World University Games, Day 6 Finals: Leah Shackley Claims Third Individual Gold; Aleksandr Stepanov Wins Second Distance Title
The star of the swimming portion of the World University Games has been Leah Shackley, a 19-year-old from Bedford, Pa., and NC State University. On night six, Shackley captured her third individual gold medal of the competition and fourth gold medal as she charged to gold in the 50 backstroke.
Additionally, neutral athlete Aleksandr Stepanov pulled away from the field in the men’s 800 freestyle after previously earning gold in the 1500 free while Italy’s Gianmarco Sansome came in first in the men’s 100 butterfly and American Cavan Gormsen came from behind for a win in the women’s 200 free. Other finals held Tuesday were the women’s 200 IM, men’s 50 breaststroke and men’s 800 free relay.
Men’s 100 Butterfly Final
Italy has now swept gold medals in the men’s sprint butterfly events. Giamarco Sansome stuck with the field in the early going and blasted ahead on the way home, his split of 27.31 eclipsing anyone else in the field by almost three tenths. He touched in 51.40 for gold. Previously, Simone Stefani won gold for the country in the 50 fly, so Sansome’s gold is the second for his country at this meet.
Germany’s Bjorn Kammann also had a strong finishing length to earn silver in 51.70 while Uzbekistan’s Eldorbek Usmonov claimed bronze in 51.84. Usmonov had the lead at the halfway point and held tough to return to the podium after previously taking silver in the 50 fly. Italy’s Michele Busa, the top seed entering the final, ended up fourth in 52.06.
Women’s 200 Freestyle Final
Cavan Gormsen was nowhere close to the field at the halfway point. She was almost two seconds behind the leader, U.S. teammate Isabel Ivey, and four tenths behind the seventh-place swimmer. But the University of Virginia standout is known for her finishing speed; the day before, Gormsen was sixth at the halfway point in her semifinal heat before pulling away to take the top seed. In the final, she did it again.
Gormsen turned on the jets on the third length, moving up to fourth place. Her 29.13 split coming home once again lapped the field, and she pulled ahead of the two swimmers who had set the pace for most of the race, Ivey and China’s Ai Yanhan. Gormsen touched in 1:57.21, crushing her previous best time of 1:58.04. She actually negative-split the race, going out in 58.61 and returning in 58.60 as she successfully executed a strategy never seen in the 200 free.
Ai touched second in 1:57.55, adding a silver medal to her gold from earlier in the meet in the 100 free. Ivey finished third in 1:57.58, reaching the individual podium for the first time after previously winning four gold medals on relays. Portugal’s Francisca Martins, the silver medalist in the 800 free, just missed with a fourth-place time of 1:57.85.
Men’s 800 Freestyle Final
Aleksandr Stepanov won his second gold in distance freestyle at the World University Games, and just like in the 1500 free earlier in the competition, he had to out-duel a tough Italian competitor. Stepanov, a neutral athlete from Russia, maintained the advantage throughout most of the race, but he could not shake Tomasso Griffante. Griffante was within seven hundredths with five laps remaining and still within a half second entering the final 150 meters.
But in the closing stages of the race, Stepanov picked up his speed while Griffante could not keep up. Stepanov ended up finishing almost four seconds clear of the field, an enormous amount compared to his 12-hundredth margin in the 1500 free. His time was 7:46.51, moving to No. 11 in the world rankings with his swim.
Griffante claimed silver in 7:50.50, while American Ryan Erisman swam in medal position for the final 600 meters of the race before claiming his second bronze medal of the meet. Five days after a podium finish in the 400 free, Erisman went 7:51.74, almost three seconds under his previous best time. Davide Marchello, the bronze medalist in the 1500 free, placed fourth (7:54.73).
Women’s 50 Backstroke Final
For the third time this week, Leah Shackley has claimed individual gold. In the 50 back final, Shackley emerged ahead off the start and never gave back any of her lead. She blasted to the finish in 27.31, clobbering the Games record of 27.66 she set in the semifinals. Shackley’s gold was her third individual win of the week after previously topping the 200 back and 100 butterfly. She also earned silver in the 100 back and gold with her American teammates in the mixed 400 medley relay. The 19-year-old has now broken five individual Games records at the meet.
Kennedy Noble, the American who edged Shackley for gold in the 100 back, took silver here in 27.67. Noble also won silver in the 200-meter race. Bronze went to South Africa’s Olivia Nel in 27.91, breaking the African record of 27.96 she set in the semifinals. All three of the medalists attend and compete for North Carolina State University, giving the Wolfpack the first podium sweep of any school at the Games.
Men’s 200 Backstroke Semifinals
Women’s 200 IM Final
Women’s 100 Breaststroke Semifinals
Men’s 50 Freestyle Semifinals
Men’s 50 Breaststroke Final
Women’s 200 Butterfly Semifinals
Women’s 50 Freestyle Semifinals
Men’s 800 Freestyle Relay Final
