By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam
2025 World Championships
July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming) Singapore, Singapore World Aquatics Championships Arena LCM (50m) Meet Central Live Results SwimSwam Preview IndexBY THE NUMBERS – MEN’S 4×200 FREE RELAY
World Record: USA (M. Phelps, R Berens, D Walters, R. Lochte) — 6:58.55 (2009) World Championship Record: USA — 6:58.55 (2009) 2024 Olympic Champions: Great Britain (J. Guy, T. Dean, M. Richards, D. Scott) — 6:59.43 2023 World Champions: Great Britain (D. Scott, M. Richards, J. Guy, T. Dean) – 6:59.08This relay could well be one of the most interesting of the entire meet. Great Britain have been the team to beat recently and have the most successful quartet in history in this event, but the U.S. have their best chance ever to beat that foursome.
Korea has added the final piece to their silver-medal-winning team from last year in Doha, and will want to bounce back from a 6th place finish in Paris. They have the ability and speed to join the fight at the front and put Great Britain under some serious pressure to defend their title.
Australia were never far away from the top two in Paris last summer, and will be lurking dangerously if any of those three slip up. China could soar into the conversation if Pan Zhanle does something special, and Lukas Martens will ensure that Germany is with the leaders at halfway.
There have only been seven swims under the 7:00 mark before – if this race is fast we could see four more of those.
Heavyweight Champions Of The World
SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST BEST ADD-UP (Qualifying Period) Luke Hobson 1:43.73 1:43.73 1:43.73 Henry McFadden 1:45.22 1:45.22 1:45.22 Gabe Jett 1:44.70 1:44.70 1:44.70 (FS) Rex Maurer 1:45.13 1:45.13 1:45.13 (FS) 3:29.97 3:26.98 6:58.78SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST BEST ADD-UP (Qualifying Period) James Guy 1:45.08 1:45.04 1:45.04 Duncan Scott 1:45.08 1:44.26 1:43.95 Tom Dean 1:46.88 1:44.22 1:45.09 Matt Richards 1:45.35 1:44.30 1:44.74 (FS) 6:58.82
We’ll look at these two together. Much of the discourse has centred not on how fast either team will be, but whether or not they will beat the other.
Great Britain: defending Olympic champions, 2023 World champions, European Record holders. The quartet of James Guy (2015 world champion), Duncan Scott (2020 Olympic silver), Matt Richards (2023 world champion) and Tom Dean (2021 Olympic champion) have tasted victory both individually and, repeatedly, in this relay. They have won the last three races in which they have competed, in the 3rd, 5th and 6th fastest times in history.
The U.S.: World Record holders, owners of the fastest season-best add-up and gunning for only their second world title in a decade. Luke Hobson is having a career year and broke 1:44 at U.S. Nationals, and they have a youthful and improving team behind him
Hobson will almost certainly lead off, having done so at 2023 worlds (1:46.00), 2024 worlds (1:45.26) and the 2024 Olympics (1:45.55). He set a huge new best at U.S. Nationals, but previous form does indicate he’ll be in the 1:44-low/mid range rather than down in the 1:43s. That will give the U.S. the lead, but Great Britain have four swimmers with the ability to chase them down. James Guy is a likely leadoff for them, and after going 1:45.0 in both heats and finals on the leadoff last year, as well as British Trials this year, is unlikely to be any slower in Singapore.
2022 FINA World Swimming Championships Budapest Budapest, Duna Arena 06/20/22 Photo Fabio Cetti
After the first leg, lineup choices could have a big effect. Great Britain knows exactly who their four swimmers will be, barring anyone looking horrendously out of form – Tom Dean is the most likely purely because we’re yet to see him race the event seriously this year and took a break in the fall.
In that scenario the choice is simple – Jack McMillan will slot onto the finals relay. He’s been 1:46.40 this season, a half second PB, and split 1:45.5 on the prelims relay in Paris. He’s a world-class swimmer, but his ceiling may be 1:45-low. Great Britain can win with that, but it does make it less likely.
The U.S. on the other hand has an abundance of options. Luke Hobson is a lock and Gabe Jett is far more likely than not, but the other two spots are up for grabs.
Carson Foster owns the fastest split of anyone on this team, 1:43.94 from Doha, and was 1:44.49 in Fukuoka to outsplit Matt Richards head-to-head. However, after finishing 5th at U.S. Nationals it would be bold to put him straight into the finals relay, and in the three days leading up to this he’ll have swum three rounds of both the 200 fly and 200 IM. Add a prelims swim on top of that and the fatigue may tell – not disastrously, but enough to take him from game-breaking to merely elite.
Rex Maurer and Henry McFadden were 3rd and 4th at U.S. Nationals, and have both looked great in long course this year. Carson Foster and Chris Giuliano are experienced options, and Luka Mijatovic, Patrick Sammon and Destin Lasco have been 1:46.5 or better this year if the U.S. needs more bodies in the heats. The U.S. team looked fantastic at the World University Games last week in this relay, and these swimmers need to almost just match their Nationals swims and dare Great Britain to compete.
The ceiling for team GB is the highest in the field. Three of their swimmers have sub-1:44 splits, holding five of the nine 1:43 flying swims in history, and the other swimmer is Matt Richards – world champion and Olympic silver medalist.
If Tom Dean is back on form after sitting out the start of the season, which his entry in the 200 IM is indicating could be the case, there is no weak link. In a straight fight, GB can ‘win’ all three flying legs against their American counterparts.
Take a look at their final 50 splits from both 2023 and 2024 compared to the U.S. legs.
GB 2023 USA 2023 GB 2024 USA 2024 26.54 27.81 Leg 1 27.16 27.23 26.57 27.02 Leg 2 26.43 27.00 27.03 27.29 Leg 3 27.02 27.30 26.32 26.72 Leg 4 26.86 26.82At the final handover, GB led by 0.31 seconds in 2023 and 0.50 seconds in 2024. On just the final 50s of the first three legs, they outsplit the U.S. by 1.98 seconds in 2023 and 0.92 seconds in 2024.
What this looks like is a team controlling the race. GB had Tom Dean anchoring in 2023 and Duncan Scott in 2024, two swimmers who had previous 1:43 splits and were in fantastic form, and the plan appears to have been to make sure not to lose the race on the first 600 and then let their anchor cook.
Luke Hobson (photo: Jack Spitser)
This is why the race is likely to be close. Both teams are aware that Hobson will give the U.S. an advantage on the leadoff and will plan their order accordingly – Duncan Scott may slide into the second spot to chase down whichever American swimmer follows Hobson. That will likely be either Carson Foster or Gabe Jett, who will be instructed to send the first 100 in order to prevent that from happening – think Bella Sims vs Mollie O’Callaghan on the anchor of the women’s race at 2022 worlds.
On balance, the uncertainty over Tom Dean‘s form gives the U.S. the edge. They have the faster add-up, the strongest leadoff leg, and more depth to utilise in the heats and, if needed, final.
Great Britain have probably swum slightly within themselves when winning in recent years. If they match the U.S. on legs 1-3, which they have done in the last two summers, they will likely be the favorite- they have had a 1:43-point anchor in each of the last four years.
On paper the U.S. are the team to beat this year. On history Great Britain is the team to beat whenever this quartet is together. It should be an absolutely fascinating race.
Fighting For Bronze
Korea
Korea are the most likely team from this tier who could bridge the gap to the front two. They were explicit in their aims to break the world record in Singapore, and in Hwang Sunwoo they have the reigning individual world champion.
They won gold at the 2023 Asian Games in 7:01.73, silver at the 2024 world championships in 7:01.94, and have hacked ten seconds off their national record since Tokyo. They did fall to fifth place in Paris last summer in 7:07, but were never really in the podium race and only had one split sub-1:45.
That does outline the risk in this relay – even more so than Great Britain they are locked into just four swimmers. If they all swim to their capacity at the same time they could do something special, and both the win and the world record would be more than just a pipe dream – the add-up of their best ever swims is 6:58.92. If just one of them is off, however, they can wave goodbye to the gold medal.
Hwang owns a best of 1:44.40, and Kim Woomin and Lee Hojoon have both split 1:44.5 before, Kim in 2023 at the Asian Games and Lee at the Paris Olympics. Kim Youngbeom swam a massive best of 1:46.13 at the start of June, and the pieces now all seem in place – Korea have a star, two elite relay talents, and a precocious youngster with a touch of swagger. Their margin for the win is razor-thin, but in classic shoot-for-the-moon fashion they stand a good chance of still falling among the stars.
SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST BEST ADD-UP (Qualifying Period) Kim Youngbeom 1:46.13 1:46.13 1:46.13 (FS) Hwang Sunwoo 1:45.40 1:44.40 1:44.90 (FS) Kim Woomin – 1:45.68 1:44.98 Lee Hojoon 1:46.83 1:45.56 1:46.43 (FS) 7:02.44Australia
Australia have the most depth of the teams in this tier, but don’t have the established star to take them to the next level.
Ed Sommerville’s 1:44.93 from Australian Trials is a good sign, but Max Giuliani had a similar swim two years ago to go 1:44.79 and has not been under 1:45.3 since. In fact, Sommerville does not even have a 1:45-point swim to his name, jumping straight from the 1:46s to the 1:44s. He set a national record of 1:40.64 in short course back in September though, and was part of the Oceanian-Record-setting 4×200 free relay at short course worlds in December, and does seem to be having a true breakout season.
Behind Sommerville they have six swimmers between 1:45.71 and 1:46.25 this season, and similar depth has proven successful for them in the past. Along with Great Britain, they are the only nation to stand on the podium in each of the last four summers, and they’ve been between 7:01.84 and 7:03.50 each time.
Sam Short (1:45.71) and Flynn Southam (1:45.85) have both broken 1:46 for the first time this year, and Max Guiliani and Kai Taylor have been important relay pieces on past relays. The latter pair were off their best at Australian Trials and made the team as relay-only swimmers, but have been 1:44.79 and 1:45.79 previously. Giuliani is likely to join Sommerville on the finals relay, but the other two spots are up for grabs. Taylor grasped a similar opportunity in 2023 with a big swim in the heats, and may require another one to make the quartet. Charlie Hawke (1:46.10) will be on his first worlds team, but has been a relay stalwart for Alabama in the NCAA.
Not having Zach Incerti in the squad does hurt after he was 1:45.80 in the heats in Adelaide but scratched the final, but they do have the wildcard option of Kyle Chalmers available. He swam second in both Tokyo in 2021 and Fukuoka in 2023, so a return to East Asia in 2025 could see him reprise that role.
He was elite on those two relays, splitting 1:45.35 and 1:45.19, but seems to have switched focus more to the 50 this year. That may not matter, as Elijah Winnington (1:45.19) and Tommy Neill (1:45.27) can reprise their finals roles from Paris if needed. They had four 1:45 swims in the final there and will likely be back in the 7:01 range, but despite their wealth of lineup options their only sub-1:45 split since Tokyo is Kai Taylor’s 1:44.56 from the heats in Fukuoka in 2023. To make the podium this year will almost certainly require at least one game-changing split – if Sommerville can deliver that then the Aussies could make it 5 summers in a row on the podium.
SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST BEST ADD-UP (Qualifying Period) Ed Sommerville 1:44.93 1:44.93 1:44.93 Max Guiliani 1:46.17 1:44.79 1:45.37 (FS) Flynn Southam 1:45.85 1:45.85 1:45.53 Sam Short 1:45.71 1:45.71 1:45.71 (FS) 7:01.54China
China has the pieces to be a medal threat – they won the event at the 2024 World Championships – but they haven’t quite managed to put it all together when faced with major competition. Korea beat them in the Asian Games in 2023, and they were 2.53 seconds slower in Paris than in Doha to finish 4th.
Part of that reason is that they have not had a consistent individual 200 free threat since Sun Yang. Ji Xinjie has flattered to deceive on the international stage despite a 1:45:48 PB, and while Pan Zhanle has been 1:44.65 he has been far more focused on the 100 than 200 at worlds. There is some uncertainty over who the final swimmer will be. Haoyu Wang was on the team in Doha where he split 1:45.69, but it was Fei Liwei in Paris (1:46.05). Wang Shun, who has a best of 1:45.71 from 2023, is another option.
World Aquatics Championships – Doha 202402 – 18 Feb 2024Credit Fabio Cetti
Pan is still the game changer for China though. He has stated that he’s been focusing on the 200 more this year, and already has a sub-1:44 split to his name from Doha. If the pieces around him can go 1:45-point – and they have been before – they could easily challenge their national record and even the 7:00 barrier.
Zhang Zhanshuo split 1:45.80 in Doha and 1:45.37 in Paris (splitting his leg almost identically to 2020 Olympic Champion Tom Dean), and despite being just 18 years of age is already China’s #2 swimmer on this relay. If anyone is likely to break through and add another sub-1:45 split, it’ll be him.
This team’s medal chances do live and die by Pan. If he leads off in something silly or throws down a 1:43 split they could be in with a chance to come away with some hardware.
SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST BEST ADD-UP (Qualifying Period) Ji Xinjie 1:46.53 1:45.48 1:46.53 Pan Zhanle 1:45.45 1:44.65 1:45.45 (FS) Fei Liwei 1:47.45 1:46.69 1:46.05 Zhang Zhanshuo 1:46.39 1:46.28 1:45.37 7:03.40Factors For The Final
Germany
Germany were 8th in the Olympic final last year and were 7th at worlds the year before, but are building a strong foursome for this event. Lukas Martens ranks 3rd in the world this season, but will prioritise the 400 and 800 freestyles in Singapore and will not swim the 200 individually. He will almost certainly be the leadoff leg for Germany for the third summer in a row, and has been right at the front of the field thanks to swims of 1:44.79 (1st) and 1:45.31 (2nd).
Along with Rafael Miroslaw he gives Germany a strong first half of this relay, but the depth drops off sharply. Joshua Salchow was 1:46.18 in the heats in Paris but fell to 1:48.75 in the final, and was 1:47.3 in both rounds in 2023.
He is more of a 50/100 swimmer, owning the 100 free National Record, but may well be the third-fastest swimmer for Germany. Time Sorgius (1:46.88 )or potentially Jarno Baschnitt (1:46.91) could be the fourth leg, and both have broken 1:47 from a flat start this season.
Miroslaw could well be the weak link, 1.65 seconds off his best this season. He does not have any individual swims in Singapore, so should be keyed in for the freestyle relays where he will need to be closer to his best times than he has been this year.
They set the national record in short course in December, where Miroslaw did have a big swim on the leadoff, going 1:41.25. The long course record of 7:03.19 may be a little too far away – it’s a 1:45.80 average – but could certainly be possible.
SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST BEST ADD-UP (Qualifying Period) Lukas Martens 1:44.25 1:44.14 1:44.14 Rafael Miroslaw 1:47.48 1:45.83 1:46.32 Timo Sorgius 1:46.88 1:46.88 1:46.88 (FS) Josh Salchow 1:48.91 1:47.73 1:46.18 7:03.52Italy missed the final last year in Paris and in 2022, and the team doesn’t necessarily look stronger this year. They’ve been burned by going too easy in prelims, something that has afflicted the medley relay as well, and if they ensure that they are in the top eight in the morning will be solid at a minimum in the final. However, they don’t have the true star or all-around depth that the teams in the tier above them do, and a medal will be likely out of reach.
However, Filippo Megli has a best of 1:45.67 and Marcus de Tullio has also been under 1:46, so they have potential to drop a chunk of time. Megli split 1:44.94 in 2023, and when they have been in the final previously they have been competitive, placing 4th in 2019 and 5th in 2023. Stefano di Cola also has a pair of 1:45.5 splits to his name, and if everyone hits the National Record of 7:02.01 could be in play.
Thomas Ceccon could be a Hail Mary option if Italy does decide to go all in, but that would only happen if the team looked fantastic in the heats. A likely finalist, but without enough juice to worry the medal contenders.
SEASON BEST LIFETIME BEST BEST ADD-UP (Qualifying Period) Carlos D’Ambrosio 1:45.99 1:45.99 1:45.99 Filippo Megli 1:46.82 1:45.67 1:46.46 Marcus de Tullio 1:46.87 1:45.70 1:46.87 (FS) Stefano di Cola 1:47.46 1:46.41 1:47.46 (FS) 7:06.78Outside looking in
Israel qualified in joint-8th in Paris last year with a new National Record of 7:08.43, and have four swimmers who have swum 1:47s this year. That does not include Gal Cohen Groumi, who split 1:45.57 on that heats relay, and if he can replicate that and Denis Loktev is down near his best of 1:46.17, they could be in the hunt for one of the last finals spots.
France were 5th in Paris and 4th the year before in Fukuoka, but do not return the same depth that propelled them last year. They only have one swimmer under 1:47 this season, Romain Fuchs, and they have no individual entrants in the 200 free.
Leon Marchand has halved his individual schedule though, and after splitting 1:44.89 in 2023 would be a big addition. He has not swum the 200 free much in long course, but is the second fastest man ever in short course yards and was 1:40 in short course meters last fall.
He would join three of Fente-Damers, Yann Le Goff, Romain Fuchs and Corentin Pouillart. Le Goff and Fuchs both split 1:45s in Paris, but they will miss both Wissam-Amazigh Yebba, who led off in 1:46.72, and Hadrien Salvan, who owns a best of 1:46.50.
Japan is another returning finalist who could struggle. Katsuhiro Matsumoto, the Japanese record holder, has only been 1:48.50 this year and didn’t make the team in the individual 200. He has been an elite leg on this relay and split 1:45.31 in Paris, so it could be a big loss if he is off form in Singapore.
Tatsuya Murasa is the 9th fastest seed individually, but it looks like Japan will utilise IM specialists So Ogota (1:48.66) and Tomayuki Matsushita (1:46.96) on their other two legs. Without a big swim or two they may miss out on a place in the top eight.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Rank Nation 2024 Paris Time Qualifying Period Add-Up Time 1 USA 7:00.78 (2nd) 6:58.78 2 Great Britain 6:59.43 (1st) 6:58.82 3 Korea 7:07.26 (6th) 7:02.44 4 Australia 7:01.98 (3rd) 7:01.54 5 China 7:04.33 (4th) 7:03.40 6 Germany 7:06.20 (heats) (8th) 7:03.52 7 Italy 7:08.63 (heats) (9th) 7:06.78 8 France 7:04.80 (5th) 7:08.84Dark horse: Lithuania – Lithuania were European champions in 2024 behind Danas Rapsys’ 1:44 anchor, and the full team of Tomas Navikonis (1:46.90) , Kristipas Trepocka (1:47.72) and Tomas Lukminas (1:47.81) will return in Singapore. Tajus Juska (1:47.03) is also on the team and likely to replace Trepocka, last year’s slowest leg in 1:48.06, and their season-best add-up is 7:08.24 – just a quarter of a second off their national record of 7:08.04 that they set last year. Rapsys will be a contender in the individual 200, and the other four likely have all set personal bests this season. A youthful team could make a big impact.
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