World Championships: Sarah Sjostrom Opens Chase of Gold in 100 Freestyle Prelims; Shayna Jack Out With Broken Hand

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World Championships: Sarah Sjostrom Opens Chase of Gold in 100 Freestyle; Shayna Jack Out With Broken Hand

Of the 17 career medals won by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom at the World Championships, four have come in the 100-meter freestyle. Although none are gold, the future Hall of Famer took her first step toward standing on top of the podium when she qualified fourth in the prelims of the 100 free at the Duna Arena in Budapest.

Sjostrom, whose program is back-loaded with the sprint-freestyle events and the 50 butterfly, posted a time of 53.78 to easily advance to the evening semifinals. Having produced a stellar tuneup campaign for the World Champs, Sjostrom is one of the favorites for gold in the event, along with Australian teenager Mollie O’Callaghan. It was O’Callaghan who led prelims, as she covered her two laps in 53.49 for the top seed in the semifinals. O’Callaghan is coming off a silver medal in the 200 freestyle.

None of the medalists from last summer’s Olympic Games are in the field. While titlist Emma McKeon of Australia has decided to focus her attention on next month’s Commonwealth Games, Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey (silver) has been sidelined by an ankle injury. Meanwhile, bronze medalist Cate Campbell, the Australian sprint great, is on haitus from the sport, but plans to make a push for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Canadian Penny Oleksiak (53.70) and American Torri Huske (53.72) qualified between O’Callaghan and Sjostrom, with the fifth slot for the evening going to Canada’s Kayla Sanchez in 54.06. Oleksiak will be looking to atone for a disqualification in the 200 freestyle, where she was cited for a flinch on the blocks at the start.

In a surprise, Australia’s Shayna Jack was a no-show to the starting blocks. Jack was expected to contend for a medal and entered as the No. 2 seed. Jack, though, reportedly suffered a broken hand during training this morning and will miss the remainder of the competition.

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