Dressel Earns Second Gold Medal on FINA Day 4
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving
Both Dressel and Szilagyi earned spots in finals on Thursday after Day 4 Performances
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Five Gators raced on Day 4 of the FINA World Championships, with Caeleb Dressel (USA) winning his second gold medal of the week.
Two swimmers earned their way into a final on Thursday after their Day 4 performances, with Dressel winning his 100m free semi-final and Liliana Szilagyi(Hungary) finishing seventh overall in the 200m fly.
Team USA, with Dressel swimming the fly, set a world record in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, posting a time of 3:38.56. This time crushed the former record, besting it by over a second and a half. Dressel swam a 49.9 split in his 100m fly to help USA cruise to the gold medal. The split was only the second to ever have broken under 50 seconds, the record being set by Michael Phelps.
The rising senior will be swimming for another medal on Thursday after his performance in the 100m free preliminary and semi-final rounds. Dressel won his semi-final heat with a 47.66 and is the overall second seed going into tomorrow's final.
Dressel finished third overall in the preliminary round, posting a time of 48.26. He shaved a half second off his prelim time in the semi-final, pushing him into the coveted final on Thursday. It will be Dressel's fourth final of the FINA World Championships, as he raced in the 4x100m free relay, 50m fly finals and 4x100m mixed medley relay earlier this week.
Szilagyi will also appear in Thursday's finals session after finishing seventh overall in the 200m fly. The rising sophomore posted a time of 2:07.67 in the heat to earn the spot, just besting her preliminary time of 2:07.73.
Mark Szaranek (GBR) was the third Gator to make a semi-final on Wednesday, doing so after placing 13th in the 200m IM preliminary swim. The rising senior posted a time of 1:59.68 to put himself in heat 2 of the semi-final. He shaved almost an entire second off his prelim time in the semi-final, swimming a 1:58.80 to put him 11th overall.
Two other Gators were in action on Wednesday, with Enzo Martinez-Scarpe (Uruguay) racing in the 100m free and alum Carlos Omana (Venezuela) competing in the 200m IM. Martinez-Scarpe finished 63rd overall in the race, posting a time of 51.39, while Omana finished 37th with a time of 2:06.29.
Day 5 prelims start Thursday, July 26 at 3:30 a.m. EST with the women's 100m free. Start lists can be found here and streaming can be found here.
Final Times:
Caeleb Dressel – 4x100m mixed medley relay – 3:38.56*^ (49.9 split)
*World Record
^Denotes Gold Medal
Semi-Final Times:
Caeleb Dressel – men's 100m free – 47.66*
Liliana Szilagyi – women's 200m fly – 2:07.67*
Mark Szaranek – men's 200m IM – 1:58.80
*Advances to final round on Thursday
Preliminary Times:
Caeleb Dressel – men's 100m free – 48.26 (3rd place)*
Enzo Martinez-Scarpe – men's 100m free – 51.39 (63rd place)
Liliana Szilagyi – women's 200m fly – 2:07.73 (5th place)*
Mark Szaranek – men's 200m IM – 1:59.68 (13th place)*
Carlos Omana – men's 200m IM – 2:06.29 (37th place)
*Advances to semi-final round
Thursday, July 27 Schedule:
Morning session (prelims): women's 100m free, men's 200m back, men's 200m breast, women's 200m breast, women's 4x200m free relay
Afternoon session: women's 4x200m free relay (final), men's 100m free (final), women's 50m back (final), men's 200m IM (final), women's 200m fly (final), women's 100m free (semis), men's 200m back (semis), men's 200m breast (semis), women's 200m breast (semis)
