Yang Junxuan Scratches 100 Free Semifinals To Focus On 4×200 Free Relay

2022 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 18-25, 2022 (pool swimming)
• Budapest, Hungary
• Duna Arena
• LCM (50-meter format)
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China’s Yang Junxuan has scratched the 100 free semifinals to focus on the women’s 4×200 free relay in the same finals session. Her withdrawal moves Denmark’s Signe Bro, the 17th place finisher in prelims, into the semifinals.  In addition, it also moves the 19th place finisher, Fanni Gyurinovics of Hungary, into the second alternate spot. Yang originally put up a time of 54.18 in the 100 free prelims to take eighth.

Yang Junxuan scratched 100 free semi to focus on the relay tonight.

— Chinese Swimming News and Results (@CHNswim_fan) June 22, 2022

Yang being fresh for the relay could be a huge boost for the Chinese team aiming to defend their place at the top following Olympic gold last year. She won the individual 200 free yesterday in 1:54.92 and has a best time of 1:54.48 from September 2021, being one of the only Chinese swimmers performing up to expectations in an otherwise underwhelming meet for them. With last year’s stars like Li Bingjie, Zhang Yufei, and Tang Muhan being multiple seconds off their best time at this World Champs, China’s best 200 freestyle swimmer deciding to go all-in on the 4×200 relay could be exactly what this team needed.

The 100 free semifinals is a conflict for many swimmers that will be participating in the 4×200. Many others potentially swimming on this relay such as Canada’s Penny Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez, as well as Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan, will have to endure swimming these two events with approximately an hour of rest in between come time for the evening session tonight.