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World Championships: Yuan Junxuan Edges Out Mollie O’Callaghan for 200 Freestyle Gold; China Finishes 1-3
In a 200 freestyle final lacking experience at the Budapest World Championships, 20-year-old Yang Junxuan took advantage. No swimmer jumped out front early and took command of the race, but the Chinese swimmer pulled into a slight lead over Canada’s Taylor Ruck at the halfway point, and then she extended the advantage on the third 50 and held off Australian teenager Mollie O’Callaghan to win gold.
Yang touched in 1:54.92, while O’Callaghan used an excellent final 50 to take silver in 1:55.22. Swimming in lane eight, Yang’s Chinese teammate Tang Muhan finished well to take bronze in 1:56.25. Great Britain’s Freya Anderson, who topped the semifinal round, ended up fourth in 1:56.61.
Yang ranks seventh all-time in this event with her mark of 1:54.37 that she swam leading off Australia’s gold-medal-winning, world-record-setting 800 free relay at the Tokyo Olympics. O’Callaghan, meanwhile, ranks 15th all-time at 1:54.94, and the 18-year-old finished just off that mark in winning her first individual medal at a major international competition.
“This race is more for fun for me. I’m gathering experience, but in the end I managed to get a medal, which is amazing. We set up a new plan for this race with my coach and it really worked out,” O’Callaghan said. “This is my first Worlds, and it feels nice so far.”
The final was more notable for who was absent than who was present: Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus announced months ago she would skip this meet, while silver medalist Siobhan Haughey withdrew from prelims because of an ankle injury. Bronze medalist Penny Oleksiak was disqualified in the semifinals for a false start. Two-time defending world champion Federica Pellegrini has retired, and 2016 gold medalist Katie Ledecky opted to skip the 200 free at this meet.
Just last month, Titmus swam a time of 1:53.31 that is more than a second-and-a-half quicker than the gold-medal-winning time here, and Ledecky has also posted a quicker time than Yang’s this year. But in the all-important moment, it was Yang who took advantage to capture her first individual medal at a major international competition and her first world title.
