Alia Atkinson and Kelsi Worrell With Fast Prelim Swims at Tokyo World Cup

by David Rieder - Senior Writer

24 October 2016, 08:25pm

The penultimate stop of the FINA World Cup kicked off Tuesday morning in Tokyo, and Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson and American Kelsi Worrell each had impressive performances in earning lane four for the evening finals.

Atkinson crushed the field in the women’s 100 breast, touching in 1:03.96. The USA’s Molly Hannis qualified second in 1:04.94, just ahead of Teramura (1:05.16). Olympic silver medalist Yulia Efimova qualified fourth in 1:06.32. Worrell topped the field in the 100 fly with a 56.73, ahead of Rikako Ikee (57.55), Hosszu (57.63) and Jeanette Ottesen (58.14).

Australia’s Tomasso D’Orsogna led the way in the men’s 100 free, clocking 47.62, just ahead of Russia’s Vladimir Morozov (47.91), who has won the event at all seven previous World Cup meets. Notably, Olympic gold medalist Kyle Chalmers barely snuck into the final, finishing eighth with his time of 48.22. Olympic silver medalist Pieter Timmers qualified sixth in 48.19.

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu kicked off her Tokyo meet with a top-seeded 1:54.38 in the women’s 200 free, well ahead of countrywoman Zsuzsanna Jakobos (1:55.30). Hosszu cruised to the top seed in the 200 IM with a 2:07.27, well ahead of Miho Teramura (2:08.56).

Kouichirou Okazaki touched out Brazil’s Felipe Lima for the top seed in the men’s 50 breast, 26.97 to 26.99. South Africa’s Roland Schoeman and the USA’s Michael Andrew tied for third in 27.13.

A pair of past World Champions topped the men’s 100 back. Japan’s Junya Koga (2009) was first in 51.08, and Australia’s Mitch Larkin (2015) finished second in 51.23. Another Australian, Emily Seebohm, was the top qualifier in the women’s 50 back with her 26.76. Miyuki Takemura was second in 26.92 and Hosszu third in 26.96. Worrell and Australia’s Madison Wilson tied for eighth in 27.41, setting up a potential swim-off.

Japan’s Daiya Seto edged teammate Masato Sakai for the top spot in the men’s 200 fly. Seto touched in 1:53.55, and Sakai finished just behind in 1:54.00. Nao Horomura was third on 1:54.02, and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Chad le Clos qualified fourth in 1:54.46. Ukraine’s Mykhallo Romanchuk topped the men’s 400 free prelims in 3:43.56, finishing ahead of Poul Zellman (3:44.13) and Yuuki Kobori (3:44.36). Great Britain’s James Guy also figures to contend after qualifying fifth in 3:44.62.

Belarus’ Aliaksandra Herasimenia edged Ottesen for the top spot in the women’s 50 free, touching in 24.22 to Ottesen’s 24.35. Canada’s Michelle Williams qualified third in 24.55. Seebohm led a tight pack into the final of the women’s 200 back. She touched in 2:04.65, just ahead of Ukraine’s Daryna Zevina (2:04.70) and Hosszu (2:04.74).

Japan’s Yukirhiro Takahashi led the way into the men’s 200 breast final in a time of 2:05.39. Countryman Ippei Watanabe was second in 2:05.81, and in fact, seven of the eight finalists will hail from Japan, with only German World Champion Marco Koch sneaking in sixth (2:06.53).

Germany’s Phillip Heintz finished one one-hundredth ahead of Belarus’ Pavel Sankovich for the top seed in the 100 IM, 53.21 to 53.22. Andrew was third in 53.31, and Morozov, who has won this event at all previous World Cup stops, qualified fifth in 53.54. Schoeman completed the morning with a top-seeded 22.96 in the men’s 50 fly. The Japanese trio of Ranmaru Hamada (23.14), Takeshi Kawamoto (23.18) and Kouhei Kawamoto (23.19) finished second through fourth, and le Clos was fifth in 24.20.

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Marie

7 years ago

Congratulations to 14 year old Regan Smith for making the 200 back final. Impressive accomplishment. Also swam well in 200 free (11th) and 50 back (14th). This kid is GOOD and getting better fast.

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