2016 Short Course World Championships: Day 2 Finals Preview

2016 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• December 6th – December 11th, 2016
• Windsor, Ontario, Canada
• WFCU Centre
• SCM (25m)
• Prelims: 9:30 AM EST/Finals: 6:30 PM EST
• Start Lists/Results
• Live Stream ($)

We’ve got a slew of races ahead us this evening at the 2016 FINA Short Course World Championships.  Tonight features finals in the 100 back, 100 breast, and 200 free for the men and in the 4×50 medley relay, 200 fly, 50 breast, and 100 back for the women.  Additionally, we’ll see the semifinals of the women’s 100 free and the men’s 100 fly, along with the finals of the mixed 4×50 relay to end the evening.

Hosszu Takes It “Easy”

The Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu has a relatively light schedule this evening.  A day after competing in the 200 free, 400 IM, and the 100 back, Hosszu will stick to the 200 fly and the 100 back as her only individual, but she’ll still have her work cut out for her.  In the 200 fly, Hosszu will have to face down a field that includes top seeded American Kelsi Worrell, who posted the top time this morning by over a second.  Hosszu is the defending champion and world record holder in the 100 back, but the top seed belongs to Canadian Kylie Masse, who’s been having a great meet so far.

Battles Brewing in the Breaststrokes

Especially without long course world record holder Adam Peaty, tonight’s race in the 100 breast could be just about anyone’s game.  While most of Marco Koch‘s international medals have come in the 200 breast, he’ll swim out of lane four this evening, but four other swimmers were within three-tenths of a second of Koch’s time from yesterday’s semifinals, including Brazil’s Felipe Silva and Russian Vladimir Morozov.  On the women’s side, Alia Atkinson is the world record holder in the 50 breast, but American Lilly King was nipping at her heels yesterday, and it should be a great battle.  Atkinson swam a 29.09 in semis yesterday, while King went 29.17.  Atkinson’s world record stands at 28.64.

200 Free Appears Wide Open

Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago scorched a NCAA-leading time last week at the Texas Invite (in short course yards format) while swimming for the University of Southern California.  He then scratched the 100 back to focus on the 200 free, and that strategy seems to be paying off, as he posted the fast time in last night’s semis, a 1:42.90.  Yet tonight’s field also includes the two men who have won the past three Olympic silver medals in this event in Chad le Clos (2016) and Park Tae Hwan (2012 and 2008).