Indiana University postgraduate swimmers Zach Apple and Blake Pieroni won gold medals on Saturday morning at the 2019 FINA World Championships.
In the final of the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay, IU postgrad Zach Apple won gold with Team USA, helping the Americans win with a world-record time of 3:19.40. Apple, who swam the second leg in a time of 47.34, was joined on the relay by Caeleb Dressel, Mallory Comerford and Simone Manual.
Pieroni led off for Team USA in the prelims of the event on Friday night to earn his gold, splitting a 48.15 to help the U.S. earn the top seed for the finals with a time of 3:22.70.
On the week, both Apple and Pieroni have won two gold medals and one bronze medal for Team USA in relays.
In the women’s 50m breaststroke semifinals, Lilly King touched the wall with a time of 29.84 to earn the top seed. King, the defending champion and world record holder in the event, will swim in the final at 7:00 a.m. ET on Sunday morning.
IU rising senior Mohamed Samy placed 16th for Team Egypt in the men’s 50m backstroke with a time of 25.16. In the men’s 1500m freestyle, Indiana postgrad Zane Grothe placed 26th overall with a time of 15:21.43.
Swimming prelims in Gwangju begin each night at 9:00 p.m. ET, with finals the next morning starting at 7:00 a.m. ET. Swimming at the FINA World Championships runs through Monday, July 28.
