Filip Nowacki set the tone on day 4 at World Junior Championships by downing yet another meet mark at an event in Otopeni, Romania, witnessing a rewriting of standards, the British 17-year-old's 2:07.32 victory in the 200m breaststroke landing him the double after his 100m win two days ago.

The time is faster than the World title for seniors was won in at the Singapore showcase this month, when Kate Douglass claimed gold in the women's final and Qin Haiyang topped the men's race in 2:07.41:

Douglass Ends The Debate As Premier Racer In Battle With Chikunova

“I was really excited to race her [Chikunova] tonight. I felt like we were both gonna push each other to be better. And honestly, if I wasn’t racing her, I don’t know if I would have gone a 2:18. I think that really helped push me to be my best.” - Kate Douglass

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Nowacki is rewriting the junior breaststroke book in the land of Adam Peaty: having raced inside the World record holder's junior standard three times over 100m this year, the Jersey teen coached by Kieron Piper at Millfield, crushed the championship record of 2:09.40 from 2019 and added to his growing pile of British and European junior standards.

The time on the clock was one thing, the race the other reason for his cry of celebration atop the lane rope, gold by 0.24sec ahead of Japan's World junior record holder Shin Ohashi after a stroke-for-stroke battle. Nowacki won it on the third length, his sub-33sec down that lap granting him a 0.84sec advantage heading into the homecoming decider.

Ohashi, who set the global junior mark at home in Tokyo in High School racing last month, was 0.6sec faster than Nowacki chasing his quarry down to the end wall, but not even a 32.61 could stop the Brit's bull run on gold this season:

European 100 and 200m junior crowns were followed last month by eight golds at the Island Games - then a 59.20 victory in the 100m on Wednesday. Now this:

Read more on Nowacki in our 100m report below.

Meanwhile, his teammate Jacob Mills claimed silver on 22.02 in the 50m freestyle, the title to a neutral athlete, the bronze to 200m free winner and European junior record setter this week, Italy's Carlos D'Ambosia, in 22.14.

Third 200m Gold For Derivaux

Britain celebrated another silver with Amalie Smith finished 0.49sec shy of Audrey Derivaux as the American collected her third gold in a 200m event. After wins in the 200m butterfly and then 200m backstroke, Derivaux made it medley gold this evening in 2:10.58, Smith on 2:11.07, Japan's Shuna Sasaki on 2:11.84 for bronze, locking out Zhou Yanjun, China doubtless not that worried, it having a 12-year-old - Yu Zidi - capable of finishing fourth at World senior champs in Singapore any a pace two seconds swifter than Derivaux's topper today in Otopeni.

.i

In the women's 400m freestyle, China delivered a 1-2 podium punch, Yang Peiqi getting the better of teammate Yan Tiaoshan in a championship record of 4:05.38 to 4:05.80, the bronze to American Kennedi Dobson in 4:06.66, with Argentina's 400IM champion from day 1, Agostina Hein, just off the medals.

The championship mark had stood since 2019 at 4:05.42 to Australia's Lani Pallister, who tore up the script to take silver in the race of the World Championships (senior) in Singapore on August 2:

2025 Worlds Review - Race Of The Champs: KL 8:05, LP 8:05, SMc 8:07, SQ 8:12

It’s a fortnight since we entered the last weekend of a World Championships looking forward to the most anticipated race of the week. The women’s 800m freestyle exceeded expectations as the show-stopper of the meet. A great place to start our review of Singapore 2025

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

The Otopeni 400m final:

• RESULTS IN FULL
• Other Finals at a Glance:

Women's 100m breaststroke

Women's 50m butterfly

Men's 50m backstroke

Men's 4x200m free

In semi-finals, Korea's Kim Seungwon set a championship record of 27.77 in the women's 50m backstroke, Britain's Blythe Kinsman closest, on 27.91, with Australia's Ainsley Trotter and South Africa's Jessica Thompson completing the sub028sec club in a line-up of potential future rivalry at the Commonwealth Games.

Also in the August Vortex:

• Audrey Derivaux At The Double As Juniors Tick Faster & USA Takes Golden Triple
• Filip Nowacki Thrice Inside Peaty's GB Youth Mark For World Junior Gold, Max Morgan Delivering Brit 1-3
• At 12, Yu Zidi, 3x4th & Bronze Medallist At Global Seniors, Too Young To Race As World Juniors Begin
• World Cup Rosters Include McIntosh, McKeown, Douglass, O'Callaghan, Smith, Ponti, Kós, Ceccon, Liendo - and Peaty