Editorial content for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships is sponsored by FINIS, a longtime partner of Swimming World and leading innovator of suits, goggles and equipment. World Championships, Day 5 Prelims: Zac Stubblety-Cook Leads, Leon Marchand Scratches 200 Breast World record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook led the way in prelims of his favored event, the men’s 200 breast, clocking in at 2:08.98 in prelims at the World Aquatics Championships on Thursday. Stubblety-Cook leads the way into semifinals at the Marine Messe Hall in Fukuoka, Japan. He’s three tenths up on Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands. The event was missing one of the week’s biggest names in Leon Marchand, who scratched the event. He disclosed that he would no-show the 200 breast in his press availability Wednesday night. Marchand has the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley finals Thursday night and will focus on French relays the rest of the way. Qin Haiyang is bidding to the become the first man to do the breaststroke treble since it was added to Worlds in 2001. He’s already in rare territory, joining only Adam Peaty in accomplishing the men’s 50-100 double in the 12 Worlds at which it’s been on offer. (Peaty did it three times, 2015, 2017 and 2019). Qin is the fifth seed in 2:09.86 after prelims. Dong Zhihao jumps into the mix as his B swimmer, after Yan Zibei was sixth in the 100 and Sun Jiajun got 50-meter bronze. Dong was seventh overall. The Americans change it up, with Nic Fink winning silver in both the 50 and 100 but having not qualified for the 200 breast after being in the final of the last Worlds and Olympics). Both Americans navigated prelims seamlessly, Josh Matheny going 2:09.90 for sixth place. Matt Fallon was second to Stubblety-Cook in the fifth and final heat but still good for the third-best time in 2:09.32. Corbeau controlled the first circle-seeded heat with his 2:09.69, with Qin comfortably third. In between was Lithuanian Aleksas Savickas. A three-man group went out in front in the penultimate heat, Matheny getting to the wall first in 2:09.90 with Dong second in 2:10.06 and Ippei Watanabe third in 2:10.11. (That was the heat from which Marchand scratched.) Watanabe was eighth overall. Arno Kamminga, the Olympic silver medalist in this event, finished 10th in prelims. Erik Persson, who tied for bronze in Budapest, was tied for 11th in prelims. Olympic bronze medalist Matti Mattsson squeaked into the final in 15th, just ahead of a second Japanese swimmer in Shoma Sato.
