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SHANGHAI, China, July 30. BASED on the results of preliminaries and semifinals, here are the updated picks for the six finals that will be contested tonight at the Oriental Sports Center. Medals will be up for grabs in the men's 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly and in the women's 50 butterfly, 200 backstroke, 800 freestyle and 400 medley relay.
Women's 50 Butterfly
Original Medal Picks
Gold: Therese Alshammar
Silver: Sara Sjostrom
Bronze: Marieke Guehrer
Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Therese Alshammar
Silver: Sara Sjostrom
Bronze: Inge Dekker
**Unless Alshammar false starts, she's going to win the gold medal. Sjostrom will be in a tight finish for the silver medal, but we'll give her the edge over the Dutchwoman.
Men's 50 Freestyle
Original Medal Picks
Gold: Cesar Cielo
Silver: Fred Bousquet
Bronze: Nathan Adrian
Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Cesar Cielo
Silver: Bruno Fratus
Bronze: Nathan Adrian
**A gold-silver finish is looking very likely for the Brazilians. I'm looking for Adrian to bounce back with a medal performance in the one-lap dash.
Women's 200 backstroke
Original Medal Picks
Gold: Kirsty Coventry
Silver: Elizabeth Beisel
Bronze: Belinda Hocking
Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Missy Franklin
Silver: Elizabeth Beisel
Bronze: Belinda Hocking
**There's a chance Franklin will add to her already stellar meet with a world record. There's the potential for a 1-2 American finish.
Men's 100 Butterfly
Original Medal Picks
Gold: Michael Phelps
Silver: Milorad Cavic
Bronze: Laszlo Cseh
Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Michael Phelps
Silver: Konrad Czerniak
Bronze: Tyler McGill
**The question here is how close Phelps will get to the 50-second barrier while wearing a textile suit. The race for the silver and bronze medals is up for grabs.
Women's 800 Freestyle
Original Medal Picks
Gold: Rebecca Adlington
Silver: Chloe Sutton
Bronze: Kate Ziegler
Updated Medal Picks
Gold: Lotte Friis
Silver: Rebecca Adlington
Bronze: Kate Ziegler
**Friis looked so strong in the 1500 free and while Adlington seems to be improving as the meet progresses, she'll have a tough time prevailing.
Women's 400 Medley Relay
Original Medal Picks
Gold: United States
Silver: China
Bronze: Australia
Updated Medal Picks
Gold: United States
Silver: China
Bronze: Australia
**The United States will go with a really tough quartet of Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer and Missy Franklin and should get to the wall first. China and the Aussies ought to have a close battle for the silver.
Follow John Lohn on Twitter: @JohnLohn
