Turkey’s Kuzey Tuncelli Obliterates World Junior Record With 14:41.89 1500 Free

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2024 EUROPEAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Tuesday, July 2nd – Sunday, July 7th
Prelims at 9:30am local/Finals at 6pm local
Lazdynai Pool, Vilnius, Lithuania
LCM (50m)
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The third night of finals from the 2024 European Junior Championships featured the best swim of the competition thus far, as Turkey’s Kuzey Tuncelli unleashed a stunning performance in the boys’ 1500 freestyle.

Tuncelli put on a masterclass, taking the lead from the first 50 and running away from the field to touch first by more than 22 seconds in 14:41.89, taking down Franko Grgic‘s World Junior and European Junior Record of 14:46.09 set at the 2019 World Junior Championships.

Tuncelli, 16, knocked more than 12 seconds off his Turkish Record and lifetime best of 14:54.16, set in July 2023.

He’s also been close to that mark twice in the lead-up to this competition, placing 8th at the 2024 World Championships (14:54.98 in the prelims) and winning the European senior title in 14:55.64 less than two weeks ago.

In April 2023, he became the first 15-year-old to break 15:00 in the 1500 free.

Split Comparison

Grgic, 2019
Tuncelli, 2024

27.21
26.75

56.52 (29.31)
55.36 (28.61)

1:26.03 (29.51)
1:24.85 (29.49)

1:55.88 (29.85)
1:54.40 (29.55)

2:25.64 (29.76)
2:23.74 (29.34)

2:55.57 (29.93)
2:53.23 (29.49)

3:25.49 (29.92)
3:22.78 (29.55)

3:55.53 (30.04)
3:52.52 (29.74)

4:25.10 (29.57)
4:22.04 (29.52)

4:54.84 (29.74)
4:51.74 (29.70)

5:24.57 (29.73)
5:21.37 (29.63)

5:54.31 (29.74)
5:50.82 (29.45)

6:24.02 (29.71)
6:20.33 (29.51)

6:53.66 (29.64)
6:49.72 (29.39)

7:23.47 (29.81)
7:19.27 (29.55)

7:53.07 (29.60)
7:48.99 (29.72)

8:22.76 (29.69)
8:18.42 (29.43)

8:52.49 (29.73)
8:47.98 (29.56)

9:22.12 (29.63)
9:17.33 (29.35)

9:51.66 (29.54)
9:47.22 (29.89)

10:21.32 (29.66)
10:16.74 (29.52)

10:50.93 (29.61)
10:46.56 (29.82)

11:20.63 (29.70)
11:16.42 (29.86)

11:50.21 (29.58)
11:46.51 (30.09)

12:19.93 (29.72)
12:16.33 (29.82)

12:49.43 (29.50)
12:45.66 (29.33)

13:19.30 (29.87)
13:15.14 (29.48)

13:48.71 (29.41)
13:45.23 (30.09)

14:17.80 (29.09)
14:14.46 (29.23)

14:46.09 (28.29)
14:41.89 (27.43)

Tuncelli also took 17 seconds off the European Junior Championship Record of 14:58.89 that he set last year en route to gold.

Set to turn 17 in August, he moves into 18th all-time in the event and 8th among Europeans.

For additional context, his time is more than 22 seconds faster than the existing U.S. National Age Group Record for 15-16 boys of 15:03.91 set by Bobby Hackett in 1976.

Set to make his Olympic debut in Paris, Tuncelli moves into #4 in the world this season.

In the race itself, Tuncelli won by a massive margin ahead of Germany’s Johannes Liebmann (15:04.04), while he was joined by countryman and bronze medalist Muhammed Yusuf Ozden (15:19.56) on the podium.

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