- Roman Mityukov secures World Championship silver in the 200 m backstroke. For the man from Geneva it is the second World Cup medal in a row.
- Zurich’s Lisa Mamié comes eighth in her first World Cup final over 200 m breaststroke.
- The new world champion in the supreme discipline is Marrit Steenbergen (NED).
Roman Mityukov was one of the biggest Swiss hopes at the World Cup in Doha – and the Genevan delivered. In his signature discipline of the 200 m backstroke, the 23-year-old controlled the final from the top position for a long time before he had to be overtaken by Hugo Gonzalez in the last meters.
The Spaniard secured gold in 1:55.30 minutes, while Mityukov took silver, 10 hundredths of a second behind. Mityukov was 0.06 seconds above his Swiss record, which he set in the final of the 2023 World Cup. Bronze went to Pieter Coetze from South Africa.
Mityukov like Rigamonti once did
For Mityukov it is the second World Cup medal after bronze last summer in Fukuoka. The French-speaking Swiss made Swiss swimming history in Doha: He became only the second Swiss after Flavia Rigamonti (three silver medals in the 1500 m freestyle) to win more than one World Championship medal. There is also European Championship bronze from 2021. In an interview with the medalist, the Geneva native said dryly: “It’s okay for February. Let’s see what happens at the Olympic Games.”
Mityukov had emphasized in the run-up to the World Cup that a medal in Doha would not have the same value for him as bronze last year. Many of the top swimmers are not at the start in Qatar, as the highlight of the season comes just months later with the Olympic Games. For example, Hubert Kos and Ryan Murphy, the gold and bronze winners in Fukuoka, decided not to take part in the 2024 World Cup.
Mamié has no chance at the World Cup final premiere
The final of the 200 m breaststroke also took place with Swiss participation. However, Lisa Mamié paid the lesson in her first ever World Cup final. The 25-year-old from Zurich came eighth and last in 2:26.23 minutes. Mamié, who remained over 4 seconds above her Swiss record, also clearly missed the limit for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
At the front, Tes Schouten swam a lonely race. The Dutchwoman won World Cup gold in a dominant time of 2:19.81 minutes. Second-placed Kate Douglas from the USA was 1.10 seconds behind. The Canadian Sydney Pickrem came third.
Steenbergen celebrates in the supreme discipline
Thanks to a final sprint, Marrit Steenbergen became the new world champion in the 100 m freestyle. The Dutchwoman won the race in the premier discipline against 200 m world champion Siobhan Bernadette Haughey from Hong Kong with a lead of 30 hundredths of a second. Shayna Jack from Australia took bronze. For Steenbergen it was the 6th World Championship medal, but by far the most valuable.