling.<\/p>\n

In the 2015 final, seven out of eight teams went with male swimmers on the backstroke and breaststroke legs, followed by females on the fly and free legs. But this time around, coaches might be more willing to buck conventional wisdom, particularly if they are looking for creative solutions to dealing with Peaty’s dominance in men’s breaststroke.<\/p>\n

Different countries will employ different strategies, but the general goal is this: Find your four swimmers whose aggregate times add up to the fastest. Of course, with two women and two men on each team, that’s much easier said than done.<\/p>\n

Read below to see what\u00a0Swimming World’s\u00a0<\/em>trio of experts think will happen in\u00a0Budapest.\u00a0David Rieder<\/strong>,\u00a0John Lohn<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Andy Ross<\/strong>\u00a0will each offer their predictions for\u00a0who will finish on the podium.<\/p>\n

Mixed Medley Relay<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Current Records:<\/h3>\n

World Record:<\/strong>\u00a0Great Britain — Walker-Hebborn, Peaty, O’Connor, Halsall (2015) — 3:41.71
\nChampionship Record:<\/strong> Great Britain — Walker-Hebborn, Peaty, O’Connor, Halsall (2015) — 3:41.71
\nAmerican Record:<\/strong>\u00a0Murphy, Cordes,\u00a0Stewart, Neal (2015) — 3:42.33
\n2015 World Champion:<\/strong> Great Britain — Walker-Hebborn, Peaty, O’Connor, Halsall (2015) — 3:41.71<\/p>\n

Swimming World Predictions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

David Rieder’s Picks:<\/h3>\n

Gold:<\/strong>\u00a0United States
\nSilver<\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0Great Britain
\nBronze:<\/strong>\u00a0Australia<\/p>\n

John Lohn’s Picks:<\/h3>\n

Gold:<\/strong>\u00a0United States
\nSilver<\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0Great Britain
\nBronze:<\/strong>\u00a0China<\/p>\n

Andy Ross’ Picks:<\/h3>\n

Gold<\/strong>:<\/strong>\u00a0China
\nSilver:<\/strong>\u00a0United States
\nBronze:<\/strong>\u00a0Great Britain<\/p>\n

Previous\u00a0Events<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Day One:<\/h3>\n