FINA World Championships, Swimming: Updated Medal Picks for Night Six Finals

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SHANGHAI, China, July 29. BASED on the results of preliminaries and semifinals, here are the updated picks for the five finals that will be contested tonight at the Oriental Sports Center. Medals will be up for grabs in the men's 200 backstroke, 200 breaststroke and 800 freestyle relay and in the women's 100 freestyle and 200 breaststroke.

Women's 100 Freestyle

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Femke Heemskerk
Silver: Britta Steffen
Bronze: Fran Halsall

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Femke Heemskerk
Silver: Fran Halsall
Bronze: Alicia Coutts
**This is where Heemskerk will make up for her fade in the 200 freestyle, but Halsall will be right there. Coutts adds another minor medal, with Americans Dana Vollmer and Natalie Coughlin shut out.

Men's 200 Backstroke

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Ryan Lochte
Silver: Ryosuke Irie
Bronze: Tyler Clary

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Ryan Lochte
Silver: Ryosuke Irie
Bronze: Tyler Clary
**Irie is an immense talent, but Lochte is at another level right now and will destroy the Japanese swimmer off the walls. Clary comfortably earns his first medal of the competition.

Women's 200 Breaststroke

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Rebecca Soni
Silver: Yuliya Efimova
Bronze: Amanda Beard

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Rebecca Soni
Silver: Yuliya Efimova
Bronze: Sun Ye
**There is no debate concerning the gold medalist, just a matter of whether she can set a world record. Efimova looks comfortable for the silver, with the bronze medal being a wide-open affair.

Men's 200 Breaststroke

Original Medal Picks
Gold: Naoya Tomita
Silver: Kosuke Kitajima
Bronze: Daniel Gyurta

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Daniel Gyurta
Silver: Kosuke Kitajima
Bronze: Christian Vom Lehn
**Expect the hard-charging Gyurta to pass Kitajima on the final lap for what will be a tremendous finish. Eric Shanteau could challenge Vom Lehn, the German, for bronze.

Men's 800 Freestyle Relay

Original Medal Picks
Gold: United States
Silver: Russia
Bronze: China

Updated Medal Picks
Gold: United States
Silver: China
Bronze: Australia
**With Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps added to the American quartet for the evening, this relay is a no-brainer. Sun Yang will provide a spark for the Chinese and we're waiting word if James Magnussen will be given a shot at a leg for the Aussies.

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