2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships: Day 6 Finals Preview

2019 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• All sports: Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• Pool swimming: Sunday, July 21 – Sunday, July 28, 2019
• The Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center, Gwangju, Korea
• Meet site
• Competition Schedule
• FinaTV Live Stream
• Entry Lists
• Results

The sixth day of the FINA World Championships will feature 5 more world champions to be crowned and 4 semifinals to determine the top 8 swimmers to fend more a medal.

Day 6 Finals Events:

• Women’s 100 Free- Final
• Men’s 100 Fly- Semifinals
• Women’s 200 Back- Semifinals
• Men’s 50 Free- Semifinals
• Women’s 200 Breast- Finals
• Men’s 200 Back- Finals
• Women’s 50 Fly- Semifinals
• Men’s 200 Breast- Final
• Men’s 4×200 Free Relay- Final

More of 2017’s world champions will pursue the quest to defend their titles while many other swimmers will look to topple these event favorites. One of the running storylines to follow is Caeleb Dressel and his journey towards a historical gold medal count. He will be swimming two semifinals, the 100 fly and 50 free, to lock in his spot and defend both of his world titles. Sarah Sjostrom will also have two swims tonight as she will aim to claim her first 100 free world title and continue her journey towards her 3rd consecutive world title in the 50 fly.

Day 6 Finals Top Storylines to Watch:

• Yulia Efimova of Russia has the chance to chase history and become the first woman to win three world titles in the 200 breast final. South African Tatjana Schoenmaker also could become the first event medalist for her country during this evening’s final.
• Another Russian, Evgeny Rylov, will also chase his second consecutive world title in the 200 back, with the 2017 silver and bronze medalists Ryan Murphy and Jacob Pebley of the USA close on his tail.
• The men’s 200 breast will have a showdown among the co-world record-holders, Matthew Wilson and Ippei Watanabe, and the defending world champion Anton Chupkov.
• Sarah Sjostrom is one of the most accomplished sprinters in the world. However, the 100 free is an event that Sjostrom has yet to claim a world title in. Sjostrom has won 3 straight silver medals in the event and will be going against the defending world champion Simone Manuel and the 2013 world champion Cate Campbell.
• 17-year-old American Regan Smith stormed to the top seed of the women’s 200 back semifinals with a world junior record time of 2:06.01. Nearly 2 seconds behind her and competing in the other semifinal heat is Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu, who was the 2017 silver medalist in this event.
• The three of the fastest men in the world, Caeleb Dressel, Ben Proud, and Vladimir Morozov, will compete in the 50 free semifinals. Dressel is the defending world champion while Proud was the 2017 bronze medalist and Morozov was the 2013 silver medalist.
• Dressel won’t be done in the evening as he will contest in the 100 fly semifinals and continue to pursue the 2009 world record alongside now current 200 fly world record-holder Kristof Milak.
• The women’s 50 fly semifinals will feature a plethora of swimmers who will be aiming to claim top 8 spots into the final and claim more world medals under their belt. 2-time world champion Sarah Sjostrom and the remaining 2017 top 3, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Farida Osman, will be aiming to claim the top 3 honors this year.
• The men’s 800 free relay could feature many possible scenarios that will shake up history. The Italian were the top seeds after prelims, and could become the first event medalists since 2001. Meanwhile, the American could shoot for their first event title since 2013 with some relay line-up changes. Swimming out of lane one are the Great Britain team, who are the 2-time defending world champions.