There is no doubt that in every competition of the 19th FINA World Championships , behind each athlete who stepped on the starting platform has a story worth savoring. Here we will only introduce a few women's swimming events that cannot be missed.
women's 100 freestyle
Molly O'Callaghan
Emma McKeon and Kate Campbell (Cate Campbell) did not come to Budapest to participate in the competition, which gave 18-year-old Mollie O'Callaghan the next great Australian 100m freestyle player.
Ho Shibei won two gold medals at the World Short Pool Championships in December last year, and won the silver medal behind McKean in the Tokyo Olympics, and also aimed at the gold medal.
However, facing the mighty O'Calaghan and another Australian player, Shayna Jack, the game was very difficult for He Shibei. The two Australians lead the world rankings at 52.49 and 52.60 respectively this year. He Shibei set an Asian record at 52.27 at the Olympics last year, winning the gold medal in Budapest may require swimming so quickly again.
Sarah Sjostrom, who holds a world record, is the only medalist to return from the Gwangju World Championships, finished fifth in Tokyo after an elbow injury a few months before the Olympics. She seems to have recovered completely, but she will face the toughest challenges.
plus Canadian Penny Oleksiak and UK Anna Hopkin, both finalists at last year's Olympic Games.
Therefore, even without McKean and Campbell , this game will be exciting.
women's 200m freestyle
defending Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus did not participate in the competition in Budapest, and two-time defending world champion Federica Pellegrini will also be absent. 2015 FINA World Championship champion Katie Ledecky has removed the 200m freestyle from her entry plan, leaving room for the 2022 champions.
Last year's silver medalist He Shibei is expected to win her first world championship, setting an Asian record of 1:53.92 last year, one second faster than the top seed Molly O'Calahan 's 1:54.94.
18-year-old O'Calahan participated in all three Australian preliminaries last year, but has no personal experience in participating in the event. Anyway, she is one of the fastest teenagers of all time and it looks like she is ready to face a big challenge in Budapest. Her teammate Madison Wilson ranked eighth in Tokyo, with a score of 1:55.8 in May.
Canada's Summer McIntosh is younger than O'Calahan , and she followed closely behind with a score of 1:55.39 in the 2022 world rankings. At just 15 years old, McIntosh is expected to compete for a medal spot in Budapest, and the 200m freestyle is one of her strengths, and she will compete with Olympic bronze medalist Penny Oleksiak from Tokyo, who competed in April with a time of 1:57.01.
women's 400 freestyle
Katy Ryderki
This is Katie Ryderki's fifth time seeing the World Championships, and her goal is to win the fourth gold medal in the 400m freestyle. Ledki handed over her world record to Australia's Arialne Titmus, who would not appear in Budapest last month. Ledki's biggest challenger is McIntosh of Canada.
14 The year-old McIntosh missed the podium after finishing fourth in the Tokyo Olympics last summer, but her career has already made a leap, with a high probability of multiple podiums in Budapest. Maybe she doesn’t have the ability to face Ryderkey head-on, but it will be an interesting game as many recall the 15-year-old Ryderkey wins gold medal against world record holder Rebecca Adlington. Things are different, but McIntosh will have the opportunity to prove her worth to Ledkee in the 400-meter freestyle.
Mcintosh ranked 11th in the 400m freestyle and has the potential to be the fourth woman to break 4:00 in the event. She doesn't seem to be afraid of the race, and she may do her best at 400 meters.
Women's 100m Backstroke
Three medal winners from the Tokyo Olympics and only three female athletes who broke 58 seconds will all gather in Budapest. World record holder and Australian Olympic champion Kylie McKeon will compete with two-time world champion Canada's Kylie Masse, who is also the first female athlete to break 58 seconds after American athlete Regan Smith.
Each of these three swimmers has maintained a world record of 100m backstroke sometime in the past five years, and Budapest's championship may be faster than anyone else's.
Currently, Smith ranks first in the world with a score of 57.76, while McKeon ranks second (58.31), 17-year-old American Claire Curzan (58.39) ranks third, and Marce (58.41) ranks fourth. McKeon’s world record of 57.45 could be seriously threatened. This competition will be a wonderful performance that swimming fans cannot miss on the third day.
McKeon won two gold medals in backstroke in Tokyo, while Marce won two silver medals. Smith has won the 200m backstroke world championship since 2019. On June 20, 2022, who is the best depends entirely on the performance on the scene.
women's 200m breaststroke
Lily King
World record holder South African player Tatjana Schoenmaker and two-time world champion Yulia Efimova will not attend the 200m breaststroke competition in Budapest, when there will be a new champion, which will open the door to one of the two most popular players in the United States to win the gold medal.
Lilly King has had a great success in short breaststroke, but has not won the 200m championship yet. Last year, she shone in the Tokyo Olympics, winning silver medals and winning silver medals below 2:20, and with Schonmek missing the World Championships, it could be Lily King’s golden moment.
King scored 2:21.19 in the US Trials in April, and her American compatriot Kate Douglass followed with 2:21.43. Their technical styles are very different, but they all have the ability to win gold medals.
A relatively unknown player is Kotryna Teterevkova of Lithuanian , who was 20 years old and swam out 2:22.8 in February. Dedelevkova ranked 23rd in Tokyo last year, but has made great progress this year. She is the silver medalist at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games 200m, but has not yet jumped to the advanced stage.
UK's Molly Renshaw and Abbie Wood both entered the Tokyo Olympic finals, finishing sixth and seventh respectively. They have both swam 2:21 in the past, so they are also able to win medals.
women's 100m butterfly stroke
Zhang Yufei
Three years ago, the three medal winners of the last Gwangju World Championship - Maggie MacNeil, Sarah Sjostrom and Emma McKeon, will all miss Budapest, so Zhang Yufei has become a popular candidate for Budapest to win the championship.
Zhang Yufei did not participate in too many competitions in 2022, so what she will bring is still unknown. It is not impossible to break the 55.48 world record of Sjostrom . But she will be under tremendous pressure from American teen duo Torri Huske and Claire Curzan.
Husk led by about 75 meters in the Tokyo Olympic final last year, and finally lost to fourth place. She is also the world youth champion of this event in the same pool in 2019, so her strength cannot be underestimated.
Kozan has been outstanding in this event, but only finished tenth in the Tokyo Olympics. However, she ranked second in the world this year and won the bronze medal in the event at the World Short Pool Championships last December.
Two finalists at last year's Olympic Games - Louise Hansson (Sweden) and Marie Wattel (France), if they could swim faster and finish within 56 seconds, they could also stand on the podium of the 100-meter butterfly.
women's 4×200m freestyle relay
China 4×200m freestyle relay team
Last year, China won the championship in the Tokyo Olympic finals, all three medal winners were lower than the existing world record, the United States won the silver medal, and Australia won the bronze medal.
China does not have many competitions in 2022, so what surprising results they can bring are still unknown. Chinese team includes last year's champion members Yang Junxuan and Tang Muhan. After Zhang Yu Fei decides to participate in the relay race, it is hard to imagine that other countries will win.
Only Katie Ledecky, Claire Weinstein, Leah Smith and Hali Flickinger return to the team this year in the United States, and should be able to enter the top four. Smith and Fligginger have extensive experience, but their speed is not comparable to Chinese and Australian players.
Australia does not have Ariarne Titmus or Emma McKeon in the team last year, but has the world’s second-ranked swimmer, behind only 18-year-old Mollie O'Callaghan, and seven swimmers in the top 10 in the world.
Canada is very eye--they missed the podium last year with a two-second difference, but set a national record, and all the relay players of the Canadian team have returned this year, including Olympic bronze medalist Penny Oleksiak and rising star Summer McIntosh. With a strong team, Canadians can win their first relay gold medal at the World Championships.
Unlike individual events, there are more variables in the relay race, and tactics will play a huge role in who wins the gold medal.
