The 2025 World Aquatics Championships finished Aug. 3 in Singapore, and Stanford students and alumni represented their nations this summer. With 19 NCAA titles (eight men’s and 11 women’s) in the swimming and diving programs, the Cardinal has consistently proven their prowess in the pool, domestically and internationally.
This year, representing seven countries, 12 Stanford alumni and current swimmers claimed 13 medals in the pool.
Junior Jonathan Tan and sophomore Levenia Sim represented Singapore on their home turf. Tan placed 38th in the 100-meter freestyle (49.62) and 40th in the 200-meter freestyle (1:50.56). Meanwhile, Sim swam two season bests: a 34th-place finish in the 100-meter backstroke (1:02.28) and a 36th-place finish in the 50-meter backstroke (29.40). Both swam on the host nation’s medley relays, finishing 23rd and 19th, respectively.
Adding to the Cardinal roster, junior Henry McFadden (United States) and senior Andres Dupont (Mexico) represented their respective countries on freestyle relays.
During the preliminary heats of the 4×200 freestyle relay, McFadden earned a spot on the finals team for the United States, as the fastest American, and fourth-fastest overall (1:45.51) among 64 swimmers. In the finals, just off his recently-set personal best from international team trials in June, McFadden posted a 1:46.09 to lead the United States into a fourth-place finish.
Dupont swam to a personal best leading off the Mexican 4×100 freestyle relay in a time of 48.48, shaving off 0.33 seconds from his previous time. He also posted a quick 47.59 relay split on the 4×100 medley relay to bring Mexico to 15th.
Incoming freshman Ethan Ekk narrowly missed out on the finals of the 400-meter freestyle, placing ninth in the event in a personal-best time of 3:46.01. Ekk led off the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, providing the fastest split of the morning for the Canadians in a 1:46.71. The 18-year-old placed 14th in the 800 freestyle (7:53.30) and 18th in the 200-meter backstroke.
Senior Hayden Kwan (Hong Kong) and sophomore Finn Harland (New Zealand) swam backstroke for their countries.
Kwan led off the Hong Kong 400-meter medley relays to place 19th in the mixed-gender (56.10) and 24th in the men’s (56.77). He also placed 50th in the 100-meter backstroke (57.02) and 37th in the 200 distance.
Harland swam to personal bests in the 50- and 100-meter backstrokes. In the shorter distance, he qualified 10th following the first round (24.76) to earn a spot in the semifinals, where he placed 16th (25.02). The sophomore placed 22nd in the 100 backstroke (54.17) to round out his senior international debut.
The sole medal for the Stanford men came from Andrei Minakov ‘25. Russian-born Minakov competed under the “Neutral Athletes – B” designation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since the initial ban on Russian athletes, those complicit with World Aquatics’ regulations are allowed to participate under a neutral status.
The 2022 NCAA 100-yard butterfly champion has continued to showcase his expertise in the event, withsixth-place finish in the 100-meter butterfly in a time of 50.90. Later on in the meet, Minakov swam butterfly on the neutral men’s winning 4×100 medley relay, dropping a 50.17 to win in a time of 3:26.93. This European Record-breaking swim was only 0.15 off the United States’ world record.
Another butterflier, junior Caroline Bricker, had a breakout swim at the US Summer National meet in early June to qualify for this year’s World Championships.
After dropping almost four seconds to win the 200-meter butterfly in a time of 2:05.80, Caroline Bricker earned her opportunity to compete for America. In Singapore, Bricker qualified for her first World Championship final, posting a time of 2:07.59 to place sixth. Her time from the U.S. national meet ranks her as the fourth-fastest performer this year.
Also representing the United States, Simone Manuel ‘18, Katie Ledecky ‘20 and senior Torri Huske each earned multiple medals for the country.
Manuel, a multi-time NCAA champion for the Cardinal, has been a constant relay fixture for the Americans. As a preliminary-only member of three relay teams, Manuel received medals for her efforts. Swimming third on the mixed-gender 400 freestyle relay, Manuel was the second-fastest woman in the preliminary field.
Her lead-off time for the women’s 400 freestyle relay placed the Americans into an early medal position, helping the Americans to a second-place finish behind Australia.
Ledecky, a distance specialist, swam to a bronze medal in the 400 freestyle and anchored the women’s American-record-breaking 4×200-meter freestyle relay to earn silver.
With her first-place finish in the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky became the first swimmer to win the same event at seven different world championships, dating back to her first win in 2013. In a nail-biting race, Ledecky defended her crown in the 800 freestyle, touching first in a time of 8:05.62.
With her medals in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles alongside the 4×200-meter freestyle relay bringing her to 30 total medals, Ledecky passed Olympian Ryan Lochte for most all-time World Championships medals. The only person ahead of her, with 33 medals, is Michael Phelps.
While she did not have the chance to defend her win from Paris in the 100 butterfly, citing food poisoning from the team’s training camp in Thailand, Huske rose through the ranks and made the final in her two other individual events, placing sixth in the 50 free (24.50) and winning a bronze medal in the 100 freestyle (52.89).
One of the most consistent swimmers on the United States’ roster, Huske showed impressive resolve in Singapore. As an anchor for the women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay, she swam a 52.88 to bring the team home in silver-medal fashion. Later on in the meet, Huske anchored the women’s 4×100 medley relay (52.52) and the mixed-gender 4×100 freestyle relay (52.44) to usher in new world records in both events.