New Zealand Team Ready to Make Their Mark in Romania

Competition Preview of the 2025 World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships

A team of nine New Zealand swimmers are ready to take on the world at the 2025 World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships being held in Otopeni, Romania, between 19 – 24 August.

The team is led by three athletes who competed at the previous edition of the championships in 2023. World Junior silver medallist Monique Wieruszowski (North Shore) returns to the level after her breakout performances at the championships two years ago, while Aquablack #293 Zoe Pedersen (Coast) will be using her experience from the recent senior World Championships to guide the team as she returns to the junior ranks. Both Pedersen and teammate Milan Glintmeyer (Coast) will appear at their second World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships.

Six athletes will make their first appearance at a pinnacle junior international competition. Ariel Muchirahondo (Swim Rotorua) will compete in five individual events across the championships, bringing his record-breaking form to the international stage. Daniel Kregting (Roskill) and Igor Russanov (Coast) will both appear in two individual events, as the Australian-based trio of Alyssa Lawson (Hamilton Aquatics & St Andrew’s), James Leigh (Coast & Marist) and Alyssa Tapper (St Peter’s & Griffith University) are also set to make their first appearance on the international stage.

The team is being led by Head Coach John Gatfield (Coast) and supported by coach Aidan Withington (Swim Rotorua) and team manager Amanda White (Swimming NZ).

The team will be aiming to extend New Zealand’s medal-winning streak, having claimed at least one medal at every World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships the nation has contested since the competition’s inception in 2006.

The racing gets underway on Tuesday 19 August, with the heats session kick starting from 6.30pm NZST, and finals from 3am NZST. You can stay up-to-date with the action by following our social media channels for updates and our website for day wraps of the action taking place in Romania.

Entries & Results

You can watch the livestream through the World Aquatics Recast platform by purchasing access from the link below.

Watch Here

We have provided an overview of the action taking place each day in the daily schedule below. We have also listed the entries for each athlete and the team selected to ensure you know everything ahead of the six days of competition in Romania.

Daily Schedule

*Start times are subject to change, while semi-finals and finals are subject to athlete progression

Tuesday 19 August

Day One Heats – from 6.30pm NZST

• Men’s 400m freestyle (Leigh)

• Women’s 50m breaststroke (Wieruszowski)

• Men’s 100m backstroke (Muchirahondo)

• Women’s 100m backstroke (Glintmeyer)

Wednesday 20 August

Day One Semis/Finals (Potential) – from 3am NZST

• Men’s 400m freestyle final (Leigh*)

• Women’s 50m breaststroke semi-final (Wieruszowski*)

• Men’s 100m backstroke semi-final (Muchirahondo*)

• Women’s 100m backstroke semi-final (Glintmeyer*)

Day Two Heats – from 6.30pm NZST

• Men’s 200m individual medley (Muchirahondo)

• Women’s 100m freestyle (Pedersen & Lawson)

• Men’s 100m butterfly (Kregting)

• Men’s 200m freestyle (Leigh)

Thursday 21 August

Day Two Semis/Finals (Potential) – from 3am NZST

• Men’s 100m backstroke final (Muchirahondo*)

• Men’s 200m freestyle final (Leigh*)

• Women’s 50m breaststroke final (Wieruszowski*)

• Men’s 100m butterfly semi-final (Kregting*)

• Women’s 100m freestyle semi-final (Pedersen* & Lawson*)

• Women’s 100m backstroke final (Glintmeyer*)

• Men’s 200m individual medley final (Muchirahondo*)

Day Three Heats – from 6.30pm NZST

• Women’s 50m butterfly (Pedersen)

• Women’s 100m breaststroke (Wieruszowski)

• Men’s 50m freestyle (Russanov)

• Men’s 800m freestyle timed final (Leigh)

Friday 22 August

Day Three Semis/Finals (Potential) – from 3am NZST

• Women’s 50m butterfly semi-final (Pedersen*)

• Men’s 50m freestyle semi-final (Russanov*)

• Men’s 100m butterfly final (Kregting*)

• Women’s 100m breaststroke semi-final (Wieruszowski*)

• Women’s 100m freestyle final (Pedersen* & Lawson*)

Day Four Heats – from 6.30pm NZST

• Women’s 50m backstroke (Glintmeyer)

• Men’s 50m butterfly (Kregting)

• Women’s 400m freestyle (Tapper)

Saturday 23 August

Day Four Semis/Finals (Potential) – from 3am NZST

• Women’s 50m backstroke semi-final (Glintmeyer*)

• Women’s 50m butterfly final (Pedersen*)

• Women’s 100m breaststroke final (Wieruszowski*)

• Men’s 50m butterfly semi-final (Kregting*)

• Women’s 400m freestyle final (Tapper*)

• Men’s 50m freestyle final (Russanov*)

Day Five Heats – from 6.30pm NZST

• Men’s 100m freestyle (Russanov)

• Women’s 100m butterfly (Glintmeyer)

• Men’s 400m individual medley (Muchirahondo)

• Women’s 50m freestyle (Pedersen & Lawson)

Sunday 24 August

Day Five Semis/Finals (Potential) – from 3am NZST

• Men’s 100m freestyle semi-final (Russanov*)

• Women’s 100m butterfly semi-final (Glintmeyer*)

• Men’s 50m butterfly final (Kregting*)

• Women’s 50m freestyle semi-final (Pedersen* & Lawson*)

• Women’s 50m backstroke final (Glintmeyer*)

• Men’s 400m individual medley final (Muchirahondo*)

Day Six Heats – from 6.30pm NZST

• Men’s 200m backstroke (Muchirahondo)

• Women’s 200m breaststroke (Wieruszowski)

• Men’s 200m butterfly (Muchirahondo & Kregting)

• Women’s 200m freestyle (Tapper)

• Women’s 4 x 100m medley relay

Monday 25 August

Day Six Finals (Potential) – from 3am NZST

• Men’s 100m freestyle final (Russanov*)

• Women’s 200m breaststroke final (Wieruszowski*)

• Men’s 200m backstroke final (Muchirahondo*)

• Women’s 100m butterfly final (Glintmeyer*)

• Women’s 50m freestyle final (Pedersen* & Lawson*)

• Men’s 200m butterfly final (Muchirahondo* & Kregting*)

• Women’s 200m freestyle final (Tapper*)

• Women’s 4 x 100m medley relay*

Swimmer Entries

Milan Glintmeyer

• Women’s 50m backstroke (entry time: 28.83)

• Women’s 100m backstroke (entry time: 1:00.84)

• Women’s 100m butterfly (entry time: 1:00.16)

Daniel Kregting

• Men’s 50m butterfly (entry time: 25.59)

• Men’s 100m butterfly (entry time: 56.41)

• Men’s 200m butterfly (entry time: 2:02.55)

Alyssa Lawson

• Women’s 50m freestyle (entry time: 26.03)

• Women’s 100m freestyle (entry time: 56.55)

James Leigh

• Men’s 200m freestyle (entry time: 1:52.08)

• Men’s 400m freestyle (entry time: 4:00.54)

• Men’s 800m freestyle (entry time: 8:19.61)

Ariel Muchirahondo

• Men’s 100m backstroke (entry time: 56.58)

• Men’s 200m backstroke (entry time: 2:01.89)

• Men’s 200m butterfly (entry time: 2:06.30)

• Men’s 200m individual medley (entry time: 2:07.99)

• Men’s 400m individual medley (entry time: 4:24.46)

Zoe Pedersen

• Women’s 50m freestyle (entry time: 25.43)

• Women’s 100m freestyle (entry time: 55.39)

• Women’s 50m butterfly (entry time: 26.15)

Igor Russanov

• Men’s 50m freestyle (entry time: 23.02)

• Men’s 100m freestyle (entry time: 50.64)

Alyssa Tapper

• Women’s 200m freestyle (entry time: 2:02.58)

• Women’s 400m freestyle (entry time: 4:15.76)

Monique Wieruszowski

• Women’s 50m breaststroke (entry time: 31.24)

• Women’s 100m breaststroke (entry time: 1:09.49)

• Women’s 200m breaststroke (entry time: 2:31.92)

Women’s 4 x 100m medley relay (no entry time)

• Athletes and order TBC

Team Selected

The swimmers selected to represent New Zealand:

Name	Club	Coach	Role
Milan Glintmeyer	Coast	John Gatfield	Swimmer
Daniel Kregting	Roskill	Josh Munro	Swimmer
Alyssa Lawson	Hamilton Aquatics & St Andrew's	Brad Hillier	Swimmer
James Leigh	Coast & Marist	James Boyce	Swimmer
Ariel Muchirahondo	Swim Rotorua	Aidan Withington	Swimmer
Zoe Pedersen	Coast	John Gatfield	Swimmer
Igor Russanov	Coast	John Gatfield	Swimmer
Alyssa Tapper	St Peter's & Griffith University	Tom Fraser-Holmes	Swimmer
Monique Wieruszowski	North Shore	Graham Hill	Swimmer

The coaches and support staff selected to guide our New Zealand are:

Name	Organisation	Role
John Gatfield	Coast	Head Coach
Aidan Withington	Swim Rotorua	Assistant Coach
Amanda White	Swimming NZ	Team Manager