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Freya Anderson led the way into the 200 free final in a new PB but Olympic bronze medallist Penny Oleksiak was DQd for moving at the start.
The Briton went to the head of the field in the first semi with a final 50 of 29.15 to stop the clock in 1:56.05, cutting 0.01 off her previous best of 1:56.06 from the 2020 Flanders Cup.
Australian pair Madi Wilson (1:56.31) and Mollie O’Callaghan (1:56.34) were next swiftest through with Tang Muhan of China claiming the eighth and final spot in 1:56.87.
The event is missing some of the world’s top stars over four laps of freestyle. Australian and Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus is skipping Worlds to focus on the Commonwealth Games while Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, the Olympic silver medalist, has been sidelined by an ankle injury. With Oleksiak’s DQ, the entire podium will be different from what it looked like at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Anderson said:
“I’m happy with that. Here, it’s all about trying to get faster each round and progress, so I’ll take that and hopefully tomorrow I can get a bit faster and look what I have to improve on tonight in the playback video, those one per centers, that would be good.
“It’s a big confidence boost. That’s been my PB for two years, I’ve been struggling to get down to a 1:56-low, so I’ll take it – but there’s always ways to do better.
“Tom’s (Tom Dean, men’s 200 free)) got that first medal. Hopefully it gets the ball rolling and we can keep collecting.”
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