World Championships, Day 6 Prelims (Women): Claire Curzan Chases Backstroke Treble; Sarah Sjostrom Seeking Record Sixth 50 Fly Title
US Tokyo Olympian and exciting Paris prospect Claire Curzan is on target to become only the second female in history to complete a World Championship backstroke treble – leading the field into tonight’s semi-finals of the 200m backstroke at the Aspire Dome in Doha.
Cruzan has already pocketed gold in the 50 and 100m backstroke finals as well a silver in the 100m butterfly and if she can take gold in the 200m she will emulate Australian Kaylee McKeown‘s feat from Fukuoka last year.
The 19-year-old five-time World Championship gold medallist from the University of Virginia cruised through to win the fourth and final heat in 2:10.50, with Australian 17-year-old rookie Jacklyn Barclay, the winner of first seeded heat in 2:10.82 with Bulgarian Gabriela Georgieva (2:10.86) and Hungary’s Ester Szabo-Felththy (2:10;95) the only others under 2:11.00.
Enter the legendary Swede Sarah Sjostrom who took just 24.88 seconds to stamp her authority on her specialist 50m butterfly as she sets her sights on her own slice of history and a sixth consecutive world championship – unbeaten since 2015 in Kazan – adding further tiltes in 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023 – and also the owner of 12 individual world crowns and one of world swimming’s true Superstars.
The 30-year-old holds the world record any 24.43, set in 2014 and the Championship record at 24.60 set in Budapest in 2017 – both times under serious threat.
And for the first time since 2011 a new name will appear on the honour roll in the women’s 800m freestyle – won for the last six times by US legend Katie Ledecky since 2013. The only other previous medallists qualifying for the Night Seven final in Doha will be Italy’s Simona Quadrella ( second fastest in 8:27.80) who won silver in 2019 and bronze in 2022 and Australia’s Kiah Melverton (seventh 8:35.22) who won silver to Ledecky in the 2022 final.
The fastest qualifier was heat two winner, Germany’s Isabel Gose (8:26.49) while there were equal eighth place finishers – forcing a rare nine swimmer final under World Aquatic rules, which normally requires a swim off.
Australia’s Maddy Gough and Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto both stopped the clock in 8:35.25.
