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 Five Semifinals: Defending Champ Ryan Murphy Well-Positioned in 200 Backstroke; Roman Mityukov Top Seed As an athlete who has collected plenty of hardware on the international scene, Ryan Murphy boasts numerous strengths. Among them is an ability to calculate his efforts through an event’s rounds. So, when the American advanced to the semifinals of the 200-meter backstroke in fourth at the World Championships, there was no concern. It’s exactly where the Team USA captain and veteran needs to be. Swimming easy, Murphy was third in his semifinal, going 1:56.02. Already the gold medalist at these World Champs, look for Murphy to be considerably faster in the final. The 28-year-old is the defending champion in the event and has twice won silver medals in the 200 back at the World Champs. Switzerland’s Roman Mityukov managed the fastest time of the semifinals. Mityukov was timed in 1:55.85, which gave him the top seed for the final by .04 over Hungary’s Benedek Kovacs (1:55.89). Moving on in third was the other Hungarian in the field, Hubert Kos. The Arizona State standout touched in 1:55.99 and will look to add to his global-medal haul. Last summer, Kos won gold in the 200 individual medley at the European Championships. France’s Mewen Tomac (1:56.05) and Australian Bradley Woodward (1:56.16) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while the field for the final was filled out by Japan’s Daiki Yanagawa (1:57.23) and Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez (1:57.28).
