World Championships: Jenna Strauch Leads 200 Breast Semis with Americans Poised

KING Lilly USA 100m Breaststroke Women Semifinal Swimming FINA 19th World Championships Budapest 2022 Budapest, Duna Arena 19/06/22 Photo Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

Photo Courtesy: Photo Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

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World Championships: Jenna Strauch Leads 200 Breast Semis with Americans Poised

Jenna Strauch led the way in the semifinals of the women’s 200 breaststroke Wednesday, her time of 2:22.22 setting the pace at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest.

Strauch won the first heat of two, leading a pair of Americans into the wall. Lilly King went out quickly, ceded the lead to Strauch but then surged on her in the final 25 meters to finish second in 2:22.58. Also in the opening heat was American Kate Douglass, who was third in the heat and is the fourth overall seed in the final at 2:23.79.

In between is the winner of the second heat, Kotryna Teterevkova of Lithuania, with a time of 2:23.79.

The 200 swim was a big one for Strauch, who finished 10th in the 100 breast in Budapest. She was ninth in Tokyo to miss out on the final.

King is in some ways the favorite and in some ways the underdog in this race. She won silver in the 200 in Tokyo behind world-record holder Tatjana Schoenmaker. With the South African absent, Annie Lazor qualifying only for the 100 and Evgenia Chikunova banned as part of the Russian international exclusion, King is the only top-five Olympic finisher in the field.

King was disqualified in the event at the 2019 World Championships, and she is reported only at about 80 percent, per her coach, after finishing fourth in the 100 breast. She snuck into that final only after finishing ninth and seeing teammate and training partner Lazor disqualified.

Like the Tokyo final, two British swimmers are represented. Molly Renshaw is the sixth seed, with Abbie Wood seventh. The top seed from prelims, Canadian Kelsey Wog, is fifth in 2:23.82. The final spot in finals went to Italian Francesca Fangio by .03 over Sweden’s Sophie Hansson. Hansson was 10th in Tokyo to miss the final.

Fourteenth in the race was South Korea’s Sua Moon in 2:26.64. The youngest swimmer at the meet, Moon is just 13 years old.

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