2017 FINA World Championships: Day 7 Prelims Live Recap

2017 FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 30th
• Budapest, Hungary
• LCM (50m)
• Full Competition Schedule
• Meet Info
• Psych Sheets
• Omega Results
• Pick ’em Contest
• Event-by-Event Previews

Saturday marks day 7 of the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary and swimming fans will get to see the heats of 5 events during this morning’s preliminary session. Swimmers are gearing up to compete in the women’s 50 free, men’s 50 back, women’s 50 breast, mixed 4×100 free relay, and men’s 1500 free.

The women’s 50 free will feature another battle between sprint stars Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) and Simone Manuel (USA), as they’ll swim next to each other in heat 10. Lilly King (USA) and Yuliya Efimova (RUS) will headline the 50 breast, with World Record holder Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) will also be in the mix. In the men’s 50 back, Camille Lacourt will compete in the final prelims session of his career. Lacourt is seeking a 3-peat in this race and will chase the World Record one last time in Budapest.

For a full preview of this morning’s events, click here.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE – PRELIMS

• World Record: Britta Steffen, 23.73, 2009
• Championship Record: Britta Steffen, 23.73, 2009
• Junior World Record: Rikako Ikee, 24.48, 2017

TOP 16:

1. Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, 24.08
2. Pernille Blume, DEN, 24.32
3. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, NED, 24.53
4. Simone Manuel, USA, 24.54
5. Bronte Campbell, AUS, 24.61
6. Michelle Toro, CAN, 24.64
7. Zhu Menghui, CHN, 24.65
8. Anna Santamans, FRA, 24.71
9. (T-9) Farida Osman, EGY, 24.77
10. (T-9) Liu Xang, CHN, 24.77
11. Aliaksandra Herasimenia, BLR, 24.82
12. Shayna Jack, AUS, 24.85
13. Abbey Weitzeil, USA, 24.92
14. Tamara Van Vilet, NED, 24.94
15. Sandrine Mainville, CAN, 24.99
16. Rikako Ikee, JPN, 25.04

Sarah Sjostrom shot off the block to give herself a clear lead over the field in the final heat, nearly breaking 24 seconds in prelims with her leading time of 24.08. That gave her about a half second over Simone Manuel, who touched out Sjostrom in last night’s 100 free final, as the American touched in 24.54 for 2nd in that heat. Olympic champ Pernille Blume won heat 8 with a 24.32 to take 2nd seed overall, followed by heat 9 winner Ranomi Kromowidjojo (24.53).

Farida Osman continued to impress here with a new African Record and Egyptian Record in the heats. Her new best time of 24.77 landed her safely into the semifinals in a tie for 9th and shaved just over a tenth off her former record, which stood as a 24.91 from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Olympic finalist Etiene Medeiros of Brazil will miss out on the final after touching in 25.26 for 21st this morning. France’s Melanie Henique, who will swim in tonight’s 50 fly final, was a no show in heat 9.

MEN’S 50 BACK – PRELIMS

• World Record: Liam Tancock, 24.04, 2009
• Championship Record: Liam Tancock, 24.04, 2009
• Junior World Record: Kliment Kolesnikov, 24.94, 2016

TOP 16:

1. Junya Koga, JPN, 24.54
2. Camille Lacourt, FRA, 24.58
3. (T-3) Xu Jiayu, CHN, 24.78
4. (T-3) Matt Grevers, USA, 24.78
5. Jeremy Stravius, FRA, 24.80
6. (T-6) Justin Ress, USA, 24.86
7. (T-6) Jonatan Kopelev, ISR, 24.86
8. Grigory Tarasevich, RUS, 24.88
9. Richard Bohus, HUN, 24.93
10. Pavel Sankovich, BLR, 24.94
11. Apostolos Christou, GRE, 24.99
12. (T-12) Youngjun Won, KOR, 25.10
13. (T-12) Tomasz Polewka, POL, 25.10
14. Guilherme Guido, BRA, 25.13
15. Javier Acevedo, CAN, 25.16
16. Siman Sudartawa, INA, 25.17

France’s Camille Lacourt swam the final prelims race of his career this morning, turning in a 24.58 in the 50 back heats. It was Junya Koga, however, who took the lead heading into semis, touching just a hundredth shy of his season best with a 24.54 to win heat 5 ahead of 100 back world champ Xu Jiayu (24.78).

Justin Ress remains the fastest man in the world this year with his 24.41 from nationals. He was safely into the semifinals with a 24.86 this morning, but came up just short of teammate Matt Grevers in heat 7 as Grevers used his long arm to reach in for a heat-winning 24.78.

WOMEN’S 50 BREAST – PRELIMS

• World Record: Ruta Meilutyte, 29.48, 2013
• Championship Record: Ruta Meilutyte, 29.48, 2013
• Junior World Record: Ruta Meilutyte, 29.86, 2013 (benchmark time)

TOP 16:

1. Lilly King, USA, 29.76
2. Yuliya Efimova, RUS, 29.99
3. Arianna Castiglioni, ITA, 30.33
4. Katie Meili, USA, 30.37
5. Jennie Johansson, SWE, 30.40
6. Ruta Meilutyte, LTU, 30.58
7. Jessica Hansen, AUS, 30.59
8. Sarah Vasey, GBR, 30.71
9. Natalia Ivaneeva, RUS, 30.81
10. Jenna Laukkanen, FIN, 30.82
11. Hilda Luthersdottir, ISL, 30.88
12. Veera Kivirinta, FIN, 30.89
13. Martina Carraro, ITA, 30.92
14. Satomi Suzuki, JPN, 30.95
15. Rachel Nicol, CAN, 31.02
16. Suo Ran, CHN, 31.22

Yuliya Efimova was the first to break 30 seconds this morning with her 29.99 in heat 5, but breaststroke rival Lilly King was waiting in the wings for heat 6. King answered back with a 29.76, marking the 2nd fastest American performance in history and touching just a tenth shy of her own American Record. Efimova was also just a tenth shy of her season best, which stands at a 29.88 from the Russian Championships.

Both women will be chasing the World Record of 29.46 in the semis and finals of this race. Current World Record holder Ruta Meilutyte will also be in the mix after putting up a 30.58 for 6th. Katie Meili, who took silver in the 100 breast, is another one to look out for as she’s seeded 4th for the final in 30.37.

MIXED 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY – PRELIMS

• World Record: USA, 3:23.05, 2015
• Championship Record: USA, 3:23.05, 2015
• Junior World Record: CAN, 3:27.71, 2015

TOP 8:

1. NED- 3:23.89
2. USA- 3:23.93
3. CAN- 3:25.07
4. HUN- 3:25.45
5. ITA- 3:25.71
6. JPN- 3:26.91
7. RUS- 3:26.94
8. AUS- 3:27.49

The Netherlands and Team USA both put the World Record on notice, coming within a second of the mark this morning. The Americans won heat 1 by a landslide with Blake Pieroni leading off in 48.23 and handing off to Townley Haas (48.32), Lia Neal (53.98), and Kelsi Worrell (53.40) for a compbined time of 3:23.93. In heat 3, the Netherlands clipped their time by hundredths. Ben Schwietert led the way in 48.97, while teammates Kyle Stolk (48.06), Femke Heemskerk (52.77), and Maud Van Der Meer (54.09) finished the job.

Japan finished 2nd to Italy in heat 2 with a new Asian Record in the process. They got their leadoff split from Katsuhiro Matsumoto in 49.42, followed by Katsumi Nakamura (47.98), Tomomi Aoki (54.86), and Chihiro Igarashi (54.65) for a new record time of 3:26.91.

MEN’S 1500 FREE – PRELIMS

• World Record: Sun Yang, 14:31.02, 2012
• Championship Record: Sun Yang, 14:34.14, 2011
• Junior World Record: Mack Horton, 14:48.76, 2014

TOP 8:

1. Mykhailo Romanchuk, UKR, 14:44.11
2. Gregorio Paltrinieri, ITA, 14:44.31
3. Gabriele Detti, ITA, 14:50.10
4. Jan Micka, CZE, 14:55.47
5. Wojciech Wojdak, POL, 14:57.39
6. Henrik Christiansen, NOR, 14:57.41
7. Mack Horton, AUS, 14:59.24
8. Sergii Frolov, UKR, 14:59.32

Italy’s Gabriele Detti (14:50.10) flipped the script on teammate Gregorio Paltrinieri (14:44.31) in the 800 free earlier in the meet when he took gold and Paltrinieri settled for bronze. They’ll have there rematch tomorrow night in the 1500 free, an event in which Paltrinieri is the reigning Olympic champion and Detti is the reigning Olympic bronze medalist. The biggest obstacles the Italians face as they race for a 1-2 finish are most likely top seed Mykhailo Romanchuk (14:44.11) and 800 free silver medalist Wojciech Wojdak (14:57.39).

It was a tight squeeze to get into the last couple of spots for the final, as 4 men were in the 14:59-range. Australia’s Mack Horton (14:59.24) and the Ukraine’s Sergii Frolov (14:59.32) made the cut, but that left Korean Olympic medalist Park Tae Hwan on the outside looking in with a 14:59.44 for 9th.