{"id":506067,"date":"2022-06-03T04:29:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T11:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=506067"},"modified":"2022-06-03T04:29:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T11:29:29","slug":"budapest-beckons-the-storylines-surrounding-an-extraordinary-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/budapest-beckons-the-storylines-surrounding-an-extraordinary-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Budapest Beckons: The Storylines Surrounding an \u2018Extraordinary\u2019 World Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

(From June\u2019s\u00a0Swimming World Magazine<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Because of the uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic that first appeared more than two years ago, the 19th edition of the World Aquatics Championships has been scheduled\u2014and rescheduled\u2014four times between 2021 and 2023 with two different locations (Fukuoka and Budapest). Appropriately called the \u201cextraordinary\u201d World Championships, the world\u2019s best swimmers (well, most of them) will gather in Hungary later this month.<\/em><\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

After the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021, the FINA World Championships scheduled for Fukuoka, Japan, were delayed from July 2021 to May 2022 to accommodate the Games. But early in 2021, the Fukuoka meet was postponed again to July 2023, and it appeared that the year 2022 would pass without any international championship meet that welcomed the entire world.<\/p>\n

Then, a few weeks later, FINA announced the addition of a new \u201cextraordinary\u201d championships set to take place, June 18 through July 3, in Budapest, Hungary. In a departure from World Championships norms, the pool swimming competition was scheduled for the first eight days instead of the final eight.<\/p>\n

That means swimming\u2019s biggest competition outside of the Olympic Games is returning to the Duna Arena after first hosting the event in 2017, and American sprinter Caeleb<\/strong> Dressel<\/strong> will be returning to the venue where he first elevated himself from a rising star in the domestic sphere to the world\u2019s premier sprinter.<\/p>\n

At his first Worlds, Dressel stormed to gold and an American record in the 100 meter freestyle, and then he became the first swimmer to win three world titles in one day, capturing gold in the 100 butterfly, 50 free and mixed 400 free relay on the meet\u2019s seventh day. Including relays, Dressel won seven gold medals to tie a record first set by Michael Phelps<\/strong> in 2007.<\/p>\n

Since then, Dressel has only been back to Budapest once, during the 2020 ISL season, and he finished off that campaign by setting three short course meters world records (50 free, 100 fly, 100 IM) during the ISL final. At the 2019 Worlds, he won eight total medals (six gold and two silver) to break the all-time records for medals at one World Championships, and then he produced on the biggest stage when he won five Olympic gold medals in Tokyo. His wins in the 100 free, 100 fly and 50 free made him just the third man to win three or more individual golds in one Games, joining Phelps and Mark<\/strong> Spitz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This year, Dressel will be favored to win repeat gold medals in both sprint freestyle and both sprint butterfly events, and he will be at the center of at least four American relay efforts. At last year\u2019s Olympics, Australia\u2019s Kyle<\/strong> Chalmers<\/strong> provided the biggest challenge to Dressel\u2019s golden streak when he nearly caught the American for gold in the 100 free, but Chalmers will only compete in butterfly events at this year\u2019s Worlds.<\/p>\n

Thus, the biggest challenger to Dressel\u2019s supremacy will be 22-year-old Hungarian star Kristof<\/strong> Milak<\/strong>, the world record holder in the 200 fly. Three days after capturing his 200 fly gold, Milak put a scare into Dressel in the 100-meter distance, and he fell just 23-hundredths behind as Dressel set a world record. Milak is the second-fastest performer in history, and he will be charging hard in their Budapest showdown as he is buoyed by the home crowd. Milak will also be the big favorite to repeat as world titlist in the 200 fly, and he could threaten the 1:50-barrier, a performance that would have been unfathomable just three years ago.<\/p>\n

\n

Women\u2019s Stars from Tokyo Absent<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Titmus,

Ariarne Titmus broke the world record in the women\u2019s 400 freestyle, but she will miss the World Championships in Budapest — Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr\/Swimming Australia<\/p><\/div>\n

While Tokyo provided the setting for Dressel\u2019s showcase on the men\u2019s side, the swimmer who won the most medals was Australia\u2019s Emma<\/strong> McKeon<\/strong>, whose seven total awards were the most ever by a female swimmer at one Games. McKeon was the Olympic champion in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the bronze medalist in the 100 butterfly, and she helped Australia to golds in the 400 free and medley relays. Also winning freestyle gold in Tokyo was Aussie countrywoman Ariarne<\/strong> Titmus<\/strong>, who won an epic showdown against Katie Ledecky in the 400 free before overtaking Siobhan<\/strong> Haughey<\/strong> for 200 free top honors.<\/p>\n

But both McKeon and Titmus \u2014 who blasted her way to a world record in the 400 in May at the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide with a 3:56.40<\/a> \u2014 have announced their intentions to skip Worlds, with both planning to focus on the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, one month later. Three other individual gold medalists will be missing from action at Worlds: Canada\u2019s Maggie Mac Neil<\/strong> won gold in the 100 butterfly in Tokyo, but she will race only relays this year. South Africa\u2019s Tatjana<\/strong> Schoenmaker<\/strong>, the 200 breaststroke world champion and world record holder, will also focus on the Commonwealth Games, while 100 breast winner Lydia Jacoby<\/strong> of the United States did not qualify for Worlds, placing fourth in the event at U.S. Trials in April.<\/p>\n

That means only half of the races in Budapest will include the women\u2019s champion: Ledecky will be back in the 800 and 1500 free as the big favorite in both, and with Titmus absent, she will also take over as favorite in the 400 free. Japan\u2019s Yui Ohashi<\/strong> will try to back up her Olympic gold medals in both IM events, and Australia\u2019s Kaylee<\/strong> McKeown<\/strong> will aim for world titles in the backstroke events. China\u2019s Zhang<\/strong> Yufei<\/strong>, who dominated the 200 butterfly in Tokyo, will be favored in that event as well as the 100 fly, where she was the Olympic silver medalist behind Mac Neil.<\/p>\n

\n

Seeking a Five-Peat<\/strong><\/h3>\n

No swimmer, female or male, has ever won five consecutive world titles in one event. Only two swimmers have ever won five titles overall, but not in a row. Michael<\/strong> Phelps<\/strong> skipped the 200 fly at the 2005 World Championships, while Katinka Hosszu<\/strong> missed the 400 IM final in 2011, but won titles in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.<\/p>\n

This year, two swimmers will have a chance to secure that honor of five straight. One of those is Hosszu, who has now won four world titles in a row in both individual medley events, but the Hungarian veteran had a poor Olympics, finishing fifth in the 400 IM and seventh in the 200 IM, and she has competed sparingly since.<\/p>\n

The other contender for a historic finish is Katie<\/strong> Ledecky<\/strong>, going for her fifth 800 freestyle title in a row. Ledecky first took charge of the 800 free with a shocking upset win over Rebecca Adlington<\/strong> at the 2012 Olympics (when she was 15), and she has not lost since, so she will be favored to accomplish that feat this year.<\/p>\n

In history, only five swimmers have ever won four consecutive world titles in one event. The list includes:<\/p>\n