Cate Campbell Seeded First After 50 Free Semi-Finals at 2015 FINA World Championships

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

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Cate Campbell of Australia maintained her spot at the top of the qualifiers list in the women’s 50-meter free with a sizzling 24.22. While 24.22 is still slightly off of her 2015 best of 24.03 from the BHP Super Series, Campbell has the power and the determination to keep her spot at the top.

The Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo blasted up to second in the semis with a 24.23 finish, only .01 seconds behind the older of the Campbell sisters. Kromowidjojo’s time moves her up in the world rankings for 2015 improving upon her time of 24.35 from the Swim Cup Eindhoven earlier this year.

Cate’s sister Bronte Campbell, who is currently ranked second in the world for 2015 in the event, succeeded in moving up in the rankings to the fourth-place seed. She clocked a time of 24.32, keeping close to Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom who finished third with a 24.31. Sjostrom was seeded second going into semis but also just posted a winning time in the 50-meter fly. Expect her to be a strong contender for the gold medal tomorrow.

Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace of the Bahamas turned in a time of 24.38 for the fifth-place seed for tomorrow’s finals, adding only slightly to her 2015 best of 24.31 from the Pan Am Games in Toronto earlier this summer.

USA’s Simone Manuel made some big improvements finishing sixth overall in the semi-finals with a time of 24.47. Previously her 2015 best was a 24.75 from the Santa Clara stop of the Arena Pro Swim Series.

Great Britain’s Fran Halsall and Canada’s Chantal Van Landeghem kept it close in heat one finishing .02 seconds apart. Halsall will return as the seventh-place seed with a time of 24.50, while Van Landeghem will be eighth with a 24.52.

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