Sjostrom aims for sixth win in the 50 fly, Cruzan looks to take on Pudal

2024 World Aquatics Championships

In the strangest World Championship in generations, we will do our best to select the medalists and finalists for the 2024 World Championship. It’s going to be weird. The finals will feature players most of us have never heard of. We’re going to miss out on someone who obviously wasn’t expecting to be in the race. The list at the top is just as valuable as the list at the bottom. Let us know in the comments section. We reserve the right to update our recommendations if you let us know about any missed entries.

sweden star sarah sjostrom He returns for a six-peat in the 50-meter butterfly — a feat that katie ledecky However, in the 100 fly and 200 fly, all of last year’s podium finishers are not participating in this year’s race, so the chances are wide open.

Claire Curzan and Lana Pudal They top the entry list for the 100 fly and 200 fly respectively, but anything can happen at this oddly timed world championship in Doha, Qatar.

women’s 50 fly

Look at the numbers

• World record: 24.43 – sarah sjostrom (SWE), 2014
• Junior World Record: 25.46 seconds – Rikako Ikee (Japan), 2018
• Championship record: 24.60 – sarah sjostrom (SWE), 2017
• 2023 World Champion: 24.77 – sarah sjostrom (SWE)

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Who is winning medals behind Sjostrom?

It would be a miracle if Sjostrom didn’t win the 50 fly crown in Doha for the sixth year in a row. The 30-year-old world record holder is still in his prime. Not only did she improve her time from the 2022 World Championships (24.95 seconds) to the 2023 World Championships (24.77 seconds), but she also broke 25 seconds again at the World Cup venue in Berlin last October. (24 seconds 97). No other person in history has broken the 25 second barrier.

The most likely candidates to join Sjostrom at the sub-25 club are: Zhang Yufeiwon the silver medal last year with a new Asian record time of 25.05 seconds, so he will miss the World Championships this year.Current bronze medalist Gretchen Walsh Although he also missed the World Championship this year, he is in the hunt for the remaining two podium spots behind Sjostrom. There is an added element of unpredictability as many swimmers have not competed in the 50 fly so far this season as it is not an Olympic event.

kate douglashas never attempted the 50 fly in a major tournament, but he has the highest ceiling of any of Sjostrom’s challengers. The 22-year-old American completed 50 splits at last summer’s U.S. Championships, competing in a personal best time of 26.27 seconds. Who knows what she can accomplish with a full taper. Her main obstacle may be her own versatility. She is currently competing in six events (50 free, 100 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, 50 fly, 200 IM).

fellow americans Claire Curzan Although he was seeded sixth at the U.S. Trials last June with a score of 25.74, there is reason to believe the 19-year-old will be even faster in Doha. She was hospitalized with a serious illness a week before the U.S. Trials, and she had set her personal best 200m record (2:06.35) several times before the 50m flight. Karzan finished fifth at the 2022 World Championships with a time of 25.43 seconds.

melanie hennig He entered last year’s World Championships as a podium favorite after recording a time of 25.24 seconds at the French Championships, but ended up finishing eighth with a time of 25.80 seconds. However, the 31-year-old scored a promising 25.69 at the Hortillons Meet in December, and hopes to bounce back this time. Henike has set his impressive lifetime best of 25.17 seconds since 2021.

The players aiming to make a comeback at this year’s World Championship are: Maike de Ward, the 27-year-old Dutch woman set a personal best of 25.62 seconds at the 2022 European Championships, but missed the Fukuoka final (26.02 seconds). Like Henike, De Waard has also been on a roll this season, scoring 25.74 points at the Rotterdam qualifying round in December.

Farida Osman He finished within two-tenths of the podium at last year’s Fukuoka Games (25.62 points), so he should be hungry for a medal this year. The 29-year-old Egyptian was fastest at 25.38 seconds at the 2022 World Championships, but his 100 fly performance at this season’s U.S. Open (59.34 seconds) and the Pro Swim Series in Knoxville ( 1:00.29, 50.26.99 splits) are not very encouraging so far.

All eyes on the 25-year-old South African player Erin GallagherLast August, she came out of nowhere to score a personal best of 25.66 points at the World University Games, placing second behind Zhang (25.20 points).

SwimSwam Picks – 50 Fly

Women’s 100 fly

Look at the numbers

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Karzan’s Redemption Tour

Just about seven months after narrowly missing out on the U.S. 2023 World Championships, Curzan arrived in Doha as the favorite to win his first 100 flyweight individual world title. Her time at last year’s U.S. Trials, when she was hospitalized with a serious illness the week before the competition, would have tied her at 56.61 seconds. tori husk Last year he won a bronze medal. Fortunately for Curzan, last year’s top-four finisher, Zhang (56.12); maggie mcneil (56.45), Husk (56.61), emma mckeon (56.88) — Will not be attending Doha.

With Douglas not competing in the 100 fly, Curzan’s toughest challenger could be the 18-year-old Bosnian standout Lana Pudal. Her pace slowed as last summer progressed, but considering how busy her race schedule was, it’s hard to blame her. Poudard won the European Juniors in early July with a score of 56.95, and later that month he placed 10th at the World Championships with a score of 57.34. A few months later, she won her world junior title with a score of 57.77.

The top player returning from last year’s World Championship final is a 23-year-old German. angelina kohler, aiming for a time in the 57 second range for the first time in Doha. At the World Cup held in Berlin last October, he placed second in the 100 fly with a time of 57.18 seconds. This was only about one-tenth of his personal best of 57.05 at last year’s World Championships, where he placed fifth.

alexandria perkins He scored a personal best of 57.48 points at the Queensland Championships in December, establishing himself as a podium candidate in Doha. 23-year-old Australian defeated 28-year-old veteran Briana Throssell (57.53) The difference in that race was just 0.05 seconds. Throssell finished seventh at last year’s world championships with a score of 57.43, about half a second shy of the Australian’s personal best of 56.95 at the 2022 world championships.

south africa Erin Gallagher The 25-year-old’s lifetime best is a score of 57.64 at the World University Games last August, but she has not competed in the event so far this season.

Other veterans such as the 27-year-old Swede Louise Hanson (57.43 points at Rotterdam qualifying in December), 28 years old, from Greece Anna Ntuntunaki (12th place at last year’s World Championships with 57.97 points), 30-year-old Canadian Catherine Savard (He placed 13th at last year’s World Championships with a time of 58.18 seconds) He should be competing for a place in the finals this year as well.

Note that American Douglas is entered in the 50 fly, but not in the 100 fly, which could be one of the Olympic trials in June.

SwimSwam Picks – 100 Fly

Women’s 200 fly

Look at the numbers

• World record: 2:01.81 – Liu Zige (China), 2009
• Junior World Record: 2:04.06 – Summer McIntosh (Canada), 2023
• Championship record: 2:03.41 – Jessica Schipper (Australia), 2009
• 2023 World Champion: 2:04.06 – Summer McIntosh (Canada)

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Pudal ready for the podium

Poudar will have two main challengers looking to stop her from winning her first LCM world medal (she won bronze in the SCM 200 fly in 2021). She came within 0.5 seconds of the podium in fourth place (2:07.05) behind the bronze medalist at last year’s Fukuoka Games. regan smith (2:06.58).

Pudahl set a personal best of 2:06.26 at Euro Juniors last July and was the favorite to win this year, but Denmark’s Helena Bach (2:07.15) And the British laura stevens (2:06.62) is far from his lifetime best. Bach tied for fifth at last year’s Fukuoka Games, setting a new Danish record, while Stevens finished seventh with a time of 2:07.27.

Bach showed remarkable consistency, recording times of less than 2 hours and 8 minutes in the preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals. In comparison, Poudar was slower in last year’s world championship final (2:07.05) than in the semifinal (2:06.60).

SwimSwam Picks – 200 Fly