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 7 Prelims: Sarah Sjostrom Breaks 24 to Lead 50 Free Prelims Sarah Sjostrom is fresh, and the rest of the women’s sprint field should be on notice. The Swedish star led the way in the women’s 50 freestyle preliminaries at the World Aquatics Championships on Saturday morning with a time of 23.93 to earn the top seed in the semifinals. Sjostrom was .09 up on Shayna Jack of Australia, who went 24.02. Abbey Weitzeil won her heat and went 24.29 for the third seed. Among the other big names is Emma McKeon, who is the eighth seed in 24.69. Sjostrom has made hay in this event plenty, winning it in Budapest in both 2017 and 2022. She was second to Simone Manuel, who isn’t at Worlds this year for the U.S., in 2019. McKeon didn’t qualify for those 2019 Worlds in the event, it still falling in the halcyon days of the Campbell sisters, and opted out of Worlds in 2022 in favor of the Commonwealth Games. Her Olympic title in 2020, in a time of 23.81, makes her one of the standard bearers for the event. China’s Zhang Yufei is branching out into the 50, the butterfly star the fourth seed in 24.44. Michelle Coleman is fifth in 24.51, with Anna Hopkin a spot and a tenth back. The Netherlands’ Marrit Steenbergen advanced from prelims in a fourth event this week, seventh in 24.63. Weitzeil won a quick first heat that saw six swimmers make the top 13. At the bottom of that bunch was Gretchen Walsh the 13th overall seed in 24.83. Hopkin was in that heat. Julie Keep Jensen, the 10th seed, and Walsh were in a quartet separated by .05 seconds. Jack handled the second heat, with Steenbergen and McKeon. Marie Wattel also made it out of that heat in 24.84 for 14th overall. Farida Osman and Yujie Chen tied for 15th. Sjostrom was a half-second better than Zhang in the final heat. Among the names on the wrong side of the cut line are Melanie Henique in 21st and Rikako Ikee in 20th.
