Distance Duo Leads Potential Breakout Men’s Swimmers for 2025
A new generation of men’s distance freestylers has pushed out the likes of Florian Wellbrock and Mykhailo Romanchuk, stalwarts who collected international medals in the 800 and 1500-meter events for years. Bobby Finke remains a force, having recorded the greatest performance of his career on his way to Olympic gold and a world record in the 1500 in Paris, while Gregorio Paltrinieri, now 31, is still excelling a full eight years after his first Olympic gold.
However, 2024 saw the breakout of Dan Wiffen, with the 23-year-old Irishman capturing two world titles in February before winning 800 gold and 1500 bronze at the Olympics. Now, Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadi and Turkey’s Kuzey Tunçelli look like the next two poised to join the ranks of contenders in the events after making their presence felt in 2024.
Kuzey Tunçelli — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Jaouadi already has captured senior-level international hardware: the 19-year-old placed fourth in the 800 free final in Paris before taking sixth in the 1500, and to conclude the year, he won the short course world title in the 1500 free while taking bronze in the 800. Tunçelli joined him on the 1500 podium in Budapest, securing bronze behind Jaouadi and Wellbrock, and he added a world junior record in the process. The 17-year-old also owns the long course junior record over 1500 meters, having clocked 14:41.22 in the Paris final to fall less than two seconds short of a podium spot.
Both men recorded huge time drops last year: Tunçelli had won world junior titles in both distance races in 2023, but he barely cracked 15:00 in the mile before jumping more than 18 seconds in a year. Jaouadi, meanwhile, dropped his best time by almost 28 seconds last year, entering with a top mark of 15:11.02 and finishing at 14:43.35. Given this rapid improvement, it would be no surprise if these two consistently headline international distance podiums beginning in 2025.
We already previewed some of the women who could emerge as international standouts this year, and here are some more men to watch.
Pieter Coetze, South Africa
Coetze is quickly establishing a record of excelling among the world’s top backstrokers. He first established himself in 2022 with three backstroke medals, including 100-meter gold, at the Commonwealth Games, and he followed up with five medals, including gold in the 200 back, at the World Junior Championships. In 2024, he reached the podium in the 200 back at the Doha World Championships, and he came close to snaring an Olympic podium finish in Paris. His African record of 52.58 in the 100 back left him fifth, less than two tenths out of the top-three, and the 20-year-old clocked another continental record in the 200 back (1:55.70) as he placed seventh.
Dong Zhihao, China
Dong Zhihao — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
The clear standard-bearer for Chinese breaststroking is Qin Haiyang, the world-record holder in the 200 breast and the only man to ever sweep the 50, 100 and 200-meter events of one stroke at a single World Championships. But Dong was the more successful swimmer in the longer distance last year, and he is only 19 years old. At the lightly-attended Doha Worlds in February 2024, Dong raced in the 200 breast final and surged from sixth to first on the final lap to win gold over the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau. In Paris, he was the only teenager in the 200 breast final, although he missed the podium by just a half-second.
The Americans
In a relatively poor Olympic performance, the American men captured only six individual medals in Paris, with Finke’s mile on the final day yielding the lone gold. Beginning in 2025 and leading up to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the U.S. team will look to the youthful ranks in hopes of finding new stars.
Thomas Heilman is among those with a chance to make an impact, provided he can build off his appearances in the 100 and 200 butterfly at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 Olympics. Heilman did not reach a final in Paris, but he did tie for fourth in the 200-meter event at the 2023 global meet.
Meanwhile, Keaton Jones did reach a final in Paris, placing fifth in a 200 back race that went off without medal favorite Ryan Murphy. Jones qualified for his first Olympics at 19 and could be in line to continue a long-standing tradition of U.S. success in the backstroke events.
Maximus Williamson, soon to be Heilman’s teammate at the University of Virginia, was another pre-college swimmer who was considered a contender to reach Paris, likely as a relay swimmer, but he struggled at the U.S. Olympic Trials and did not reach a final. Williamson, 18, won six gold medals and one silver at the 2023 World Junior Championships, including impressive dominant efforts in both the 100 free and 200 IM.
We must also consider Rex Maurer as a possible senior-level international swimmer in the coming years on the heels of Maurer’s breakout sophomore season at the University of Texas. He has already recorded an American record in the 500-yard free while excelling in the other freestyle events plus the 400 IM, and a lack of American depth in the mid-distance races could give him an opening to make an impact.