North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Swimmers Earn Five Medals At World Championships
12/11/2016 7:22:00 PM | Swimming
Bilis, Zevnik win gold medals in respective events
WINDSOR, Canada - Current members Anton Ipsen and Alexia Zevnik and alum Simonas Bilis of the NC State swimming and diving team wrapped up stellar appearances at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships on Sunday evening in Windsor, Canada.
The three swimmers competed in a combined eight events inside the WFCU Arena and earned five medals over the six-day championship.Â
"We're very proud of our Wolfpackers who competed in Canada this week and represented their countries at the World Championships," said head coach Braden Holloway. "Obviously the highlight of the meet was Simonas Bilis winning a gold medal in the 100 free. Hats off to the hard work he's put in to achieve his goals, and congrats to coach Todd DeSorbo for preparing him for that victory.
"Anton (Ipsen) had a great mile, and came in tonight and dug deep against the world record holder and two Olympic champions. He did very well and walked away with the two fastest times he's ever swam. He trained pretty hard right up until he left for Canada. Coach Gary Taylor got him ready for this and it paid off very well.
"Alexia (Zevnik) also helped Canada on a lot of relays and is coming away with three medals. She was outstanding and performed great. We're really happy with how our three swimmers did this week, and are coming back with five medals - three gold and two bronze. They worked hard for this moment and represented NC State and their countries very well."
Ipsen competed for Denmark in the 1500 freestyle, as he finished fourth in the overall standings with a time of 14:31.53.
Zevnik swam for Canada on four relays, helping her country earn medals in three of them. She swam the second leg of the 4x50 mixed free relay (24.28 split) in the prelims to help the team grab a spot in the finals, as Canada managed to claim a bronze medal.Â
She additionally swam the second leg of the 4x50 and 4x200 free relays in the prelims (24.54 and 1:55.87 splits), and her country proceeded to win gold medals in both events.
Bilis competed for Lithuania in the 50, 100 and 200 free. The highlight of his showing in Canada came on the final day of competition, winning a gold medal in the 100 free. He touched the wall at 46.58 to post a Lithuanian national record.
In the 50 free he also tabbed a podium finish as he placed third in 21.23, and posted another national record in the event semifinals with a time of 21.15.
He additionally finished 28th in the final standings of the 200 free with a time of 1:45.81.Â
NC State will return to action when members of the diving team compete in the Tennessee Diving Invitational Jan. 3-5.Â
