For the 2024 World Short Course Championships (December 10-15 in Budapest), the British Swimming Federation made the choice to send a small delegation, with only ten athletes, mixing experience and youth. Despite this, a medal was secured by Abbie Wood on the very first evening, marking her first-ever individual World Championship medal.
Her First Individual World Medal
Abbie Wood had qualified with the fastest time for the 200 meters individual medley final, but it was hard to consider her the favorite for the gold medal, especially against Kate Douglass, the Olympic silver medalist in the event from Paris, where she also won four medals, including two golds. After the first 100 meters of butterfly, the American swimmer was leading, but Abbie Wood made up ground in the backstroke, her specialty, and managed to maintain a slight lead after the breaststroke, which is Douglass’ strongest stroke, despite significant effort. Unfortunately for the Buxton (Derbyshire) swimmer, the effort expended earlier in the race didn’t allow her to keep up with Kate Douglass, who ultimately won with a new world record. Abbie Wood was even overtaken by the other American in the final, Alex Walsh, who steadily closed the gap. Nonetheless, Abbie Wood improved her own national record by nearly two seconds, a time she had set in the same city four years prior. After her first individual World Championship medal and many fourth-place finishes in her career, including at the Olympic Games, she was obviously thrilled with the outcome: “I’m so shocked by myself! To achieve a personal best by two seconds at this stage of my career, I’m honestly amazed by my performance. Seeing Kate [Douglass] set a world record beside me obviously pushed me, but it really feels great to be back in a race of this level – it always seems to bring out my best times.”
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