The Five Biggest Storylines of the 2023 World Championships

2023 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 23 – 30, 2023 (pool swimming)
• Fukuoka, Japan
• Marine Messe Fukuoka
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Entry Book

There will be no shortage of storylines that emerge throughout what promises to be an action-packed eight days of racing at the 2023 World Championships. And while much of what will transpire in Fukuoka will be unexpected, there are several things we’re keeping an eye on as we ready for the biggest competition of the year.

Below, find the top five storylines to follow heading into the championships:

Ledecky and Titmus Meet Again, Finally

It feels like it’s been forever since we saw Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky go head-to-head. The two superstars have made magic every time they’ve raced against one another, most memorably battling with everything on the line in the final of the women’s 400 free at the Tokyo Olympics, where Titmus emerged victorious.

That victory came two years after the Australian ended Ledecky’s World Championship title reign in the 400 free in Gwangju (though we later found out Ledecky was ill), and the two have managed to avoid each other in the 24 months since Tokyo.

They’ll finally reconvene in Fukuoka, with the 400 free final set to be an epic rematch between the two on the opening night of competition.

Unfortunately, given their strengths, that’s probably the only race where they’re relatively evenly matched, as Ledecky won’t even race the 200 free (where Titmus is the favorite) and Titmus has never truly challenged Ledecky in the 800 (Ledecky is close to a lock to make history by winning the 800 for a sixth straight time).

But the two finally coming together after that clash in Tokyo is must-see TV.

Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus (photo: Jack Spitser)

However, there’s a strong possibility neither wins gold in the 400, as teenage phenom Summer McIntosh is coming off of breaking the world record in March in a time of 3:56.08. After Ledecky held the mark for six years at 3:56.46, Titmus took it down to 3:56.40 in 2022, and now McIntosh has grabbed hold of it.

More on McIntosh later, and even if she crashes the Titmus/Ledecky party in the 400 free, their rematch is one fans have been churning for since Tokyo.

Marchand Eyes Phelps’ Last World Record

Leon Marchand sent shockwaves throughout the swimming community last year when he put a scare into Michael Phelps‘ longstanding world record in the men’s 400 IM, swimming the second-fastest time in history at 4:04.28.

Marchand mania has only escalated over the last 13 months, as the Frenchman had a historic, undefeated NCAA season that included him shattering all-time records in the 200 breast, 200 IM and 400 IM.

Phelps’ record of 4:03.84, set at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, recently became the longest-standing LCM record in modern history, and everyone’s clamoring to see if Marchand can erase that one from the books.

Leon Marchand (photo: Jack Spitser)

Given the progress he’s made in yards since his 4:04 swim last summer, training under Phelps’ former coach Bob Bowman at Arizona State, it seems likely.

And if Marchand manages to do it, Phelps will have no more individual world records to his name (though he’s still apart of the men’s 400 and 800 free relay records).

The Kaylee McKeown/Regan Smith Showdown

The two fastest female backstrokers of all-time have been trading world-leading swims all year, and they’ll finally go head-to-head in Fukuoka.

Regan Smith became the world record holder in the women’s 100 back (57.57) and 200 back (2:03.35) at the 2019 World Championships, but Kaylee McKeown has slowly but surely closed the gap and now holds the distinction of being the fastest ever in both events.

McKeown broke the 100-meter world record in 2021, clocking 57.45, and despite dominating the 200 back at the Tokyo Olympics and 2022 World Championships, was still well shy of Smith’s world record until she dropped a time of 2:03.14 in March.

Kaylee McKeown (photo: Jack Spitser)

We actually haven’t gotten a Smith/McKeown clash in the 100 or 200 back since Tokyo, as McKeown dropped the 100 last summer at Worlds to focus on the 200 IM, while Smith didn’t qualify to represent the U.S. in the 200. They did go head-to-head in the 50 back, however, tying for fifth in 27.47.

And while McKeown’s consistency clearly put her ahead of Smith in 2021 and 2022, the latter has really upped her game since changing training bases and joining Bob Bowman at Arizona State last year.

Smith went 2:03.80 in the 200 back at U.S. Nationals, her only time breaking 2:04 outside of the 2019 Worlds, and she’s also broken 58 seconds numerous times this year in the 100.

Between the two of them, they own 11 of the 12-fastest times ever recorded in the 200 back, and in the 100, they own 21 of the 24 sub-58 swims in history. Kylie Masse, who holds the other three, will also be in the field next week, though she hasn’t gone 57 since 2021.

Despite Smith’s exceptional year thus far, McKeown is still the #1 swimmer in the world in both races and has to be considered the favorite, but the two fastest backstrokers of all-time racing head-to-head at the height of their powers is something everyone wants to see.

Popovici Meets His Match With Chalmers In 100 Free

After we were treated to back-to-back tantalizing showdowns between Caeleb Dressel and Kyle Chalmers in the men’s 100 free at the 2019 World Championships and Tokyo Olympics, neither contested the event at the 2022 Worlds.

Chalmers opted out of the competition months out (though he ended up racing, just not the 100 free), and then the anticipated battle between Dressel and up-and-coming phenom David Popovici didn’t happen after Dressel withdrew midway through the meet.

Popovici went on to win the world title, and then two months later, he stunned the world by breaking Cesar Cielo‘s super-suited world record at the European Championships in 46.86—a mark Dressel and Chalmers had been pining after for years.

Kyle Chalmers. Photo: Con Chronis/Arenasport

Now, though Dressel won’t be in the mix after he missed qualifying for the U.S. team, Popovici will face a real test in his pursuit of a title defense in Chalmers.

The Australian has previously had his momentum halted due to a series of health issues, but he’s firing on all cylinders now, and has said winning the LC world title in the 100 free is the last big goal he has left in the sport (he accomplished his other objective, the SC world title, in December).

Popovici has started making 47-second swims look easy, and he’s the only swimmer in history with multiple 46s on his resume. Chalmers has been 47.08 twice, and has numerous 46-second relay splits under his belt, including a 46.44 at the Tokyo Olympics and a 46.60 last summer at Worlds despite not fully training for the 100 free in the lead-up.

He also broke the super-suited record in the SCM 100 free back in the fall of 2021, and picked up a head-to-head win over Popovici at SC Worlds eight months ago.

Popovici is still the frontrunner, but after losing to Dressel by the slimmest of margins in 2019 and 2021, we know Chalmers will do everything in his power to get his hand on the wall first.

After Stunning Spring, What Will Summer Do?

Summer McIntosh has undoubtedly asserted herself as the best swimmer in the world at present, having broken the world record in the 400 free and 400 IM earlier this year, overtaking legendary names such as Titmus, Ledecky and Katinka Hosszu in their best events.

McIntosh is good enough that she could realistically win world titles in the five individual events she contested at the Canadian Trials, and then throw relays into the mix, and her medal haul in Fukuoka was shaping up to be historic.

Summer McIntosh. Photo: Swimming Canada/Gerard Richardson

However, she has dropped out of the 200 IM, and the Canadian relays have been severely weakened due to the absences of the majority of their top freestylers. As a result, the number of medals McIntosh wins won’t be the big story of her World Championship week, but she’s still in line for big-time accomplishments.

She could very well win all four of her individual events, though the 400 IM is looking like the only “lock”. If the 16-year-old takes out Titmus and Ledecky in the 400 free, that’s epic, even though she’s already the world record holder.

In the 200 fly, she could be the first swimmer since Jessicah Schipper to defend the world title, but Regan Smith might have something to say about that.

In the 200 free, McIntosh is firmly in the medal hunt with the likes of Titmus, Mollie O’Callaghan and Siobhan Haughey, with the quartet representing four of the seven swimmers in history sub-1:54.

McIntosh has had a Phelpsian start to her career, and after Fukuoka helped kickstart the legacy of MP in 2001, it could be the next chapter of Summer’s reign atop the sport.