Trio of University of Tennessee Recruits Shine on Day Two of World Junior Championships
When the medals were presented for the mixed 400-meter medley relay at the World Junior Championships on Wednesday, the future looked good for the University of Tennessee. Three future Volunteers stood on the podium in Otopeni, Romania, including Mizuki Hirai of Japan.
As Japan captured the gold medal in the mixed medley relay, Hirai played a critical role. A Paris Olympian and incoming freshman to Knoxville, she had the fastest butterfly split among women in the event, going 56.68. That performance was more than a second faster than any female in the field, with Russia’s Serafima Fokina posting the second-fastest time, a 57.75. Prior to helping Japan to gold, Hirai qualified for the final of the 100 freestyle, behind a semifinal swim of 55.04.
For the United States, it won the silver medal in the mixed medley relay with a pair of Tennessee recruits handling the middle legs. Incoming freshman Gabe Nunziata split 1:00.80 on the breaststroke leg while Charlotte Crush, who will head to Tennessee in the fall of 2026, clocked 58.20 on the butterfly leg. Earlier in the session, Nunziata was seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.54) and Crush claimed gold in the 100 backstroke (59.52).
