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Kathleen Baker of the United States had the biggest improvement of anyone in the 100 backstroke at the FINA world championships, moving from 17th to seventh for a place in the championship final.
Baker initially had missed out on a spot in the semifinals by one hundredth of a second, but got in thanks to scratches, particularly top seed Katinka Hosszu. Baker used that opportunity to swim a lifetime best from lane eight in the second semifinal and earn her spot in the final at her long course world championship debut.
“I’m so happy right now,” Baker said. “It hurt way less than this morning when I made a ton of mistakes.”
Her teammate Missy Franklin swam in the first semifinal and said she “was like a maniac on the pool deck watching her.” Franklin, who knows what it takes to dig deep and produce an unearthly performance, said of Baker’s performance that “it’s such an incredible indication of a great athlete.”
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“I’m overwhelmed with excitement right now,” Baker said. “I’m really just enjoying the experience.”
