Day 1 of the 2023 Swimming World Cup is currently up and running. Amid this highly anticipated event, most athletes look forward to securing their tickets for the next Olympics. Unfortunately, in the waters of Berlin, Team USA suffered quite setbacks on the first day. Besides this, athletes, like Chad Le Clos and Charlie Clark, failed to secure a position in the 400-meter freestyle event.

Following Clark’s poor performance at the heats, a 23-year-old swimmer came to the rescue for the U.S. team squad. The athlete secured a second position in the heats. However, nine hours after bearing the torch for America, the athlete was met with disappointment at the finals.

Kieran Smith faces a setback at World Cup swimming finals

At the 400-meter freestyle finals, Kieran Smith was faced with disappointment. According to the official World Aquatics YouTube channel, Kieran Smith secured the last-second position on the podium by finishing the event in 3:48.40. During this time, the 23-year-old swimmer secured 894 points.

Interestingly, this setback comes after the US team failed to secure a position in the 400-meter female freestyle event. At the event, the sole swimmer representing the USA finished the event last.

Women’s team’s disappointing results at the 400m event

At the 400-meter freestyle event final, Claire Weinstein finished the event last. The athlete who is on a mission to break Australian swimmer Ariane Titmus’ record secured the eighth position by clocking in 4:18.56, while Kiwi swimmers Erika Fairweather and Lani Pallister secured the first and second positions by finishing the race in 4:01.9 and 4:02.7. This loss comes for Weinstein after securing the third position at heats by clocking in 4:09.60.

Also Read: America’s Kieran Smith Comes to Rescue as Country Squad Opens With Disappointing Start at Swimming World Cup 2023

Despite the loss of Claire Weinstein and Charlie Clark, Kieran Smith’s hope to participate in the Olympics continues to persist. The swimming enthusiasts are also girding up for the 23-year-old athlete to gain back his form and strike his magic in Paris next year.

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