FINA World Junior Swimming Championships 2022: Indian Contingent, Results

Diogo Ribeiro of Portugal set a new junior world record of 22.96 in the boys’ 50 butterfly final at the 2022 World Junior Swimming Championships. With that time, he surpassed Andrei Minakov’s WJR of 23.05 from back in 2020 and became the first junior to break the 23-second barrier in the event. Ksawery Masiuk of Poland set a new championship record in the 50m backstroke, finishing in 24.44 seconds. 

How did the Indian Swimmers fare at the championships?

Apeksha Fernandes became the first Indian female swimmer to reach the final of the World Junior Swimming Championships. She clocked 2:19.14 in the women’s 200m Butterfly to finish eighth. She reached the semi-final and finished 10th in the 100m Butterfly, clocking 1:02.37. This is presently the best Indian time by a woman on the FINA rankings list. Ridhima Veerendra Kumar qualified for the 50m Backstroke semi-final with a timing of 30.30 secs in her heats. However, she clocked 30.47 in the semis to end her campaign at the Junior Worlds. Aneesh S Gowda (15:54.27) and Aryan Nehra (15:58.28) secured 10th and 12th place in the men’s 1500m Freestyle. This was the second personal best (PB) for Aneesh after he clocked a PB in 400m freestyle. Sambhav Rao (52.79) and Vedaant Madhavan (52.83) clocked PB to finish  36th and 37th, respectively, out of 93 competitors in the men’s 100m Freestyle heats.

FINA World Junior Swimming Championships 2022: Medal Standings