FINA World Championships
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue swimmers Nikola Acin and Jinq En Phee have earned the right to compete for their countries at the top international meet of the year, the FINA World Championships in South Korea.
Acin was selected as part of Serbia's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team. Phee will represent Malaysia in the 50- and 100-meter breaststroke. They were both NCAA Championships qualifiers for Purdue during the 2018-19 season.
The FINA World Championships are set for July 12 to 28 in Gwangju, South Korea. The swimming events are on the schedule for July 21 to 28 after diving wraps up on July 20.
Purdue is slated to be represented by eight competitors – four alumni and four current student-athletes – at the World Championships this year. That total is believed to be a school record. Four more Boilermakers are also competing at the World University Games in July.
Phee qualified for the World Championships for the second time in her career. She also competed in the breaststroke events in 2015 when the World Championships were held in Kazan, Russia. A year later, she was an Olympian for Malaysia in Rio de Janeiro, before enrolling at Purdue in the fall of 2016. She remains a member of the Malaysian National Team.
Acin broke 50 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.95 on June 23 in Belgrade. It was that showing that helped lead to his selection to the Serbian relay team for the World Championships. Serbia can qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games with a top-14 showing in the event at Worlds. As a member of the Serbian National Team, he has raced at prominent meets like the 2018 Senior European Championships and 2017 Balkan Championships.
Phee remains one of only two women in Purdue history to break one minute in the 100-yard breaststroke. She was an All-American and championship finalist in the event in her debut at the NCAA Championships as a sophomore in 2018. She returned to the NCAA national championship meet in both breaststroke events as a junior this year.
Internationally, Phee won the 100-meter breaststroke and took second in the 50 at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. The following year at the Asian Games, she established a Malaysian Record in the 50-meter breaststroke while placing fifth. She was also a finalist in the 100.
Acin enjoyed a breakout first year at Purdue, eclipsing the program's freshman records in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle at the Big Ten Championships. Overall, he moved up into the top three in team history in all three races. He also had a big impact on the relays, contributing to program records in the 400 free relay and both medley relays. Acin swam the freestyle anchor leg on the 200 and 400 medley relays at the NCAA Championships, with both quartets earning honorable mention All-America accolades. It marked the first time in program history Purdue garnered All-America honors in two different relay events in the same year.
The 4x100 free relay is on the first day of action at the World Championships. It will be the final event on the schedule for Sunday, July 21. Because of the 13-hour time difference between Gwangju and the USA's Eastern Time Zone, the prelims for that day's events are at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 20.
Phee's first event at the World Championships will be the 100 breast, with the prelims set for 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 21.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue swimmers Nikola Acin and Jinq En Phee have earned the right to compete for their countries at the top international meet of the year, the FINA World Championships in South Korea.
Acin was selected as part of Serbia's 4x100-meter freestyle relay team. Phee will represent Malaysia in the 50- and 100-meter breaststroke. They were both NCAA Championships qualifiers for Purdue during the 2018-19 season.
The FINA World Championships are set for July 12 to 28 in Gwangju, South Korea. The swimming events are on the schedule for July 21 to 28 after diving wraps up on July 20.
Purdue is slated to be represented by eight competitors – four alumni and four current student-athletes – at the World Championships this year. That total is believed to be a school record. Four more Boilermakers are also competing at the World University Games in July.
| BOILERMAKERS AT THE 2019 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | |
| CURRENT STUDENT-ATHLETES Nikola Acin (Serbia) – 4x100 Free Relay Jinq En Phee (Malaysia) – 50 & 100 Breaststroke Brandon Loschiavo (USA) – 10-Meter Diving Ben Bramley (USA) – Synchronized 10-Meter Diving |
ALUMNI David Boudia (USA) – 3-Meter Diving Steele Johnson (USA) – Synchronized 10-Meter Diving David Colturi (USA) – 27-Meter High Diving Steven LoBue (USA) – 27-Meter High Diving |
Phee qualified for the World Championships for the second time in her career. She also competed in the breaststroke events in 2015 when the World Championships were held in Kazan, Russia. A year later, she was an Olympian for Malaysia in Rio de Janeiro, before enrolling at Purdue in the fall of 2016. She remains a member of the Malaysian National Team.
Acin broke 50 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.95 on June 23 in Belgrade. It was that showing that helped lead to his selection to the Serbian relay team for the World Championships. Serbia can qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games with a top-14 showing in the event at Worlds. As a member of the Serbian National Team, he has raced at prominent meets like the 2018 Senior European Championships and 2017 Balkan Championships.
Phee remains one of only two women in Purdue history to break one minute in the 100-yard breaststroke. She was an All-American and championship finalist in the event in her debut at the NCAA Championships as a sophomore in 2018. She returned to the NCAA national championship meet in both breaststroke events as a junior this year.
Internationally, Phee won the 100-meter breaststroke and took second in the 50 at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. The following year at the Asian Games, she established a Malaysian Record in the 50-meter breaststroke while placing fifth. She was also a finalist in the 100.
Acin enjoyed a breakout first year at Purdue, eclipsing the program's freshman records in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle at the Big Ten Championships. Overall, he moved up into the top three in team history in all three races. He also had a big impact on the relays, contributing to program records in the 400 free relay and both medley relays. Acin swam the freestyle anchor leg on the 200 and 400 medley relays at the NCAA Championships, with both quartets earning honorable mention All-America accolades. It marked the first time in program history Purdue garnered All-America honors in two different relay events in the same year.
The 4x100 free relay is on the first day of action at the World Championships. It will be the final event on the schedule for Sunday, July 21. Because of the 13-hour time difference between Gwangju and the USA's Eastern Time Zone, the prelims for that day's events are at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 20.
Phee's first event at the World Championships will be the 100 breast, with the prelims set for 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 21.
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