By Karl Ortegon on SwimSwam

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

It’s finally here. The first races for hardware will kick off at 11:30am eastern in Budapest, including finals for the men’s and women’s 400 free and the men’s and women’s 4×100 free relay. Katie Ledecky will be shooting for a world record in her 400 free tonight, and there are four other semifinals taking place tonight. To get a deeper analysis on tonight’s finals session, you can check out the day 1 finals preview right here.

LIVE STREAM (if you have the Olympic Channel)

MEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

• WR – 3:40.07, BIEDERMANN Paul: 26 JUL 2009
• CR – 3:40.07, BIEDERMANN Paul: 26 JUL 2009
• WJR – 3:44.60, HORTON Mack: 1 APR 2014

1. Sun Yang, China 3:41.38
2. Mack Horton, Australia 3:4
3. Gabriele Detti, Italy 3:4

It was all Sun Yang of China tonight in the men’s 400 free. As the field crept towards the 200 mark, Yang moved out front and never looked back. He had built an insurmountable lead by the 300 mark, and he turned on his kick and buried the field, winning gold in 3:41.38. His rival, Australia’s Mack Horton, turned in the silver medal time of 3:43.85, just edging Italy’s Gabriele Detti (3:43.93). Cameras picked up a visible glare from Sun in Horton’s direction, continuing to fuel their heated rivalry.

Park Taehwan was close for fourth at 3:44.38, unable to touch ahead of Horton and Detti. Felix Auboeck, of Austria, ended up 5th (3:45.21) as he is building off of a very impressive freshman year at the University of Michigan. James Guy of GBR (3:45.58) touched just ahead of the USA’s Zane Grothe (3:45.86), while Aussie David McKeon finished 8th in 3:46.27.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 55.48, SJOSTROM Sarah: 7 AUG 2016
• CR – 55.64, SJOSTROM Sarah:  3 AUG 2015
• WJR –  56.46 OLEKSIAK Penelope: 7 AUG 2016

1. Sarah Sjöström, Sweden 55.77
2. Emma McKeon, Australia 56.23
3. Kelsi Worrell, USA 56.74
4. Rikako Ikee, Japan 56.89
5. Penny Oleksiak, Canada 57.07
6. An Sehyeon, South Korea 57.15
7. Zhang Yufei, China 57.29
8. Svetlana Chimrova, Russia 57.64

Kelsi Worrell held on for the win in semifinal 1, going 56.74, just off of her prelims swim of 56.44, a PR. Worrell held off a late charge from Rikako Ikee of Japan, who was just behind her tonight in 56.89.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström, unsurprisingly, took control of semifinal 2, taking the win in 55.77. She’ll take the top seed going into finals tonight. Australia’s Emma McKeon had an outstanding swim for 2nd in that heat, going 56.23 to tie Jessica Schipper’s Australian national record and take the 2nd seed for tonight’s final.

Rio medalist Penny Oleksiak was fifth (57.07) in prelims, followed by South Korea’s An Sehyeon (57.15). China’s Zhang Yufei (57.29) and Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova (57.64) also made it into tonight’s final.

MEN’S 50 FLY – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 22.43, MUNOZ PEREZ Rafael: 5 APR 2009
• CR – 22.67, CAVIC Milorad: 27 JUL 2009
• WJR – 23.39, LI Zhuhao: 29 SEP 2015

1. Caeleb Dressel, USA 22.76
2. Andrii Govorov, Ukraine 22.77
3. Nicholas Santos, Brazil 22.84
4. Ben Proud, GBR 22.92
5. Joseph Schooling, Singapore 22.93
6. Henrique Martins, Brazil 23.13
7. Tim Phillips, USA 23.25
8. Andrii Khloptsov, Ukraine 23.31

Caeleb Dressel was out flying, quite literally, to win semifinal 1 of the men’s 50 fly. He tore past the American record of 22.91 held previously by Bryan Lundquist, set in 2009, by going 22.76. That’s a huge swim for him, and he’s making a case to be a prime gold medal contender tomorrow night. GBR’s Ben Proud was right there for second in the semifinal, also under 23 seconds at 22.92.

Andrii Govorov made it to the wall first in the 2nd heat, going 22.77 to take the 2nd seed for the final right behind Dressel. Brazil’s Nicholas Santos was right behind in 22.84, with Joseph Schooling of Singapore also under 23 seconds in that 2nd semifinal to move on to the final at 22.93.

Santos’s teammate Henrique Martins made the final in 6th (23.13), followed by American Tim Phillips (23.25) and Ukraine’s Andrii Khloptsov. The Ukrainian is young– he was born in 1998.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

• WR – 3:56.46, LEDECKY Katie USA: 7 AUG 2016
• CR – 3:59.06, LEDECKY Katie USA: 23 JUL 2017
• WJR – 3:58.37, LEDECKY Katie USA: 23 AUG 2014

1. Katie Ledecky, USA 3:58.34
2. Leah Smith, USA 4:01.54
3. Li Bingjie, China 4:03.25

It wasn’t her fastest swim ever, but Katie Ledecky was still well ahead of the competition with a 3:58.34 to take the women’s 400 free in Championship record fashion. Additionally, it was the second-fastest time in history, behind only her own world record. USA had the 1-2 sweep, with Leah Smith grabbing silver at 4:01.54, a bit off of her lifetime best but faster than her prelims swim. Smith makes history with Ledecky, as it’s the first time since 1978 that Americans have both been on the podium at Worlds in this race on the women’s side.

China’s Li Bingjie touched third for the bronze 4:03.25, a great swim for the teenager. Another teenager was just behind, as Australia’s Ariarne Titmus was fourth in 4:04.26, just ahead of Hungary’s distance star Boglarka Kapas (4:04.77). Hungary was well-represented in this final, as yet another teenager, Ajna Kesely, posted a 4:05.77 for 6th overall.

China’s Zhang Yuhan (4:06.03) and Russia’s Veronika Popova (4:07.59) rounded out the final.

MEN’S 100 BREAST – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 57.13, PEATY Adam GBR: 7 AUG 2016
• CR – 58.18, PEATY Adam GBR: 2 AUG 2015
• WJR – 59.23, MARTINENGHI Nicolo’ ITA: 2 JUL 2017

1. Adam Peaty, GBR 57.75
2. Kevin Cordes, USA 58.65
3. Cody Miller, USA 59.08
4. Andrius Sidlauskas, Lithuania 59.12
5. Yan Zibei, China 59.15
6. Yasuhiro Koseki, Japan 59.18
7. Ross Murdoch, GBR 59.23
8. Kirill Prigoda, Russia 59.24

Semifinal 1 went to Cody Miller at 59.08, just ahead of his prelims swim. He lurked for most of the race, coming home very hard at the end to edge ahead of the competition. Kirill Prigoda of Russia was there for 2nd at 59.24. It was a slow semifinal, as only Miller and Prigoda made the final.

Adam Peaty cracked his own championship record with a 57.75 in the 2nd heat, finishing well ahead of the field. Still, Kevin Cordes was 58.64 to take 2nd, within nine tenths of Peaty. Cordes also broke his own American record, and he holds the two-fastest times in American history.

Lithuania’s Andrius Sidlauskas (59.12), China’s Yan Zibei (59.15), and Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki (59.18) were all bunched up in semifinal 2, and they all make the final. Peaty’s teammate Ross Murdoch was 59.23 to also squeak into the final.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 2:06.12 HOSSZU Katinka: 3 AUG 2015
• CR — 2:06.12 HOSSZU Katinka: 3 AUG 2015
• WJR – 2:09.98, IKEE Rikako: 29 JAN 2017

1. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary 2:07.14
2. Melanie Margalis, USA 2:08.70
3. Sydney Pickrem, Canada 2:09.17
4. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, GBR 2:09.72
5. Kim Seoyeong, South Korea 2:09.86
6. Madisyn Cox, USA 2:09.97
7. Runa Imai, Japan 2:10.15
8. Yui Ohashi, Japan 2:10.45

Sydney Pickrem took it to the field in semifinal 1, going 2:09.17 to win the heat. That makes for a Canadian record for Pickrem, who trains collegiately with the Texas A&M Aggies. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor of GBR, last year’s Olympic silver medalist in this event, was 2nd in that semifinal at 2:09.72. She’ll have to really pick it up if she wants to medal, however.

Semifinal 2 was faster than the first, with Katinka Hosszu topping the field with a 2:07.14. American Melanie Margalis had a great swim, her 2:08.70 marking a PR as well as making her the second-best American performer ever, behind only Ariana Kukors. Another American, Madisyn Cox, utilized a very hard-pushed back-half to race her way to a 2:09.97 for 6th going into the final, with South Korea’s Kim Seoyeong right ahead at 2:09.86.

Japan’s Runa Imai (2:10.15) and Yui Ohashi (2:10.45) both made it in at 7th and 8th for the final.

MEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY – FINAL

• WR – 3:08.24, United States: 11 AUG 2008
• CR – 3:09.21, United States: 26 JUL 2009

1. USA 3:10.06
2. Brazil 3:10.34
3. Hungary 3:11.99

Caeleb Dressel. His spot in the limelight might begin at this meet. He already blasted an American record in the 50 fly earlier in the session, and he then led off this relay with a 47.26, taking down David Walters’ American record in that, too. The Americans were out to a sizable lead thanks to Dressel, with Brazil on their tails the whole time. Things got dicey between Townley Haas‘s and Blake Pieroni‘s legs, and the pressure was definitely on for Nathan Adrian.

Diving in against Bruno Fratus, Adrian had a very small lead, and his anchor duty skills would be tested once again. Fratus kept it close, but Adrian muscled it out to the wall to give Team USA the gold at 3:10.06. Brazil settled for 2nd at 3:10.34, though Marcelo Chierighini had a 46.85 split.

Hungary came out of nowhere for the bronze– they were not medal contenders on paper before this meet started. Dominik Kozma broke his Hungarian record from prelims with a 48.26, and the heroic split from Richard Bohus (47.21) really made the difference for them.

WOMEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY – FINAL

• WR – 3:30.65, Australia: 6 AUG 2016
• CR – 3:31.48, Australia: 2 AUG 2015

1. USA 3:31.72 AR
2. Australia 3:32.02
3. Netherlands 3:32.64

The women’s relay did not disappoint following the men’s race. Sarah Sjöström set fire to the world record with a 51.71 leading off for Sweden, while Mallory Comerford popped a 52.59 to break the American record leading off Team USA. Sjöström’s lead took Sweden far thanks to a 52.68 second split from Michelle Coleman, but after the third leg, USA and Australia pulled ahead.

Kelsi Worrell split a very strong 53.16, but Bronte Campbell‘s 52.14 second split got Australia back into the race. Katie Ledecky and Brittany Elmslie both split 53.83’s, but it was Simone Manuel with a dominant 52.14 anchor leg to hold off Emma McKeon (52.29).

Sweden fell to 5th, with the Netherlands pulling up to bronze thanks in part to a 51.98 split from Ranomi Kromowidjojo. Canada ended up fourth in 3:33.88, getting 52.9’s from Chantal van Landeghem and Penny Oleksiak.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Hungarian superstar Katinka Hosszu‘s ‘Iron Lady’ brand has opened its own store at the 2017 FINA World Aquatics Championships.

Separate from the massive Arena store, with whom Iron Corporation is partnered on a suit deal, this trailer-style store is full of exclusively merchandise themed for Katinka Hosszu and her husband and coach Shane Tusup.

The list of items for sale include thunder sticks, hats, cups, stickers, Iron Lady comic books, and – our personal favorite – Katinka and Shane dolls.

The store is the next incarnation of the growth of the Iron Lady brand, which has become a text book for Olympic sport athletes around the world. While the brand continues to grow and pull its weight (Hosszu is the head of a group of athletes who are pulling together into what is the beginnings of an athletes union), Iron Corporation itself is battling demons – they’re being sued by a former employee.

SwimSwam photographer Mike Lewis stopped by to snap some pictures of the store, which can be seen below.

Katinka Hosszu store 2017 World Championships Budapest, Hungary (photo: Mike Lewis)

Katinka Hosszu store 2017 World Championships Budapest, Hungary (photo: Mike Lewis)

Katinka Hosszu store 2017 World Championships Budapest, Hungary (photo: Mike Lewis)

Katinka Hosszu store 2017 World Championships Budapest, Hungary (photo: Mike Lewis)

Katinka Hosszu store 2017 World Championships Budapest, Hungary (photo: Mike Lewis)

Katinka Hosszu store 2017 World Championships Budapest, Hungary (photo: Mike Lewis)

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Katinka Hosszu’s Iron Lady Brand Has Own Store at World Champs

By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

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

The Americans got off to a good start in the 400 free relay, as Mallory Comerford took down the American Record in the 100 free with her 52.59 opening split. That shaved just over a tenth off the former record, which was set at a 52.70 by Simone Manuel when she tied for Olympic gold last summer. Comerford was 2nd on the leadoff leg only to Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, who smashed the World Record with a 51.71.

Comerford is now the fastest American ever and the 5th fastest performer in history worldwide. She moves up to 2nd in the World this year ahead of former World Record holder Cate Campbell of Australia. Teammate Manuel remains on the all-time worldwide top performers list in a tie for 8th with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak.

ALL TIME TOP PERFORMERS: WOMEN’S 100 FREE

The Americans went on to win the 400 free relay and take down the American Record in 3:31.72. Taking over the middle legs were Kelsi Worrell (53.16) and Katie Ledecky (53.83). That was a fairly sluggish split for Ledecky, who popped a 52.79 to anchor for the USA last summer, but it was enough to put them ahead of Sweden going into the final leg. Manuel rocked a 52.14 on the anchor leg, giving the U.S. what they needed to hang on for gold. That was her fastest relay split ever by far, topping the 52.43 she did as the anchor of the 400 medley relay in Rio.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Comerford Downs 100 Free American Record as USA Downs 400 FR Relay American Record

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Jack Dahlgren from Victoria, Minnesota has verbally committed to the University of Missouri, where he will join his sister, rising junior Kylie Dahlgren.

“After much heartfelt thought and consideration, I am thrilled to announce my verbal commitment to further my education and swimming career at the University of Missouri!  Watching the success over the last couple years of not only the program, but more importantly my sister, Kylie, proved to be enough to convince me to join the Tigers.
I want to thank my family, friends and coaches for helping me reach the goal of swimming at a Top Division 1 program and being there for me throughout this entire process. Go Tigers!!”

Dahlgren swims under coach Kate Lundsten at the Aquajets Swim Team, as well as for coach Megan Hawker at Chanhassen High School, where he will be a senior in the fall. A two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, Dahlgren is a NISCA All-American in the 500 free, 100 fly, 100 free, and 100 back over the past two high school seasons. At the 2017 MSHSL Boys AA Swim & Dive Championships, he broke both the MN Class AA and All-time records in the 100 back with his winning 48.28. He was also runner-up in the 100 fly (48.85) and led off the runner-up 400 free relay in 44.92. He also split a 23.00 backstroke leading off the third-place 200 medley relay. The previous year he was runner-up in both the 200 free (1:40.00) and 500 free (4:32.64).

Swimming with his club team at 2016 Winter Juniors West, Dahlgren was a B finalist in the 200 free (16th) and 200 back (16th) and a C finalist in the 100 fly (23rd). He contributed to the Aquajets’ national-champion 4×100 free relay at 2016 Summer Junior Nationals. His top SCY times, and their progressions during his high school career, include:

I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim at the University of Missouri!!!

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

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

Powerhouse swimming nation Australia saw ups and downs on the first finals session of these 2017 World Championships, which rendered the Dolphins collecting two silvers overall on the day.

16-year-old Ariarne Titmus raced her way to a valiant 4th place finish in the men’s 400m freestyle at just 16 years of age, while big Mack Horton secured silver in the men’s version of the 400m freestyle behind rival Sun Yang of China. However, the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay was disqualified, leaving another possible medal on the podium for another team to snatch up to end the men’s events on a sour note.

The women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, however, rebounded the team’s spirit by earning an impressive silver medal, even with a significant disadvantage since winning gold in Kazan, as well as Rio. Their star swimmer, former world record holder in the women’s individual 100m freestyle until tonight, Cate Campbell, has opted out of competing at these championships in the name of physical and mental well-being. Her partner-in-crime, sister Bronte Campbell, who was the double world champion in the women’s 50m and 100m freestyle in Kazan, has since been dealing with shoulder injuries. Her coach, Simon Cusak, even commented that, ‘whatever she swims [in Budapest] will be done on sheer guts.’

But, leave it to the foursome of Shayna Jack, Brittany Elmslie, Emma McKeon and Bronte to indeed depend on those ‘sheer guts’ to get the job done to land on the podium regardless, notching a collective time just over a half a second off of their gold medal-winning time from Kazan.

Making her World Championships debut, 18-year-old Jack led off in a slick 53.75, followed by an all-things-considered monster split by Bronte in 52.14. Olympic relay swimmer Elmslie maintained course in 53.83 to set-up McKeon with a terrific finishing effort. McKeon, who had just fired off a time equal to the Australian and Commonwealth Record in the women’s 100m fly earlier this same session, nailed the final leg in a super quick 52.29.

With a relatively un-tested Jack, an ailing Bronte and an absent Cate Campbell, the Aussie women’s 4x100m free relay could have easily taken a wrong turn to find themselves out of the medals. But the women pulled it together with the help of the veterans to fall just .29 off of the Americans’ time tonight to add a shiny silver medal to help stir up momentum for the remainder of the meet.

Of her individual performance within the relay, Bronte stated, “I’m really happy with that time, I wasn’t really expecting very much.”

“If this meet was a day earlier we might have been in a bit of trouble. I was just getting over sickness, but it’s all good, we made it to the start line, and I’m really proud of how everyone swam.

“It was a pretty tough ask out there, especially when you’ve got Sarah leading off in a 51.71 which I think was the fastest split in the entire race – and it happened in the lead off, which is pretty unheard of. It was a great race to be part of and I’m just proud everyone that they stepped up.”

Additional soundbites from Australia’s swimmers after finals:

• 4th place finisher in the women’s 400m freestyle, Ariarne Titmus said, “It was really fun, l did what Dean (Coach) said and just had fun, I really enjoyed it, it was great with the crowd and everything. I did want to go a bit faster, but I think having to push the heats this morning a lot harder than I’m used to kind of took it out of me, but that’s a really good learning experience and I’ve got get used to doing that when I’m racing the best in the world so I can learn a lot from it.”
• Placing 2nd to Chinese rival Sun Yang, 400m freestyle victor Mack Horton stated, “I thought I could have gone a lot faster, I thought I was capable of more tonight, but it’s the start of the cycle really, so it’s the time I will need to work on and improve on for the next couple of years towards Tokyo. I tried to be a bit stronger in the front end, I was too soft I think, I needed to be harder on myself but like I said it’s the start of the cycle and I can work on that now.”

Australian National Records:

• Emma McKeon tied the Australian and Commonwealth Record of 56.23 in the women’s 100m butterfly. That matches that 2005 World Champion Jessicah Schipper went in 2009 to win silver in Rome. McKeon is seeded 2nd headed into tomorro night’s final.

Australian Medal Table:

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cate Campbell-Less Aussie Women Battle To Silver In 4×100 Fr Relay

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

FINA President Julio Maglione has appointed Hungarian Tamas Gyarfas to the 8-man FINA Executive, the organization announced on Sunday. Under new FINA rules passed on Saturday at FINA’s General Congress, the FINA Executive is made up of the President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Honorary Treasurer, three Vice-Presidents and one member to be nominated by the President to ensure continental representation.

The first 7 of those positions are voted on by the General Congress of FINA, where every country theoretically gets a vote.

The 8th position, however, is appointed. In this case, the man appointed is Gyarfas, the president of the Hungarian Federation that is hosting this year’s World Championships.

Ironically, because of the peculiarities of who gets elected to posts, Gyarfas being European does, in fact, provide a level of continental diversity. The other 7 members of the Executive includes two Asians (Thailand, Kuwait)), one African (South African), one South American (Uruguay), one North American (USA), and one Oceanian (Fiji), and one European (Italy). Of those 7 elected members, only 3 come from countries who have ever had an Olympic medal in swimming. Fiji, Kuwait, and Thailand have never had an Olympic finalist in swimming, and Uruguay has had just two.

The entirety of the FINA Executive is below:

• Dr Julio C. Maglione (URU), President
• Husain Al Mussalam (KUW), First Vice-President
• Sam Ramsamy (RSA), Second Vice-President
• Pipat Paniangvait (THA), Honorary Treasurer
• Paolo Barelli (ITA, Vice-President
• Dennis Miller (FIJ), Vice-President
• Dale Neuburger (USA), Vice-President
• Tamas Gyarfas (HUN), Member (nominated by the President)

Read the full story on SwimSwam: FINA President Appoints Hungarian to Executive Post

By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

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

Shortly after taking down the American Record in the 50 fly, Caeleb Dressel had a scorching leadoff leg for the Americans in the 400 freestyle relay. The former American Record of 47.33 done by Dave Walters in 2009 finally went down, as Dressel flipped in a scorching 22.2 en route to a record-breaking 47.26. Dressel teamed up with Townley Haas (47.46), Blake Pieroni (48.09), and Nathan Adrian as the USA redeemed their 2015 finals miss with a gold medal tonight. It was a close race with Brazil, but Adrian pulled out a 47.25 anchor to hold off Brazil at the finish.

Before tonight, no American had managed to put up a textile performance in the 47-low range. Dressel is now the fastest man in the world this year by far, moving ahead of Great Britain’s Duncan Scott (47.90), and has to be considered the heavy favorite for gold.

Dressel’s American Record 100 Free Splits:

• 1st 50- 22.29
• 2nd 50- 24.97
• Final Time- 47.26

Dressel is now the fastest American in history by nearly a tenth. He’s also the 3rd fastest performer in history in textile, sitting behind Australia’s Cameron McEvoy (47.04) and James Magnussen (47.10).

ALL TIME TOP AMERICAN PERFORMERS: MEN’S 100 FREE

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Dressel Scorches 47.2 100 Free for New American Record

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

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

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom has had an unbelievable year in the sprint free events, coming incredibly close to the world record in both the 50 and 100 freestyles.

In the 100 she came within 0.02, going 52.08 back on the Mare Nostrum tour, and on day 1 in Budapest she became the first woman ever under 52 seconds.

After splitting 52.19 in the prelims of the 400 free relay with a takeover, Sjostrom led off the finals relay in 51.71, smashing Cate Campbell‘s 2016 record of 52.06. That swim makes her nearly a full second faster than the time required to win Olympic gold last summer (52.70), where she won bronze.

Prior to Campbell, the world record stood at 52.07 for seven years, set by Germany’s Britta Steffen at the 2009 World Championships during the super-suit era.

Sjostrom leapfrogs the two of them as the fastest of all-time, and now owns three swims inside the top-10 in history.

After Sjostrom got Sweden out to a massive lead, Michelle Coleman extended it over the Americans with a quick 52.68 split. Weaker on the back half, the Swedes fell to 5th, as the U.S. won gold in a new American Record time of 3:31.72.

Sjostrom is already four swims deep in Budapest, and has been exceptional in each and every one. She’s now the undeniable favorite for gold in the 100 free, not to mention the 100 fly tomorrow night after qualifying 1st tonight in the semi-finals. She’s also a lock for gold in the 50 fly and a big favorite in the 50 free.

10 Fastest Performances of All-Time – Women’s 100 Freestyle

1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 51.71, 2017
2. Cate Campbell (AUS), 52.06, 2016
3. Britta Steffen (GER), 52.07, 2009
4. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 52.08, 2017
5. Britta Steffen (GER), 52.22, 2009
6. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 52.28, 2017
7. Cate Campbell (AUS), 52.33, 2013
8. Cate Campbell (AUS), 52.34, 2013
9. Cate Campbell (AUS), 52.38, 2016
10. Cate Campbell (AUS), 52.38, 2016

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Sarah Sjostrom Smashes 100 FR World Record In 51.71 On Relay Lead-Off

By Myriam Plante on SwimSwam

2017 FINA World Swimming Championships

• Du dimanche 23 juillet au dimanche 30 juillet
• Budapest, Hongrie
• Bassin long (50 m)
• Horaire complet de la compétition
• Information sur les Championnats
• Résultats

*Veuillez noter que les médailles en eau libre sont prises en compte dans le tableau ci-dessous.

Les États-Unis ont pris les devants dans le tableau des médailles après le premier jour des épreuves en piscine. Katie Ledecky a donné aux Américains leur première médaille d’or lors de sa victoire au 400 NL chez les dames. Son temps de 3:58.34 est également le deuxième temps le plus rapide de l’histoire. Les Américains ont par la suite remporté les deux relais 4×100 NL.

La dernière médaille d’or de la soirée a été remportée par le Chinois Yang Sun au 400 NL chez les messieurs.

La France et l’Italie se partage la deuxième position en terme du nombre total de médailles, mais la France détient 4 médailles d’or, ce qui la met en première position à égalité avec les États-Unis pour le nombre de médailles d’or. Pour l’instant, toutes les médailles de la France ont été remportées en eau libre.

Jour 1 – Tableau des médailles – piscine et eau libre :

Jour 1 – Tableau des médailles – piscine :

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Mondiaux 2017 : Tableau des médailles – Jour 1 en piscine

By Karl Ortegon on SwimSwam

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

It’s finally here. The first races for hardware will kick off at 11:30am eastern in Budapest, including finals for the men’s and women’s 400 free and the men’s and women’s 4×100 free relay. Katie Ledecky will be shooting for a world record in her 400 free tonight, and there are four other semifinals taking place tonight. To get a deeper analysis on tonight’s finals session, you can check out the day 1 finals preview right here.

LIVE STREAM (if you have the Olympic Channel)

MEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

• WR – 3:40.07, BIEDERMANN Paul: 26 JUL 2009
• CR – 3:40.07, BIEDERMANN Paul: 26 JUL 2009
• WJR – 3:44.60, HORTON Mack: 1 APR 2014

1. Sun Yang, China 3:41.38
2. Mack Horton, Australia 3:4
3. Gabriele Detti, Italy 3:4

It was all Sun Yang of China tonight in the men’s 400 free. As the field crept towards the 200 mark, Yang moved out front and never looked back. He had built an insurmountable lead by the 300 mark, and he turned on his kick and buried the field, winning gold in 3:41.38. His rival, Australia’s Mack Horton, turned in the silver medal time of 3:43.85, just edging Italy’s Gabriele Detti (3:43.93). Cameras picked up a visible glare from Sun in Horton’s direction, continuing to fuel their heated rivalry.

Park Taehwan was close for fourth at 3:44.38, unable to touch ahead of Horton and Detti. Felix Auboeck, of Austria, ended up 5th (3:45.21) as he is building off of a very impressive freshman year at the University of Michigan. James Guy of GBR (3:45.58) touched just ahead of the USA’s Zane Grothe (3:45.86), while Aussie David McKeon finished 8th in 3:46.27.

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 55.48, SJOSTROM Sarah: 7 AUG 2016
• CR – 55.64, SJOSTROM Sarah:  3 AUG 2015
• WJR –  56.46 OLEKSIAK Penelope: 7 AUG 2016

1. Sarah Sjöström, Sweden 55.77
2. Emma McKeon, Australia 56.23
3. Kelsi Worrell, USA 56.74
4. Rikako Ikee, Japan 56.89
5. Penny Oleksiak, Canada 57.07
6. An Sehyeon, South Korea 57.15
7. Zhang Yufei, China 57.29
8. Svetlana Chimrova, Russia 57.64

Kelsi Worrell held on for the win in semifinal 1, going 56.74, just off of her prelims swim of 56.44, a PR. Worrell held off a late charge from Rikako Ikee of Japan, who was just behind her tonight in 56.89.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström, unsurprisingly, took control of semifinal 2, taking the win in 55.77. She’ll take the top seed going into finals tonight. Australia’s Emma McKeon had an outstanding swim for 2nd in that heat, going 56.23 to tie Jessica Schipper’s Australian national record and take the 2nd seed for tonight’s final.

Rio medalist Penny Oleksiak was fifth (57.07) in prelims, followed by South Korea’s An Sehyeon (57.15). China’s Zhang Yufei (57.29) and Russia’s Svetlana Chimrova (57.64) also made it into tonight’s final.

MEN’S 50 FLY – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 22.43, MUNOZ PEREZ Rafael: 5 APR 2009
• CR – 22.67, CAVIC Milorad: 27 JUL 2009
• WJR – 23.39, LI Zhuhao: 29 SEP 2015

1. Caeleb Dressel, USA 22.76
2. Andrii Govorov, Ukraine 22.77
3. Nicholas Santos, Brazil 22.84
4. Ben Proud, GBR 22.92
5. Joseph Schooling, Singapore 22.93
6. Henrique Martins, Brazil 23.13
7. Tim Phillips, USA 23.25
8. Andrii Khloptsov, Ukraine 23.31

Caeleb Dressel was out flying, quite literally, to win semifinal 1 of the men’s 50 fly. He tore past the American record of 22.91 held previously by Bryan Lundquist, set in 2009, by going 22.76. That’s a huge swim for him, and he’s making a case to be a prime gold medal contender tomorrow night. GBR’s Ben Proud was right there for second in the semifinal, also under 23 seconds at 22.92.

Andrii Govorov made it to the wall first in the 2nd heat, going 22.77 to take the 2nd seed for the final right behind Dressel. Brazil’s Nicholas Santos was right behind in 22.84, with Joseph Schooling of Singapore also under 23 seconds in that 2nd semifinal to move on to the final at 22.93.

Santos’s teammate Henrique Martins made the final in 6th (23.13), followed by American Tim Phillips (23.25) and Ukraine’s Andrii Khloptsov. The Ukrainian is young– he was born in 1998.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE – FINAL

• WR – 3:56.46, LEDECKY Katie USA: 7 AUG 2016
• CR – 3:59.06, LEDECKY Katie USA: 23 JUL 2017
• WJR – 3:58.37, LEDECKY Katie USA: 23 AUG 2014

1. Katie Ledecky, USA 3:58.34
2. Leah Smith, USA 4:01.54
3. Li Bingjie, China 4:03.25

It wasn’t her fastest swim ever, but Katie Ledecky was still well ahead of the competition with a 3:58.34 to take the women’s 400 free in Championship record fashion. Additionally, it was the second-fastest time in history, behind only her own world record. USA had the 1-2 sweep, with Leah Smith grabbing silver at 4:01.54, a bit off of her lifetime best but faster than her prelims swim. Smith makes history with Ledecky, as it’s the first time since 1978 that Americans have both been on the podium at Worlds in this race on the women’s side.

China’s Li Bingjie touched third for the bronze 4:03.25, a great swim for the teenager. Another teenager was just behind, as Australia’s Ariarne Titmus was fourth in 4:04.26, just ahead of Hungary’s distance star Boglarka Kapas (4:04.77). Hungary was well-represented in this final, as yet another teenager, Ajna Kesely, posted a 4:05.77 for 6th overall.

China’s Zhang Yuhan (4:06.03) and Russia’s Veronika Popova (4:07.59) rounded out the final.

MEN’S 100 BREAST – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 57.13, PEATY Adam GBR: 7 AUG 2016
• CR – 58.18, PEATY Adam GBR: 2 AUG 2015
• WJR – 59.23, MARTINENGHI Nicolo’ ITA: 2 JUL 2017

1. Adam Peaty, GBR 57.75
2. Kevin Cordes, USA 58.65
3. Cody Miller, USA 59.08
4. Andrius Sidlauskas, Lithuania 59.12
5. Yan Zibei, China 59.15
6. Yasuhiro Koseki, Japan 59.18
7. Ross Murdoch, GBR 59.23
8. Kirill Prigoda, Russia 59.24

Semifinal 1 went to Cody Miller at 59.08, just ahead of his prelims swim. He lurked for most of the race, coming home very hard at the end to edge ahead of the competition. Kirill Prigoda of Russia was there for 2nd at 59.24. It was a slow semifinal, as only Miller and Prigoda made the final.

Adam Peaty cracked his own championship record with a 57.75 in the 2nd heat, finishing well ahead of the field. Still, Kevin Cordes was 58.64 to take 2nd, within nine tenths of Peaty. Cordes also broke his own American record, and he holds the two-fastest times in American history.

Lithuania’s Andrius Sidlauskas (59.12), China’s Yan Zibei (59.15), and Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki (59.18) were all bunched up in semifinal 2, and they all make the final. Peaty’s teammate Ross Murdoch was 59.23 to also squeak into the final.

WOMEN’S 200 IM – SEMIFINALS

• WR – 2:06.12 HOSSZU Katinka: 3 AUG 2015
• CR — 2:06.12 HOSSZU Katinka: 3 AUG 2015
• WJR – 2:09.98, IKEE Rikako: 29 JAN 2017

1. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary 2:07.14
2. Melanie Margalis, USA 2:08.70
3. Sydney Pickrem, Canada 2:09.17
4. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, GBR 2:09.72
5. Kim Seoyeong, South Korea 2:09.86
6. Madisyn Cox, USA 2:09.97
7. Runa Imai, Japan 2:10.15
8. Yui Ohashi, Japan 2:10.45

Sydney Pickrem took it to the field in semifinal 1, going 2:09.17 to win the heat. That makes for a Canadian record for Pickrem, who trains collegiately with the Texas A&M Aggies. Siobhan-Marie O’Connor of GBR, last year’s Olympic silver medalist in this event, was 2nd in that semifinal at 2:09.72. She’ll have to really pick it up if she wants to medal, however.

Semifinal 2 was faster than the first, with Katinka Hosszu topping the field with a 2:07.14. American Melanie Margalis had a great swim, her 2:08.70 marking a PR as well as making her the second-best American performer ever, behind only Ariana Kukors. Another American, Madisyn Cox, utilized a very hard-pushed back-half to race her way to a 2:09.97 for 6th going into the final, with South Korea’s Kim Seoyeong right ahead at 2:09.86.

Japan’s Runa Imai (2:10.15) and Yui Ohashi (2:10.45) both made it in at 7th and 8th for the final.

MEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY – FINAL

• WR – 3:08.24, United States: 11 AUG 2008
• CR – 3:09.21, United States: 26 JUL 2009

1. USA 3:10.06
2. Brazil 3:10.34
3. Hungary 3:11.99

Caeleb Dressel. His spot in the limelight might begin at this meet. He already blasted an American record in the 50 fly earlier in the session, and he then led off this relay with a 47.26, taking down David Walters’ American record in that, too. The Americans were out to a sizable lead thanks to Dressel, with Brazil on their tails the whole time. Things got dicey between Townley Haas‘s and Blake Pieroni‘s legs, and the pressure was definitely on for Nathan Adrian.

Diving in against Bruno Fratus, Adrian had a very small lead, and his anchor duty skills would be tested once again. Fratus kept it close, but Adrian muscled it out to the wall to give Team USA the gold at 3:10.06. Brazil settled for 2nd at 3:10.34, though Marcelo Chierighini had a 46.85 split.

Hungary came out of nowhere for the bronze– they were not medal contenders on paper before this meet started. Dominik Kozma broke his Hungarian record from prelims with a 48.26, and the heroic split from Richard Bohus (47.21) really made the difference for them.

WOMEN’S 4×100 FREE RELAY – FINAL

• WR – 3:30.65, Australia: 6 AUG 2016
• CR – 3:31.48, Australia: 2 AUG 2015

1. USA 3:31.72 AR
2. Australia 3:32.02
3. Netherlands 3:32.64

The women’s relay did not disappoint following the men’s race. Sarah Sjöström set fire to the world record with a 51.71 leading off for Sweden, while Mallory Comerford popped a 52.59 to break the American record leading off Team USA. Sjöström’s lead took Sweden far thanks to a 52.68 second split from Michelle Coleman, but after the third leg, USA and Australia pulled ahead.

Kelsi Worrell split a very strong 53.16, but Bronte Campbell‘s 52.14 second split got Australia back into the race. Katie Ledecky and Brittany Elmslie both split 53.83’s, but it was Simone Manuel with a dominant 52.14 anchor leg to hold off Emma McKeon (52.29).

Sweden fell to 5th, with the Netherlands pulling up to bronze thanks in part to a 51.98 split from Ranomi Kromowidjojo. Canada ended up fourth in 3:33.88, getting 52.9’s from Chantal van Landeghem and Penny Oleksiak.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

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

The second preliminary session of the 2017 FINA World Championships will feature a total of five events: the women’s and men’s 100 back, women’s 100 breast, men’s 200 free, and women’s 1500 free. Four of the five will advance the top-16 to the semi-finals on day 2, while the top-8 in the women’s mile will advance straight to the final scheduled for day 3.

First up will be the women’s 100 back, which is bound to be an exciting event with plenty of big names. The first circle-seeded heat will have Americans Kathleen Baker and Olivia Smoliga side-by-side, while the last heat features world #1 Kylie Masse and defending champion Emily Seebohm. In between the two, Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu takes the middle lane alongside China’s Fu Yuanhui, who tied Masse for Olympic bronze behind Hosszu and Baker in Rio.

This is an event where Hosszu could potentially scratch, as the semi-finals take place shortly prior to the 200 IM final. She’ll likely swim the heats and re-evaluate from there.

In the men’s event, defending champion Mitch Larkin, world #1 Xu Jiayu and Olympic champion Ryan Murphy will take lane 4 in their respective seeded heats. 2012 gold medalist Matt Grevers, the only other man seeded under 53 seconds, will swim alongside Murphy in heat 5.

Initially seeded 5th at 52.76, Russian Evgeny Rylov has scratched the event, opening a spot for world junior record holder Kliment Kolesnikov. Kolesnikov will swim alongside the other Russian, Grigory Tarasevich, in heat 4 with Xu.

The women’s 100 breast will be the 1st of a three round battle between American Lilly King and Russian Yuliya Efimova.

They won’t cross paths just yet, as world #1 Efimova will swim in the sixth of six heats alongside world record holder Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania. King will swim in heat 5, and her American teammate Katie Meili headlines heat 4.

The men’s 200 free is another race that’s expected to be tightly contested and thus very exciting. Fresh off a title in the 400 free on day 1, China’s Sun Yang will center the last heat, flanked by defending champ James Guy and his British teammate Duncan Scott.

The first circle-seeded heat includes Park Tae Hwan, Mack Horton and Aleksandr Krasnykh, and the 7th heat will be headlined by Americans Townley Haas and Blake Pieroni. Olympic silver medalist Chad Le Clos is also scheduled to swim in heat 7, but rumor has it he will scratch. We’ll have to wait and see. For now, he’s still on the start lists.

Initially the #4 seed, American Leah Smith has decided to scratch the women’s 1500 free. That makes the event even more wide open, as there are only 22 women scheduled to swim.

Katie Ledecky is the overwhelming favorite, while Hungarian Boglarka Kapas is the clear favorite for silver. Ledecky will swim in heat 3 with Spain’s Mireia Belmonte, who missed the 400 free final on day 1. Kapas made the 400 final but was a bit off her best, which could open up the battle for the minor medals. One who could step up is Italian Simona Quadarella, who will swim beside her in the 2nd heat.

You can find all the start lists for day 2 prelims here.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 2 Prelims Preview

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

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

Oceanian athletes rose to the occasion on the whole on night 2 of the 2017 FINA World Championships. Although Australian breaststrokers Taylor McKeown and Jess Hansen missed out on a final berth in the women’s 100m distance, 2016 Olympian Emma McKeon rocketed to a podium finish by winning silver in the 100m fly in Commonwealth Record-setting time.

Mitch Larkin, Emily Seebohm and Holly Barratt all made it through to the finals of the men’s and women’s 100m backstroke, while New Zealand’s Corey Main also sneaked into the 8th spot in the men’s 100m backstroke race tomorrow night.

Olympic gold medalist Mack Horton was back in the water after his 400m freestyle silver medal performance last night, however, the 21-year-old didn’t fare as well this time, finishing 11th and out of the hotly-contested men’s 200m freestyle final. Marking the first time Horton is tackling this distance individually at an international championships meet, he clocked a new personal best time of 1:46.81 to validate the decision to tack this on to his freestyle portfolio.

“I’ve never really raced that event internationally, so that is a massive learning experience. I definitely want to swim more 200s at this level,” Horton said post-race. Horton’s 400m free nemesis, Sun Yang, advanced to the 200m final.

Additional soundbite:

• Emma McKeon on her 100m fly silver medal: “That was so good, I’m just glad I could get faster each heat, semi and then final, and do a PB and nearly dip under that 56. You want to have tough people in your event because it lifts you and it makes you push harder and train harder, and you want to be up with them, so it’s a good thing I think.”

McKeon now accounts for 2 of the 3 silver medals for the nation of Australia with her individual 100m fly and 4x100m freestyle relay. Horton’s 400m free silver accounts for the 3rd medal.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Oceania Round-up: Horton Pleased With 200 Free Experiment

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

NOVA of Virginia's Lauren Meeker will swim for the H2Okies in 2018-19.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Virginia Tech Secures Verbal Commitment from NOVA’s Lauren Meeker

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

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

World record-holder Adam Peaty of Great Britain crushed his day-old Championship Record in the men’s 100 breast final, swimming the second-fastest time in history and winning the gold medal in 57.47. Peaty is so dominant in this event, just like Sarah Sjöström with the 100 fly and Katie Ledecky with the 800 free, that he owns all ten of the fastest times in history.

Peaty won by more than a body length over the field, but there were some terrific performances in the race for the other two podium spots. Kevin Cordes (58.79) maintained his position as runner-up throughout the race, while Russia’s Kirill Prigoda edged Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki (59.10) and Cody Miller (59.11) to win the bronze medal with 59.05.

Watch the entire race below, courtesy of NBC Sports.

Write-up by Lauren Neidigh:

MEN’S 100 BREAST – FINALS

• World Record: Adam Peaty (GBR), 57.13, 2016
• Championship Record: Adam Peaty, 57.75, 2017
• Junior World Record: Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA), 59.23, 2017

1. GOLD: Adam Peaty, GBR, 57.47
2. SILVER: Kevin Cordes, USA, 58.79
3. BRONZE: Kirill Prigoda, RUS, 59.05

Adam Peaty took down his own Championship Record from the semifinals, dominating the field to take gold in 57.47. That was the 2nd fastest performance in history in the event behind only his World Record 57.13 from Rio. The only other man in the field to break 59 was Kevin Cordes, who was slightly off his American Record with a 58.79 for silver.

Russia’s Kirill Prigoda held off a late charge from Japan’s Yasuhiro Koseki (59.10) and the USA’s Cody Miller (59.11) for bronze.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Race Video: Adam Peaty Sets Championship Record in 100 Breast

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

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

There’s no denying the loudest cheers within Danube Arena tonight came for Hungary’s own Iron Lady, Katinka Hosszu, who earned the gold medal in the women’s 200m IM. Clocking a tremendous time of 2:07.00, Hosszu touched to the roar of the crowd, which continued as the Olympian exited the pool and eventually made her way onto the podium during the medal ceremony.

Taking it all in right beside her is Hosszu’s coach and husband, Shane Tusup, who describes the experience in the video below. “I’ve never been a part of anything like it, not even at the Olympics,” is how Tusup says the scene unfolded, which is saying a lot considering Hosszu brought home 3 gold medals from Rio.

Video courtesy of FINA.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Tusup On Hosszu’s Home Crowd Win: Never Been Part Of Anything Like It

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

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

The Danube Arena was thunderous as hometown favorite Katinka Hosszu was announced at the start of the women’s 200 IM final on Monday night. The cheers continued throughout the entire race, with Hosszu leading each leg of the IM. Less than a second off her own World Record, she claimed her third consecutive World Championship title in the event, made all the more special by the enthusiasm of the crowd. Hosszu finished in 2:07.00, a full body length ahead of second-place Yui Ohashi of Japan.

[Note: At 3:15 in the video you see that Sydney Pickrem, who was lagging behind the field in the 100 fly, hangs onto the wall while the other seven swimmers transition to backstroke. Pickrem eventually exited the pool and was being seen to by the Canadian Team staff.]

Watch the entire race below, courtesy of NBC Sports.

Write-up by Lauren Neidigh:

WOMEN’S 200 IM – FINALS

• World Record: Katinka Hosszu, 2:06.12, 2015
• Championship Record: Katinka Hosszu, 2:06.12, 2015
• Junior World Record: Rikako Ikee, 2:09.98, 2017

1. GOLD: Katinka Hosszu, HUN, 2:07.00
2. SILVER: Yui Ohashi, JPN, 2:07.91
3. BRONZE: Madisyn Cox, USA, 2:09.71

As expected, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu dominated the race in front of the home crowd, leading from start to finish with the 6th fastest time in history as she touched in 2:07.00 for her first gold of the meet. Japan’s Yui Ohashi became the 6th fastest performer ever in this event with her 2:07.91 for silver.

Team USA’s Madisyn Cox came out of nowhere at the end, flying through the final 50 to take bronze in 2:09.71, just out-touching teammate Melanie Margalis (2:09.82). Olympic silver medalist Siobhan-Marie O’Connor of Great Britain was in the running for bronze through the breaststroke leg, but fell off the pace to finish 7th in 2:10.41.

Fans were also in for a bit of a shock when Canada’s Sydney Pickrem, who was seeded 3rd and considered one of the favorites to medal, got out of the pool on the butterfly lap.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Women’s 200 IM Race Video: Hosszu Wins Big in Front of Home Crowd

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

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

Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström is just miles ahead of the competition in the 100m butterfly. She dominates this event in the way Katie Ledecky dominates the 400m and 800m freestyles; that is, she owns all 10 of the best performances in history. (Note: Federica Pellegrini still holds the 10th rung in the 400m free with her historic 3:59.15, but Ledecky owns the 9 other 400 times and all 10 800 times.)

In the final of the women’s 100 fly on Monday evening in Budapest, Sjöström went out like a rocket and looked like she might take a chunk out of her own world record. While she just missed that mark, she nonetheless finished in a Championship-record time of 55.53, half a body length ahead of second-place Emma McKeon of Australia.

Watch the entire race below, courtesy of NBC Sports.

Write-up by Lauren Neidigh:

WOMEN’S 100 FLY – FINALS

• World Record: Sarah Sjostrom, 55.48, 2016
• Championship Record: Sarah Sjostrom, 55.64, 2015
• Junior World Record: Penny Oleksiak, 56.46, 2016

1. GOLD: Sarah Sjostrom, SWE, 55.53
2. SILVER: Emma McKeon, AUS, 56.18
3. BRONZE: Kelsi Worrell, USA, 56.37

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom was out like a light with a 25.6 split at the 50. Though she was well under World Record pace on the front half, she fell off the mark on the 2nd 50, but still held on for gold by a long shot with a new Championship Record of 55.53.

Australia’s Emma McKeon (56.18) set a new Commonwealth and Australian Record for silver, while American Kelsi Worrell (56.37) shaved down her personal best time to win her first major international medal individually with a 3rd place finish.

FInishing just off the podium was Canadian Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak, the Junior World Record holder, in 56.94. Oleksiak used her back half speed to run down Korea’s An Sehyeon (57.07) and was able to hold off Japanese junior star Rikako Ikee (57.08).

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Watch Sarah Sjöström Swim the 2nd-Fastest 100 Fly in History (Race Video)

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

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

Canada’s Sydney Pickrem was a prime medal contender heading into the women’s 200 IM final on day 2 in Budapest. Fresh off a Canadian National Record in the semi-finals, Pickrem was seeded 3rd behind two-time defending champion Katinka Hosszu and American Melanie Margalis.

Hosszu was almost a certainty to win on her home soil, but the minor medals were largely up for grabs.

On the fly leg Pickrem was clearly in 8th position, but that wasn’t a surprise as she’s much stronger on the other three strokes. She was the slowest of the eight finalists in the semis on the fly leg as well.

However, after finishing 50 metres, Pickrem stopped swimming. She hit the wall, and proceeded to get out of the pool. Watch a video via Radio-Canada Sports on Twitter:

Abandon de Sydney Pickrem en finale du 200 m quatre nages #FINABudapest2017pic.twitter.com/Kgkx9KKhHI

— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) July 24, 2017

Hosszu went onto win gold in 2:07.00, much to the delight of the home crowd. Japan’s Yui Ohashi won silver from lane 8, registering a new national record in 2:07.91. American Madisyn Cox won bronze.

Swimming Canada has tweeted out saying Pickrem is fine and working with Team Canada staff & coaches.

Sydney is fine and working with Team Canada staff & coaches. Thanks to all who have expressed concern.

— Swimming Canada (@SwimmingCanada) July 24, 2017

We have reached out to Swimming Canada and Texas A&M for an official word on the incident, but have not heard back.

Update: According to Anson Henry on Twitter, Pickrem ‘caught water’ at the turn (aka swallowed water), which made her unable to continue.

For those wondering about @sydneypickrem, she caught some water on the turn at 50m could not continue. She is fine tho. #FINABudapest2017

— Anson Henry (@ansonhenry) July 24, 2017

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Sydney Pickrem Exits Pool After Fly Leg In Women’s 200 IM Final

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

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

Russia’s Yuliya Efimovaclocked a 1:04.36 in the first semi-final of the women’s 100m breaststroke on Monday evening in Budapest. It was the second-fastest swim in history, only .01 off the world record of 1:04.35, set by Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte in 2013.

5 FASTEST PERFORMERS ALL-TIME – WOMEN’S 100 BREAST

1. Ruta Meilutyte (LTU), 1:04.35, 2013
2. Yuliya Efimova (RUS), 1:04.36, 2017
3. Jessica Hardy (USA), 1:04.45, 2009
4. Lilly King (USA), 1:04.53, 2017
5. Rebecca Soni (USA), 1:04.84, 2009

Efimova gave a little smile and wagged her finger at the end of her race, replaying the cinematic rivalry she and Lilly King had in Rio last summer. Feuds aside, it was a strong performance and sets Efimova up for Tuesday night’s final with the fastest qualifying time in the field. King qualified second with 1:04.53; Meilutyte was third with 1:05.06.

Watch the semi-final race below courtesy of NBC Sports.

Write-up by Lauren Neidigh:

WOMEN’S 100 BREAST – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: Ruta Meilutyte, 1:04.35, 2013
• Championship Record: Ruta Meilutyte, 1:04.35, 2013
• Junior World Record: Ruta Meilutyte, 1:05.21, 2014

TOP 8:

1. Yuliya Efimova, RUS, 1:04.36
2. Lilly King, USA, 1:04.53
3. Ruta Meilutyte, LTU, 1:05.06
4. Katie Meili, USA, 1:05.48
5. Shi Jinglin, CHN, 1:06.47
6. Jessica Vall, ESP, 1:06.62
7. Kierra Smith, CAN, 1:06.62
8. Sarah Vasey, GBR, 1:06.81

Russia’s Yuliya Efimova was over a half second shy of World Record pace at the 50, but flew through the back half to miss the mark by just a hundredth with her 1:04.36 in semifinal 1. Lilly King answered in the next heat with a personal best 1:04.53 to miss the American Record by hundredths.

World Record holder Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania put up a 1:05.06, marking her fastest performance in this event since she 2013. Those 3 are shaping up to be the favorites for the medals in this race, but the USA’s Katie Meili(1:05.48) is also in the conversation after qualifying 4th in a new best time.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Race Video: Efimova Misses 100 Breast WR by .01 (then wags finger…)

By Karl Ortegon on SwimSwam

Australian Olympic champion Cate Campbell has given some choice words in regards to FINA at a press conference in Budapest, according to SwimVortex. Though she’s not racing in Budapest at the 2017 World Championships, Campbell is aiming for a comeback next summer, and her opinions on FINA reflect the same sentiment from many world-class swimmers that we’ve seen of late.

“I think the fact that they haven’t ever requested an athlete’s opinion on anything,” said Campbell, when asked what her biggest concern is about the international governing body for swimming. She reminds everyone, though, that “we [the swimmers] are essentially FINA’s assets. Without us there is no FINA and I think sometimes that can be forgotten.”

“We are linked to FINA; we are part of FINA and FINA can use us to promote things, so I feel like we should be able to have a say in how they are governing and who governs it and which issues are being raised and which issues are being dealt with.” This is similar to the premise upon which Katinka Hosszu‘s open letter to start an international pro swimming union lies, and an opinion that has echoed across the swimming world recently.

Campbell’s time on the Athletes’ Commission of the Australian Olympic Committee has helped her see everything at play in such a sizable administration. “There are so many cogs spinning and people pulling in different directions that athletes do just get lost because it does become about making money as opposed to swimming. I feel like that’s a fundamental part of their constitution that they’ve forgotten.”

Campbell, who joined Hosszu’s Global Association of Professional Swimmers (GAPS) along with recent World Champions Adam Peaty, Ben Proud, and Sarah Sjöström, does think more can be done than outlined in Hosszu’s June letter. Still, she wants to focus on those details later. “There is a lot more to flesh out in terms of what we would like but for me I joined because athletes should have a say in organisations. Too often they are run by people who are out of touch with the sport or have their own side games to be made from it. For me it was about supporting athletes having a voice and we can work out the details after the [World] championships.”

Though she alludes to more changes other than Hosszu’s proposals, Campbell did admit that FINA‘s world cup changes were “arrogant.”

When asked about the recent Olympic event additions, Campbell was far more supportive of the 50s of strokes (which were not added) over the distance events (which were).

“I don’t agree with the fact that they are Olympic events. Obviously I support the athletes who are in them 100% but you’re putting a huge burden on the distance swimmers. That is a huge mileage they’re having to swim. They will be swimming kilometres at race pace… In terms of spectators, 50s are fun. They are races people can relate to. Pretty much everyone has swum 50 metres at some stage in their lives and can say ‘oh, look, they swam 10sec faster than me …’ Most people will never have time to swim a 1500 in their lives. From a viewing spectatorship I don’t think it was a clever move.”

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cate Campbell Speaks Out Against FINA