Aleksas SavickasLithuanian swimmer Aleksas Savickas concluded his World Aquatics Championships campaign in Singapore with a 17th-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle event. The 22-year-old,who studies psychology at the University of Florida,recorded a time of 2 minutes 11.37 seconds in his final appearance at the championships.
Savickas had previously competed in the 50-meter freestyle, securing 23rd and 36th place finishes in the World Cup events held in Singapore. Despite expressing disappointment after those initial races, he had hoped for a stronger performance in the 200-meter event, where his personal best stands at 2 minutes 9.66 seconds.
“I felt tense in those distances, so now it was the goal to keep water, put it in the distance. Well, but it is as it is,” Savickas commented on his performance.
Theoretically, Savickas could have advanced to the semi-finals if up to sixteen swimmers ahead of him had withdrawn. Though, the competitive nature of the event made such an outcome unlikely.
The fastest swimmer in the 200m freestyle, likely competing under a neutral status, was Alexander Žaligalyv with a time of 2 minutes 8.32 seconds. Savickas’ result placed him 17th with ten swimmers finishing within a one-second margin of each other, from 2 minutes 11 seconds onwards.
Upon seeing the final standings, Savickas acknowledged his position. “Zero is disappointed,” he stated. “Such is life, I watch it as lessons.”
Key Takeaways
- Aleksas Savickas’ participation in the World Aquatics championships in Singapore has concluded with his 200m freestyle race.
- While theoretically eligible for the Lithuanian men’s 4x100m relay, it is indeed anticipated that Andrius Šidlauskas, who achieved a faster time in the 100m breaststroke, will be selected for that event.
Savickas’ time of 2 minutes 11.37 seconds was within a couple of seconds of his personal record.It was also approximately one and a half seconds slower than the Lithuanian national record, set in 2009 in Rome by a swimmer utilizing the now-outlawed long polyurethane swimsuits.
“The time is not special, but what I had set, I did and I am happy,” Savickas reflected. “You may not always win in life, not all the time.”
