FINA World Championships, Swimming: Updated Medal Picks for Final Night of Action

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SHANGHAI, China, July 31. BASED on the results of preliminaries and semifinals, here are the updated picks for the seven finals that will be contested tonight at the Oriental Sports Center. Medals will be up for grabs in the men's 400 individual medley, 50 backstroke, 1500 freestyle and 400 medley relay and in the women's 50 breaststroke, 50 freestyle and 400 individual medley.

Women's 50 Breaststroke

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Jessica Hardy
Silver: Rebecca Soni
Bronze: Yuliya Efimoba

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Jessica Hardy
Silver: Rebecca Soni
Bronze: Yuliya Efimova
**Staying with the original picks and a Dave Salo coaching sweep of the medals. Hardy will make things a little too tough for Soni in her pursuit of triple gold in the breaststroke events.

Men's 400 Individual Medley

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Ryan Lochte
Silver: Laszlo Cseh
Bronze: Tyler Clary

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Ryan Lochte
Silver: Tyler Clary
Bronze: Yuya Horihata
**This will be a victory lap of sorts for Lochte, who has been the star of the competition. With Cseh failing to make the final, it opens the door for Horihata.

Women's 50 Freestyle

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Ranomi Kromowidjojo
Silver: Britta Steffen
Bronze: Therese Alshammar

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Ranomi Kromowidjojo
Silver: Jeanette Ottesen
Bronze: Therese Alshammar
**Ottesen is looking to complement her gold medal in the 100 free with another in the one-lap sprint. Alshammar already has bronze in the 50 butterfly.

Men's 50 Backstroke

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Camille Lacourt
Silver: Liam Tancock
Bronze: Junya Koga

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Liam Tancock
Silver: Camille Lacourt
Bronze: Gerhard Zandberg
**The race for the gold should be a two-man battle between Tancock and Lacourt, but we'll go with Tancock to retain his title.

Men's 1500 Freestyle

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Sun Yang
Silver: Ous Mellouli
Bronze: Ryan Cochrane

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Sun Yang
Silver: Ryan Cochrane
Bronze: Gergo Kis
**This event will have the venue rocking as Sun pushes for Grant Hackett's world record, which has lasted a decade.

Women's 400 Individual Medley

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Stephanie Rice
Silver: Elizabeth Beisel
Bronze: Li Xuanhu

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Ye Shiwen
Silver: Stephanie Rice
Bronze: Elizabeth Beisel
**The way Ye closed in the 200 IM for gold makes her difficult to go against despite barely sneaking into the final. Rice might be able to drop some time, but Beisel is probably looking at another 4:34, which is what she went in prelims.

Men's 400 Medley Relay

Original Medal Picks
Gold: France
Silver: United States
Bronze: Germany

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: United States
Silver: Germany
Bronze: Japan
**With France miscalculating its prelim and missing the final altogether, the United States should cruise. An intriguing battle for the silver and bronze is shaping up.

Follow John Lohn on Twitter: @JohnLohn

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