By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
2024 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (25M)
- December 10-15, 2024
- Duna Arena – Budapest, Hungary
- SCM (25 meters)
- Meet Central
- Full Schedule
- Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
- Live Results
The men’s distance freestyle field has become increasingly competitive in the last two years as the swimmers have ushered in a new golden age for the discipline. And behind the current stars, the next generation is rising, including Turkey’s Kuzey Tuncelli, who set a world junior and Turkish record en route to bronze in the men’s 1500 freestyle at the 2024 Short Course World Championships.
The 17-year-old, one of the youngest swimmers in the Budapest field, clocked a 14:20.64, smashing Gregorio Paltrinieri’s official world junior record of 14:27.78, which had stood since the 2012 European Championships. He hacked 7.14 seconds off the mark as he claimed his first medal at the World Championship/Olympic level. Earlier this year, he won gold in the men’s 1500 freestyle at the 2024 long-course European Championships.
While Tuncelli’s time is the new official world junior record, Grant Hackett’s 14:19.55 from the 1998 Australian Championships remains the fastest 1500 freestyle by a junior swimmer. Hackett’s time is not ratified and therefore not the official record.
Tuncelli now owns the long-course and short-course meters 1500 freestyle world junior records. He swam 14:41.22 to finish fifth in the men’s 1500 freestyle Paris Olympic final, setting world junior and Turkish records with the swim.
Additionally, Tuncelli’s 7:38.76 split at the 800-meter mark in Budapest marks a new Turkish record. He held the previous standard at 7:41.42 from December 2023 and will get another shot at that record later in the meet. The world junior record in the boys’ short-course meters 800 freestyle is Sven Schwarz’s 7:36.00 from the 2019 German Championships.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Kuzey Tuncelli Breaks Official World Junior Record In 1500 Freestyle En Route To Worlds Bronze