World Championships, Day 3 Prelims (Men): Luca De Tullio Heads 800 Free Thriller, Ahmed Hafnaoui 18th
The third day of prelims got under way at the Aspire Dome at what has been an unpredictable and unique World Championships in Doha.
50m Breaststroke
Nicolo Martinenghi headed the first seeded heat in 26.75 with Fink and Peaty side by side in lanes four and five of the fifth prelim.
As with the 100 final, the American had a fantastic start and soon had a half bodylength lead, with clear water between him and Peaty.
Fink was first in 26.66 ahead of Caspar Corbeau (27.11) and Peaty (27.23), slower than his first 50 in the 100 final.
Ilya Shymanovich, competing as a Neutral Individual Athlete, matched Fink’s time in the final prelim with the pair leading the way into the semis.
Sam Williamson (26.69), Martinenghi and Peter Stevens (26.79) were next swiftest through with Peaty qualifying 12th.
200m Butterfly
While Fukuoka world champion Leon Marchand isn’t competing in Qatar, 2023 silver and bronze medallists Krzysztof Chmielewski and Tomoru Honda took to the blocks at the Aspire Dome.
Lewis Clareburt and Zach Harting posted 1:56.10 and 1:56.12 in the third prelim, the swiftest time until the final heat when Kregor Zirk led throughout to post a PB of 1:55.58.
It was an Estonian record for Zirk who took 0.04 from his previous mark of 1:55.62 set at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.
Max Litchfield – back on the British team – progressed in joint 14th with Olympic bronze medallist Federico Burdisso.
There was though no Chad Le Clos, the 2012 Olympic champion scratching from the final heat.
Petar Mitsin of Bulgaria won a swim-off with Nao Horomura in 1:56.91 to 1:57.46 to take the 16th spot.
800m Freestyle
The final promises to be an absolute thriller but there’ll be no Ahmed Hafnaoui, the 2023 world champion finishing 18th in 7:51.72, 14.72secs outside his winning time in Fukuoka.
That follows his 17th place in the 400 free.
The action heated up in the fourth heat which featured Gregorio Paltrinieri, Daniel Wiffen and Florian Wellbrock.
The trio were going stroke for stroke with Wellbrock, the Tokyo open water champion, ahead at halfway before Wiffen took over at 450.
Luca de Tullio joined the three before taking the lead and with 100m to go the Italian was ahead of Paltrinieri with Sweden’s Victor Johansson – out in lane nine – in third and Wellbrock and Wiffen joint fourth.
De Tullio stopped the clock in 7:46.52 with Wiffen moving through with a 27.52 final 50 for 7:46.90 and Johansson clocking 7:47.04 to take 2.10secs from his Swedish record of 7:49.14 at the Tokyo Olympics.
Paltrinieri was fourth in 7:47.38 with Wellbrock next home in 7:48.17 and in danger of missing out with one prelim remaining.
Elijah Winnington set a blistering pace in the early stages of the fifth heat and led at 200 from Hafnaoui and Kristof Rasovszky out in lane one.
The 10k champion moved into the lead and was in pole position at halfway followed by Sven Schwarz and Kuzey Tuncelli with Hafnaoui dropping back, and in eighth by 500m.
With 100 to go, Rasovszky and Schwarz had been joined by Mykhailo Romanchuk with the German taking over the lead at the final turn, coming home in 7:46.95 followed by the Hungarian and Ukrainian.
Qualifiers: De Tullio (7:46.52), Wiffen (7:46.90), Schwarz (7:46.95), Johansson (7:47.04), Rasovszky (7:47.19), Romanchuk (7:47.20), Paltrinieri (7:47.38), Winnington (7:47.59).
David Betlehem was ninth in 7:48.06 with Wellbrock 10th in 7:48.17.
