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At Suburban Swim League championships, coaches compete in annual relay
Coaches of club teams throughout the Suburban Swim League race in a 4×25 medley relay at the Western Family YMCA near Newark on July 19, 2025.
- Tommy Janton will represent the U.S. in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
- The competition will be streamed on Peacock from July 27-Aug. 3.
- A strong performance could help Janton qualify for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships.
The 2025 World Aquatics Championships – arguably the largest global water sports competition aside from the Olympics – begins for swimming next week in Singapore. And this year, there’s a Delaware swimmer to watch.
Tommy Janton, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, native who swam for the Salesianum School and Delaware clubs, will be representing the United States in the men’s 100-meter backstroke. The rising senior at Notre Dame qualified in June after winning the same event at the U.S. National Championships.
Swimming at worlds runs just over a week, from July 27 to Aug. 3, but time in Singapore runs 12 hours ahead of Delaware. That means preliminary heats for the opening session begin the night of July 26, Eastern Standard Time.
Here’s how you can watch.
How to watch Delaware swimmer at World Aquatics Championships
All sessions of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships will be streamed on Peacock in the U.S. A premium Peacock subscription costs $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year, but college students can get a discounted subscription at $2.99 per month.
Janton will race in preliminary heats in the men’s 100-meter backstroke late on the night of July 27. If he finishes in the top 16, he would advance to the semifinals, which take place the morning of July 28. A top-eight finish there would qualify him for finals on the morning of July 29.
A strong individual performance could put Janton in contention to swim the backstroke leg on both the men’s and the mixed 4×100 medley relays, either in the heats or the finals.
While individually outperforming Jack Aikins – the other U.S. representative in the men’s 100 back – could likely earn Janton a finals nod in the men’s relay, whether he swims in the mixed relay will depend on what Team USA coaches believe is the best male-female combination for the team.
A schedule of Janton’s potential events, at a glance:
- Men’s 100 backstroke heats: 10 p.m. EST, July 27
- Men’s 100 backstroke semifinals: 7 a.m. EST, July 28*
- Men’s 100 backstroke finals: 7 a.m. EST, July 29*
- Mixed 4×100 medley relay heats: 10 p.m. EST, July 29*
- Mixed 4×100 medley relay finals: 7 a.m. EST, July 30*
- Men’s 4×100 medley relay heats: 10 p.m. EST, Aug. 2*
- Men’s 4×100 medley relay finals: 7 a.m. EST, Aug. 3*
*In these events, Janton is not guaranteed a swim.
What to expect in the global championship
Janton comes into worlds as the 14th seed in the 100 back, with an entry time of 53 seconds set at nationals. That makes a top-eight finish to make it into the final an uphill battle.
But it isn’t impossible.
A combination of Janton improving from his nationals performance and those ahead of him swimming slower than their seed times could put him ahead. For reference, it took 52.95 seconds to make the final at the 2024 Olympic Games and 53.21 seconds to make the final at the 2023 worlds.
The fastest time in the event this year belongs to South Africa’s Pieter Coetze, who posted a 51.99 at the World University Games earlier this month. Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder, has the fastest entry time of 52.00 but has been only as fast as 52.84 in 2025.
Other possible medal contenders include the second-seeded Kliment Kolesnikov of Russia (52.04), World Junior Record holder Miron Lifintsev of Russia (52.15), reigning Olympic silver medalist Xu Jiayu of China (52.49) and reigning 200 backstroke Olympic champion Hubert Kos of Hungary (52.24).
What are the stakes?
Janton’s performance could have him in contention to make the U.S. team for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, which stands to be the squad’s primary summer international meet next year.
Times from finals of this summer’s worlds, U.S. nationals, World University Games, World Junior Championships and the TYR Pro Summer Championship will be taken into consideration for Pan Pacs qualification. Based on the meet’s selection criteria, Janton would likely need a top-two 100 back time among performances across those meets to make Pan Pacs.
That’s no easy feat. Although Janton posted the fastest 100 back time at the U.S. nationals, both Will Modglin and Daniel Diehl outperformed that time at the World University Games last week. Janton will have to beat Diehl’s 52.94 to slot into the No. 2 spot, assuming he is the fastest American at worlds.
Qualification for the 2027 World Championships and the 2028 Olympic Games are not impacted by this contest, as separate competitions will decide teams for those events.
Yanyan Li is a news intern at Delaware Online/The News Journal. Please reach out to her at YLi1@delawareonline.com or @yyanyanli1 on X with any tips or story ideas.
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