Budapest World Short Course: Day 5 Finals Wrap

OUR BRONZED Aussie Dolphins snagged two medals on the penultimate night of finals at the Budapest World Short Course Championships.

First it was Sunshine Coast’s Alex Perkins and then it was Adelaide’s Matt Temple claiming a medal with the pair up meeting up at the bronze medal ceremony for the 100m butterfly.

World Aquatics is experimenting with new combined medal podium ceremonies for men’s and women at this week’s meet; and for Perkins and Temple, the change up was given a thumbs up.

Perkins is having one of the best weeks of her swimming life with tonight’s bronze, also an Oceania and national record, adding to her Christmas haul of bronze in the 50m fly and silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle – and she has also had a poolside seat to the Gretchen Walsh show.

American Walsh, 21,  won her fourth individual title and broke her ninth world record (eight individual, one relay) by claiming the 100m butterfly title in 52.71 seconds, with Dutch swimmer Tessa Giele (54.66) winning silver.

Fellow Dolphin Lily Price finished an admirable 7^th (55.82) in her first senior international final.

“I was quite nervous but I backed myself that I’d be able to back up in that second 50 after going out fast – and I am glad I executed the race the way I like to. It’s been really good going into these meets not expecting anything,” Perkins said.

“I been really proud of how I have gone about things … and to compete against the likes of race Gretchen Walsh. She’s an incredible athlete. You know, I don’t think anyone’s going to come close to her for a while to come, so it’s really amazing to see … (her) backing up for two world records in the space of just over half an hour.”

Temple’s bronze medal also came in a world record race with Swiss butterflyer Noe Ponti clocking 47.71 to break the previous record of 47.78 set by Caeleb Dressel in 2020. France’s Maxime Grousset claimed silver (48.57).

“A medal winner at the World Championships, you can’t beat that. Obviously coming off the Olympic Games … it’s always a hard one trying to get back in the water and doing the World Cup was my preparation for this meet, and to be 0.1 off my best I can’t complain,” Temple said.

“Being here and swimming that close to my best and picking up a medal gives me a newfound spirit and a bit of urgency going forward. And just seeing the world record broken by Noe and the boys swimming well in the 100 fly … credit to all the boys for bringing their A game and making ( Short Course) a bigger event.”

The Dolphins finished the inaugural 4x100m mixed medley relay fourth with the team of Iona Anderson, Josh Yong, Temple and Milla Jansen touching in 3:32.83.

Russian athletes competing as Neutral Athletes B (NAB) – Miron Lifintsev, Kirill Prigoda, Arina Surkova and Daria Klepikova – went 3:30.47 to win gold.

The U.S. was second in 3:30.55, despite Regan Smith swimming faster than her world record off the front, with Canada picking up the bronze medal in 3:31.97.

Tonight’s winning time will go into the books as “world’s best” rather than a world record given its World Short Course debut.

Tomorrow marks the final day of racing with World Short Course medallists Lani Pallister, Leah Neale, Meg Harris, Max Giuliani and Ed Sommerville back in the water.