2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Team USA has destroyed the World Record in the women’s 4×100 medley relay with a combined time of 3:50.40 in the final event of the 2019 World Championships. The old record was held by Team USA at 3:51.55, done at the 2017 World Championships.

As it turns out, the decision to swap in Regan Smith on the backstroke leg panned out beautifully for the Americans. The 17-year-old set her second individual WR of the meet, clocking a blazing 57.57 lead-off leg to shave over four-tenths off of Kathleen Baker‘s 100 back WR.

NEW WR SPLITS – 2019

OLD WR SPLITS – 2017

Smith out-split Baker’s lead-off from 2017 by nearly a full second, and while Lilly King was a bit quicker in 2017, tonight Kelsi Dahlia and Manuel out-performed their splits from 2017 to help propel Team USA to the win and the new WR.

Looking at the rest of the field, Smith, King, and Manuel had the best splits of any team in this final. The next-closest lead-off behind Smith was Australia’s Minna Atherton at 59.06, 1.49 seconds back of Smith. For the breaststroke, no other swimmer broke 1:06– it was the Aussies again with Jessica Hansen providing the second-best split at 1:06.08, 1.27 seconds back of King.

And, while Cate Campbell ran down Simone Manuel in the 4×100 mixed medley relay and out-split her on the 4×100 free relay, it was the American Manuel who had the best anchor leg at 51.86. Campbell was also under 52 with a 51.96, helping push the Aussies past Canada.

Maggie Macneil capped off her huge week with a 55.56 fly split on Canada’s relay, the best fly leg of the field. And, despite finishing just sixth in the individual 100 fly at 57.11, Dahlia delivered a very impressive 56.16 split, the second-fastest in the field, improving on her split from 2017.

The American finished in first by a landslide tonight, with Australia touching three seconds back for silver at 3:53.42.