Competition Preview – 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) - Budapest, Hungary
Our team of 18 swimmers, three coaches and two support staff have arrived in Budapest ahead of the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), after completing their preparation camps in Slovakia.
The championships get underway on Tuesday 10 December at 9:00pm NZDT, with our New Zealand team set to take on six days of action packed racing.
The team will be led by a trio of Olympians, with Rio Olympian Helena Gasson (Coast – coached by Michael Weston), two-time Olympian Eve Thomas (Coast - coached by Michael Weston) and Paris Olympian Hazel Ouwehand (Phoenix Aquatics - coached by David Lyles), looking to be in the thick of the action in Budapest.
Joining them are Emma Godwin (Heretaunga Sundevils - coached by Willy Benson), Ben Littlejohn (St Paul's - coached by Graham Smith) and Gina McCarthy (Hamilton Aquatics & RPC Waikato - coached by Mat Woofe), with all three returning to the world stage in Budapest after competing at a World Swimming Championships (25m) in the past.
The remainder of the team consists of twelve debutants at the World Short Course level.
Sam Brown (Coast - coached by Michael Weston) is set to take to the pool in Budapest, alongside Oceania Championships medallists Chris Elson (Vikings - coached by Todd Mason), Jack Hendy (Club 37 - coached by Sander Ganzevles), Jesse Welsh (Club 37 - coached by Mitch Nairn) and Neve Tassicker (Ngā Tai Tūātea a Taraika - coached by David Lush).
Zoe Pedersen (Coast - coached by John Gatfield) and Larn Hamblyn-Ough (Coast - coached by Michael Weston) will step up to their first senior international team after representing New Zealand at junior international events in 2024, while Brearna Crawford (Waitakere - coached by Paul Kent) and Cooper Morley (North Shore - coached by Graham Hill) take a break from their college swimming in the USA to join the team in Budapest.
Hugo Wrathall (Jasi - coached by Pete Burgon), Savannah-Eve Martin (Coast - coached by Michael Weston) and Zyleika Pratt-Smith (Coast - coached by Michael Weston) round out the 18-strong team.
Michael Weston (Coast - Head Coach), John Gatfield (Coast) and Willy Benson (Heretaunga Sundevils) will support the team in Budapest alongside team managers, Toni Bayliffe and Bex Bowden.
Helena Gasson says the team is ready to go racing in Budapest.
"Slovakia was great! It was a short staging camp so the priority was adjusting to the time zone and settling into the pool post-flying. The team have had some fast suited swims and the morale is high, especially after having a snow day."
We wish our team the best of luck as they take on the world over the six days of competition.
Racing is set to begin on Tuesday 10 December from 9pm NZDT, beginning with heats on day one. All heats sessions are scheduled to start at 9pm NZDT, with finals sessions due to start at 5.30am NZDT the following morning.
For swimming events with 50m or 100m distances, there will be heats, semi-finals (top 16) and a final (top 8). The middle distance events of 200m and 400m will have heats and a final (top 8), whereas the longest swimming events of 800m and 1500m will only have timed finals, with the fastest 8 entry times swimming during the finals session and the others in the heats session.
You can watch the livestream through the World Aquatics Recast platform by purchasing access from the link below.
Joining our team in Budapest, we also have SNZ President & SNZ Life Member, Ron Clarke, on deck as a technical official. We wish him the best of luck through the championships too.
Stay up-to-date with all of the action from Budapest via our Swimming NZ social media channels. Check out our preview of our Kiwis in action each day below.
Day One
Heats (from 9pm NZDT – Tuesday 10 December)
Women’s 400m Freestyle (Thomas)
Women's 100m Backstroke (Gasson)
Men's 100m Backstroke (Morley)
Women's 50m Butterfly (Ouwehand & Gasson)
Men's 50m Butterfly (Elson)
Women's 200m Individual Medley (McCarthy)
Men's 200m Individual Medley (Brown)
Men's 1500m Freestyle Timed Final (Hamblyn-Ough)
Potential Finals Swims (from 5.30am NZDT – Wednesday 11 December)
Women’s 400m Freestyle Final (Thomas) – 5.32am
Women's 50m Butterfly Semi-Final (Ouwehand & Gasson) - 5.43am
Men's 50m Butterfly Semi-Final (Elson) - 5.52am
Women's 200m Individual Medley Final (McCarthy) - 6.01am
Men's 200m Individual Medley Final (Brown) - 6.11am
Women's 100m Backstroke Semi-Final (Gasson) - 6.24am
Men's 100m Backstroke Semi-Final (Morley) - 6.34am
Eight swimmers will be in action on the first day in Budapest, with two-time Olympian Eve Thomas the first to dive into the pool with the women's 400m freestyle. Thomas has the 20th fastest entry time, noting that her time is long course unconverted from earlier this year.
Rio Olympian Helena Gasson will have a busy first day of racing, taking on the women's 100m backstroke, where she is ranked 17th on entries, and the women's 50m butterfly shortly after, where she will be joined by Paris Olympian Hazel Ouwehand. The duo are ranked 17th and 14th on entries, respectively.
Cooper Morley will be the first of our debutants to take flight in the men's 100m backstroke, before Sam Brown (men's 200m individual medley) and Larn Hamblyn-Ough (men's 1500m freestyle) also make their senior debut. Chris Elson will compete at his first World Aquatics meet in the men's 50m butterfly, with Gina McCarthy marking her return to this level in the women's 200m individual medley.
Day Two
Heats (from 9pm NZDT – Wednesday 11 December)
Women's 100m Freestyle (Pedersen)
Men's 100m Freestyle (Wrathall)
Women's 100m Breaststroke (Crawford)
Women's 800m Freestyle Timed Final (Thomas)
Potential Finals Swims (from 5.30am NZDT – Thursday 12 December)
Women's 100m Backstroke Final (Gasson) - 5.32am
Men's 100m Backstroke Final (Morley) - 5.40am
Women's 100m Freestyle Semi-Final (Pedersen) - 5.48am
Men's 100m Freestyle Semi-Final (Wrathall) - 5.58am
Women's 100m Breaststroke Semi-Final (Crawford) - 6.13am
Women's 50m Butterfly Final (Ouwehand & Gasson) - 8.35am
Men's 50m Butterfly Final (Elson) - 6.42am
Three swimmers guaranteed to be taking part in the heats session are all debutants at this level, with Zoe Pedersen stepping up to make her senior debut in the women's 100m freestyle. Hugo Wrathall will aim to build upon his form from the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup as he tackles the men's 100m freestyle. Brearna Crawford will bring her experience of racing short course yards at college to the women's 100m breaststroke also.
Eve Thomas will race the women's 800m freestyle timed final where she enters with the 14th fastest entry time from her long course races earlier in the year.
Day Three
Heats (from 9pm NZDT - Thursday 12 December)
Women's 50m Backstroke (Martin)
Men's 50m Backstroke (Morley)
Women's 200m Butterfly (Tassicker)
Women's 100m Individual Medley (Gasson)
Men's 100m Individual Medley (Brown)
Men's 400m Freestyle (Littlejohn)
Potential Finals Swims (from 5.30am NZDT – Friday 13 December)
Women's 100m Freestyle Final (Pedersen) - 5.32am
Men's 100m Freestyle Final (Wrathall) - 5.40am
Women's 50m Backstroke Semi-Final (Martin) - 5.48am
Men's 50m Backstroke Semi-Final (Morley) - 5.57am
Women's 200m Butterfly Final (Tassicker) - 6.06am
Women's 100m Breaststroke Final (Crawford) - 6.30am
Women's 100m Individual Medley Semi-Final (Gasson) - 6.52am
Men's 100m Individual Medley Semi-Final (Brown) - 7.02am
Men's 400m Freestyle Final (Littlejohn) - 7.13am
Helena Gasson will commence her final individual event on the third day of racing, returning to the women's 100m individual medley, where she is ranked 15th fastest on entries. Sam Brown will contest his second event of the week in the men's race.
Savannah-Eve Martin will be looking to use her fast starts to her advantage in the women's 50m backstroke coming into Budapest with the 17th fastest time, while Cooper Morley returns for his second and final event of the week in the men's race.
Neve Tassicker will be looking to make her mark in the women's 200m butterfly as she debuts at World Aquatics level, before Ben Littlejohn returns to his second consecutive World Short Course by racing the men's 400m freestyle.
Day Four
Heats (from 9pm NZDT – Friday 13 December)
Mixed 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay
Women's 200m Breaststroke (Pratt-Smith)
Women's 100m Butterfly (Ouwehand)
Men's 100m Butterfly (Elson)
Women's 1500m Freestyle Timed Final (Thomas)
Potential Finals Swims (from 5.30am NZDT – Saturday 14 December)
Mixed 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay Final - 5.32am
Women's 200m Breaststroke Final (Pratt-Smith) - 5.40am
Women's 50m Backstroke Final (Martin) - 6.04am
Men's 50m Backstroke Final (Morley) - 6.12am
Women's 100m Butterfly Semi-Final (Ouwehand) - 6.20am
Men's 100m Butterfly Semi-Final (Elson) - 6.35am
Women's 100m Individual Medley Final (Gasson) - 6.51am
Men's 100m Individual Medley Final (Brown) - 6.59am
The sessions sets to start with a bang, with our first relay team of the week set to take on the mixed 4 x 50m freestyle.
Eve Thomas returns for her third and final event of the week when she takes on the women's 1500m freestyle, ranked 15th from her long course time.
Hazel Ouwehand enters the women's 100m butterfly with the 18th fastest time, before Chris Elson takes on the men's event.
Zyleika Pratt-Smith will make her senior debut in the women's 200m breaststroke.
Day Five
Heats (from 9pm NZDT – Saturday 14 December)
Women's 400m Individual Medley (McCarthy)
Men's 400m Individual Medley (Brown)
Women's 50m Freestyle (Pedersen)
Men's 50m Freestyle (Hendy)
Women's 50m Breaststroke (Crawford)
Men's 800m Freestyle Timed Final (Hamblyn-Ough)
Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Potential Finals Swims (from 5.30am NZDT – Sunday 15 December)
Women's 100m Butterfly Final (Ouwehand) - 5.32am
Men's 100m Butterfly Final (Elson) - 5.40am
Women's 50m Breaststroke Semi-Final (Crawford) - 5.48am
Women's 50m Freestyle Semi-Final (Pedersen) - 6.12am
Men's 50m Freestyle Semii-Final (Hendy) - 6.21am)
Women's 400m Individual Medley Final (McCarthy) - 6.30am
Men's 400m Individual Medley Final (Brown) - 6.42am
Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final - 7.14am
Gina McCarthy and Sam Brown return for the longest of the individual medley events, the 400m.
Zoe Pedersen will be back in action for the women's 50m freestyle, with Jack Hendy taking on the men's event.
Brearna Crawford returns for the shorter women's 50m breaststroke, before Larn Hamblyn-Ough races his other event of the week in the men's 800m freestyle timed final.
Day five heats will wrap up with the mixed 4 x 100m medley relay.
Day Six
Heats (from 9pm NZDT – Sunday 15 December)
Women's 200m Freestyle (Welsh)
Men's 200m Freestyle (Littlejohn)
Women's 200m Backstroke (Godwin)
Men's 200m Backstroke (Brown)
Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Potential Finals Swims (from 5.30am NZDT – Monday 16 December)
Women's 50m Freestyle Final (Pedersen) - 5.32am
Men's 50m Freestyle Final (Hendy) - 5.39am
Women's 50m Breaststroke Final (Crawford) - 5.47am
Women's 200m Backstroke Final (Godwin) - 6.02am
Men's 200m Backstroke Final (Brown) - 6.12am
Women's 200m Freestyle Final (Welsh) - 6.26am
Men's 200m Freestyle Final (Littlejohn) - 6.40am
Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final - 6.54am
Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final - 7.10am
Jesse Welsh will have to wait to the final day to make her debut in the women's 200m freestyle, while Ben Littlejohn will drop down to the men's 200m freestyle for his second event of the championships.
Emma Godwin also needed to wait until the last day for her preferred women's 200m backstroke, before Sam Brown rounds out his busy schedule in the men's event.
The last events for the team will be relays, with both the women and men fielding a 4 x 100m medley relay team to conclude the championships.
Follow Swimming NZ on Instagram (@swimming_nz) and Facebook, and keep an eye on our website, to stay up to date with the swimming action from Budapest.
Swimmer Entries
Sam Brown
100m Individual Medley (Entry time: 54.08)
200m Individual Medley (Entry time: 1:57.08)
400m Individual Medley (Entry time: 4:08.84)
200m Backstroke (Entry time: 1:54.17)
Brearna Crawford
50m Breaststroke (Entry time: 30.85)
100m Breaststroke (Entry time: 1:06.66)
Chris Elson
50m Butterfly (Entry time: 23.31
100m Butterfly (Entry time: 53.64)
Helena Gasson
50m Butterfly (Entry time: 25.70)
100m Backstroke (Entry time: 57.89)
100m Individual Medley (Entry time: 59.53)
Emma Godwin
200m Backstroke (Entry time: 2:05.76)
Larn Hamblyn-Ough
800m Freestyle (Entry time: 7:57.76)
1500m Freestyle (Entry time: 15:21.98)
Jack Hendy
50m Freestyle (Entry time: 21.89)
Ben Littlejohn
200m Freestyle (Entry time: 1:47.65)
400m Freestyle (Entry time: 3:50.35)
Savannah-Eve Martin
50m Backstroke (Entry time: 27.11)
Gina McCarthy
200m Individual Medley (Entry time: 2:10.74)
400m Individual Medley (Entry time: 4:40.43)
Cooper Morley
50m Backstroke (Entry time: 23.84)
100m Backstroke (Entry time: 51.80)
Hazel Ouwehand
50m Butterfly (Entry time: 25.60)
100m Butterfly (Entry time: 57.43)
Zoe Pedersen
50m Freestyle (Entry time: 25.35)
100m Freestyle (Entry time: 55.43)
Zyleika Pratt-Smith
200m Breaststroke (Entry time: 2:23.81)
Neve Tassicker
200m Butterfly (Entry time: 2:12.24)
Eve Thomas
400m Freestyle (Entry time: 4:05.87)
800m Freestyle (Entry time: 8:22.27)
1500m Freestyle (Entry time: 16:07.46)
Jesse Welsh
200m Freestyle (Entry time: 1:59.63)
Hugo Wrathall
100m Freestyle (Entry time: 48.52)
Daily Schedule
*start times are subject to change, while semi-finals and finals are subject to athlete progression.
Tuesday 10 December
Day One Heats - from 9pm NZDT
Women’s 400m Freestyle (Thomas)
Women's 100m Backstroke (Gasson)
Men's 100m Backstroke (Morley)
Women's 50m Butterfly (Ouwehand & Gasson)
Men's 50m Butterfly (Elson)
Women's 200m Individual Medley (McCarthy)
Men's 200m Individual Medley (Brown)
Men's 1500m Freestyle Timed Final (Hamblyn-Ough)
Wednesday 11 December
Day One Finals – from 5.30am NZDT
Women’s 400m Freestyle Final (Thomas*) – 5.32am
Women's 50m Butterfly Semi-Final (Ouwehand* & Gasson*) - 5.43am
Men's 50m Butterfly Semi-Final (Elson*) - 5.52am
Women's 200m Individual Medley Final (McCarthy*) - 6.01am
Men's 200m Individual Medley Final (Brown*) - 6.11am
Women's 100m Backstroke Semi-Final (Gasson*) - 6.24am
Men's 100m Backstroke Semi-Final (Morley*) - 6.34am
Day Two Heats – from 9pm NZDT
Women's 100m Freestyle (Pedersen)
Men's 100m Freestyle (Wrathall)
Women's 100m Breaststroke (Crawford)
Women's 800m Freestyle Timed Final (Thomas)
Thursday 12 December
Day Two Finals – from 5.30am NZDT
Women's 100m Backstroke Final (Gasson*) - 5.32am
Men's 100m Backstroke Final (Morley*) - 5.40am
Women's 100m Freestyle Semi-Final (Pedersen*) - 5.48am
Men's 100m Freestyle Semi-Final (Wrathall*) - 5.58am
Women's 100m Breaststroke Semi-Final (Crawford*) - 6.13am
Women's 50m Butterfly Final (Ouwehand* & Gasson*) - 8.35am
Men's 50m Butterfly Final (Elson*) - 6.42am
Day Three Heats - from 9pm NZDT
Women's 50m Backstroke (Martin)
Men's 50m Backstroke (Morley)
Women's 200m Butterfly (Tassicker)
Women's 100m Individual Medley (Gasson)
Men's 100m Individual Medley (Brown)
Men's 400m Freestyle (Littlejohn)
Friday 13 December
Day Three Finals – from 5.30am NZDT
Women's 100m Freestyle Final (Pedersen*) - 5.32am
Men's 100m Freestyle Final (Wrathall*) - 5.40am
Women's 50m Backstroke Semi-Final (Martin*) - 5.48am
Men's 50m Backstroke Semi-Final (Morley*) - 5.57am
Women's 200m Butterfly Final (Tassicker*) - 6.06am
Women's 100m Breaststroke Final (Crawford*) - 6.30am
Women's 100m Individual Medley Semi-Final (Gasson*) - 6.52am
Men's 100m Individual Medley Semi-Final (Brown*) - 7.02am
Men's 400m Freestyle Final (Littlejohn*) - 7.13am
Day Four Heats – from 9pm NZDT
Mixed 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay
Women's 200m Breaststroke (Pratt-Smith)
Women's 100m Butterfly (Ouwehand)
Men's 100m Butterfly (Elson)
Women's 1500m Freestyle Timed Final (Thomas)
Saturday 14 December
Day Four Finals – from 5.30am NZDT
Mixed 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay Final* - 5.32am
Women's 200m Breaststroke Final (Pratt-Smith*) - 5.40am
Women's 50m Backstroke Final (Martin*) - 6.04am
Men's 50m Backstroke Final (Morley*) - 6.12am
Women's 100m Butterfly Semi-Final (Ouwehand*) - 6.20am
Men's 100m Butterfly Semi-Final (Elson*) - 6.35am
Women's 100m Individual Medley Final (Gasson*) - 6.51am
Men's 100m Individual Medley Final (Brown*) - 6.59am
Day Five Heats – from 9pm NZDT
Women's 400m Individual Medley (McCarthy)
Men's 400m Individual Medley (Brown)
Women's 50m Freestyle (Pedersen)
Men's 50m Freestyle (Hendy)
Women's 50m Breaststroke (Crawford)
Men's 800m Freestyle Timed Final (Hamblyn-Ough)
Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Sunday 15 December
Day Five Finals – from 5.30am NZDT
Women's 100m Butterfly Final (Ouwehand*) - 5.32am
Men's 100m Butterfly Final (Elson*) - 5.40am
Women's 50m Breaststroke Semi-Final (Crawford*) - 5.48am
Women's 50m Freestyle Semi-Final (Pedersen*) - 6.12am
Men's 50m Freestyle Semii-Final (Hendy*) - 6.21am)
Women's 400m Individual Medley Final (McCarthy*) - 6.30am
Men's 400m Individual Medley Final (Brown*) - 6.42am
Mixed 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final* - 7.14am
Day Six Heats – from 9pm NZDT
Women's 200m Freestyle (Welsh)
Men's 200m Freestyle (Littlejohn)
Women's 200m Backstroke (Godwin)
Men's 200m Backstroke (Brown)
Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay
Monday 16 December
Day Six Finals – from 5.30am NZDT
Women's 50m Freestyle Final (Pedersen*) - 5.32am
Men's 50m Freestyle Final (Hendy*) - 5.39am
Women's 50m Breaststroke Final (Crawford*) - 5.47am
Women's 200m Backstroke Final (Godwin*) - 6.02am
Men's 200m Backstroke Final (Brown*) - 6.12am
Women's 200m Freestyle Final (Welsh*) - 6.26am
Men's 200m Freestyle Final (Littlejohn*) - 6.40am
Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final* - 6.54am
Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Final* - 7.10am
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