World Championships, Day Four Prelims: Matt Richards Rides Momentum to Top Seed/British Record in 100 Freestyle

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World Championships, Day Four Prelims: Matt Richards Rides Momentum to Top Seed in 100 Freestyle

Remember when a sub-48 performance in the 100-meter freestyle was eye-opening? Those days are long gone, as six guys dipped into 47-point territory during preliminaries at the World Championships in Fukuoka. Leading the way, and clearly riding the momentum of his gold medal in the 200 freestyle, was Great Britain’s Matt Richards. Racing in the first of the seeded heats, Richards blasted a British-record time of 47.59.

What started as a disastrous meet for Richards, due to Great Britain’s disqualification in the 400 freestyle relay, has shifted to a spectacular run. On Tuesday night, Richards edged countryman Tom Dean for the title in the 200 free. Now, he is among the favorites for the podium at half the distance. Richards finished ahead of Aussie Kyle Chalmers in the 10th of 12 heats, with Chalmers touching the wall at 47.71, good for the third-fastest time of the morning.

The second seed for the semifinals was grabbed by American Jack Alexy, who put together a 47.68 showing. Also going under 48 seconds were the Cayman Islands’ Jordan Crooks (47.77), China’s Pan Zhanle (47.84) and Romania’s David Popovici (47.90), the world-record holder and reigning world champion. Crooks’ effort confirmed he is no longer a short-course specialist, as he took more than a second off his previous best.

The 16 semifinals positions are represented by 15 countries, with Australia the only nation to advance two athletes – Chalmers and Flynn Southam.

Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo (48.36) and American Chris Guiliano (48.41) just missed the semifinals with 17th- and 18-place finishes, respectively.

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