{"id":506297,"date":"2022-06-17T05:04:52","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T12:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=506297"},"modified":"2022-06-17T05:04:52","modified_gmt":"2022-06-17T12:04:52","slug":"world-championships-day-eight-preview-and-predictions-sarah-sjostrom-u-s-medley-relays-hoping-to-finish-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-eight-preview-and-predictions-sarah-sjostrom-u-s-medley-relays-hoping-to-finish-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"World Championships Day Eight Preview and Predictions: Sarah Sjostrom, U.S. Medley Relays Hoping to Finish Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>World Championships Day Eight Preview and Predictions: Sarah Sjostrom, U.S. Medley Relays Hoping to Finish Strong<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The final day of the FINA World Championships will feature seven gold medal-finals, beginning with the men&#8217;s 50 backstroke as new world-record holder <strong>Hunter Armstrong<\/strong> aims for gold. In the women&#8217;s 50 breaststroke,\u00a0<strong>Lilly King<\/strong> could be aiming to finish off a sweep of the breaststroke events since she is favored in both the 100 and 200-meter events, while the rematch in the men&#8217;s 1500 freestyle between 2019 World Championship medalists <strong>Florian Wellbrock<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Mykhailo Romanchuk<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Gregorio Paltrinieri<\/strong> and surprising Olympic champion\u00a0<strong>Bobby Finke<\/strong> will add German upstart\u00a0<strong>Lukas Martens<\/strong> into the mix.<\/p>\n<p>Veteran\u00a0<strong>Sarah Sjostrom<\/strong> will try to capture another world title in the 50 freestyle, and the final individual event could be the first golden moment for Canadian teenager\u00a0<strong>Summer McIntosh<\/strong> as she tries to out-duel Olympic gold medalist\u00a0<strong>Yui Ohashi<\/strong> and other favorites in the women&#8217;s 400 IM. And then, as usual, the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s 400 medley relays will cap off the meet.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/meet\/2022-fina-world-championships-budapest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Full Coverage<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fina.org\/competitions\/2902\/19th-fina-world-championships-budapest-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Official Meet Page<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/resources.fina.org\/fina\/document\/2022\/06\/08\/ebb81413-5888-4614-8536-249c0d292fd2\/BUDAPEST_WCH_10.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Event Schedule<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/budapest-beckons-the-storylines-surrounding-an-extraordinary-world-championships\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Top Storylines<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pre-world-championships-rankings-the-top-25-female-swimmers-in-the-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Top 25 Female Swimmers in the World<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/pre-world-championships-rankings-the-25-best-male-swimmers-in-the-world-right-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Top 25 Male Swimmers in the World<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-one-preview-and-predictions-rising-stars-battling-veterans-for-400-im-title\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Day One Preview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-two-preview-and-predictions-olympic-silver-medalists-arno-kamminga-alex-walsh-aiming-for-gold\/\">Day Two Preview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-three-preview-and-predictions-kaylee-mckeown-kylie-masse-regan-smith-set-for-100-back-rematch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Day Three Preview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-four-preview-and-predictions-kristof-milak-set-to-dominate-200-butterfly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Day Four Preview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-five-preview-and-predictions-caeleb-dressel-seeking-third-100-free-world-title\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Day Five Preview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-six-preview-and-predictions-lilly-king-zac-stubblety-cook-favored-in-200-breaststroke\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Day Six Preview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-seven-preview-and-predictions-katie-ledecky-could-win-historic-fifth-consecutive-gold\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Day Seven Preview<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Men&#8217;s 50 Backstroke<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>At the U.S. International Team Trials, 21-year-old\u00a0<strong>Hunter Armstrong<\/strong> stunned the world when he lowered the world record in the men&#8217;s 50 backstroke with a mark of 23.71. While Armstrong will face a tough battle against veteran teammate\u00a0<strong>Ryan Murphy<\/strong> in the 100 back, former world-record holder <strong>Kliment Kolesnikov<\/strong> is absent along with his Russian teammates, making Armstrong the clear favorite for gold here. In his Olympic debut last year, Armstrong had difficulty recapturing his Trials form in Tokyo, but if he can master that transition, he will be tough to beat here.<\/p>\n<p>The Americans will have a very solid shot at a gold-silver finish here since\u00a0<strong>Justin Ress<\/strong> also broke 24 at the U.S. Trials, becoming the third-fastest performer in history. Ress did not automatically qualify for Worlds as the second-place finisher in a 50-meter stroke race, but he added the swim since he was already on the American team as a relay alternate. European Championships medalists <strong>Robert Glinta<\/strong> and <strong>Hugo Gonzalez<\/strong>, two-time 100 back world champion\u00a0<strong>Xu Jiayu<\/strong>, Germany&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Ole<\/strong> <strong>Braunschweig<\/strong>, Greece&#8217;s <strong>Apostolos Christou<\/strong> and Italy&#8217;s <strong>Thomas Ceccon<\/strong> are all possible contenders.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Predictions<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><strong>Gold<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> Hunter Armstrong, USA<br \/>\n<strong>Silver:<\/strong> Justin Ress, USA<br \/>\n<strong>Bronze:<\/strong> Robert Glinta, Romania<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Women&#8217;s 50 Breaststroke<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Lilly King<\/strong> enters this race as the two-time defending world champion, and it is a solid bet that she will have already captured gold in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events with many of her top competitors missing in those races. But King&#8217;s toughest competitor will be present in the sprint, and 17-year-old\u00a0<strong>Benedetta Pilato<\/strong>, who broke King&#8217;s world record with a time of 29.30 at last year&#8217;s European Championships, will be seeking her first win over the 25-year-old American.<\/p>\n<p>Pilato holds the top time in the world this year at 29.58, while King sits third at 29.76, with South Africa&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Lara Van Niekerk<\/strong> (29.72) having also posted a sub-30 performance. Italy&#8217;s <strong>Arianna Castiglioni<\/strong>, Great Britain&#8217;s <strong>Imogen Clark<\/strong>, Japan&#8217;s <strong>Reona Aoki<\/strong>, Germany&#8217;s <strong>Anna Elendt<\/strong> and Australia&#8217;s <strong>Chelsea Hodges<\/strong> are among the other medal contenders, while former world-record holder <strong>Ruta Meilutyte\u00a0<\/strong>could be in the mix again after returning from a long layoff.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Predictions<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><strong>Gold<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> Benedetta Pilato, Italy<br \/>\n<strong>Silver:<\/strong> Lilly King, USA<br \/>\n<strong>Bronze:<\/strong> Arianna Castiglioni, Italy<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Men&#8217;s 1500 Freestyle<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Many of the top men&#8217;s milers in history will be present for this match race. There&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Gregorio Paltrinieri<\/strong>, the Italian who won Olympic gold in 2016 and world titles in 2015 and 2017. A bout of mononucleosis disrupted Paltrinieri&#8217;s preparation for the Olympics, and he ended up fourth in this event, but in August 2020, he posted by far the best performance of a COVID-disrupted year when he swam a time of 14:33.10 in the 1500 free, moving to second all-time in the event behind\u00a0<strong>Sun Yang<\/strong> (and ahead of Aussie legend\u00a0<strong>Grant Hackett<\/strong>).\u00a0<strong>Florian Wellbrock<\/strong>, meanwhile, was the man who dethroned Paltrinieri at the 2019 World Championships, and although he was not at his best in Tokyo either, Wellbrock did break the short course meters world record in the 1500 free in December.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mykhailo Romanchuk<\/strong> has been the perpetual bridesmaid in this event, placing second at the 2017 Worlds (to Paltrinieri), 2019 Worlds (to Wellbrock) and 2021 Olympics, the race where American\u00a0<strong>Bobby Finke<\/strong> turned on the afterburners with 50 meters to go to clinch Olympic gold. Any one of these men could top the podium in Budapest, and Germany&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Lukas Martens\u00a0<\/strong>will have a shot here as well (in addition to the 400 and 800 free). Martens enters with the world&#8217;s fastest time of 14:40.28. No one else in the field has ever broken 14:50.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Predictions<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><strong>Gold<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> Florian Wellbrock, Germany<br \/>\n<strong>Silver:<\/strong> Bobby Finke, USA<br \/>\n<strong>Bronze:<\/strong> Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Women&#8217;s 50 Freestyle<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In early 2021,\u00a0<strong>Sarah Sjostrom\u00a0<\/strong>slipped and fractured her wrist, but she returned from the injury in time to race at the Tokyo Olympics, and she claimed a silver medal in the 50 freestyle. Now, with a full year of training and racing behind her and Olympic champion\u00a0<strong>Emma McKeon<\/strong> absent from the field, Sjostrom is favored to reclaim the top prize in the women&#8217;s splash-and-dash. She holds the world record in this event at 23.67, and she was the world champion in this race in 2017 after claiming bronze in 2015 and before placing second in 2019. Sjostrom is also the top-ranked swimmer in the world this year at 24.08.<\/p>\n<p>While Sjostrom&#8217;s 81 international medals make her one of the most decorated swimmers in history, the swimmer who is perhaps her closest competitor here has never won an individual medal at a major international competition.\u00a0<strong>Shayna Jack<\/strong> is returning from a suspension, and she is ranked No. 2 in the world at 24.14. As for other medal contenders, Tokyo bronze medalist\u00a0<strong>Pernille Blume<\/strong> is absent, and fourth-place finisher\u00a0<strong>Ranomi Kromowidjojo\u00a0<\/strong>has retired, and both are past Olympic champions, so there is a chance for new blood to reach the podium. European Championships silver medalist <strong>Kasia Wasick<\/strong> has a really strong podium shot, while China&#8217;s <strong>Zhang Yufei<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Cheng Yujie<\/strong> and Americans\u00a0<strong>Torri Huske<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Erika Brown<\/strong> are among those looking to make the improvements necessary.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Predictions<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><strong>Gold<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden<br \/>\n<strong>Silver:<\/strong> Shayna Jack, Australia<br \/>\n<strong>Bronze:<\/strong> Kasia Wasick, Poland<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Women&#8217;s 400 IM<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When\u00a0<strong>Summer McIntosh<\/strong> debuted as an Olympian last year, she was primarily a freestyler, and the then-14-year-old came very close to winning a medal. Now, McIntosh is well-established internationally, and she will contend for World Championships medals in the 400 free, 200 fly and 400 IM. The long medley will be her best shot at taking gold, largely because she swam a time of 4:29.12 in March, three seconds faster than\u00a0<strong>Yui Ohashi&#8217;s<\/strong> winning time from the Tokyo Games and good enough to make McIntosh the third-fastest performer in history behind\u00a0<strong>Katinka Hosszu<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Ye Shiwen<\/strong>. If she can even repeat that swim, it&#8217;s really hard to envision anyone in the field coming close.<\/p>\n<p>Ohashi, of course, won&#8217;t be going anywhere, while Olympic silver medalist\u00a0<strong>Emma Weyant<\/strong> has not repeated the 4:32 form that helped her reach the podium last year. The other American in this race,\u00a0<strong>Katie Grimes<\/strong>, swam a mark of 4:36.17 at the U.S. Trials that ranks her third in the world behind McIntosh and\u00a0<strong>Kaylee McKeown<\/strong> (not swimming the event), but Grimes&#8217; recent form indicates she might have another solid drop in the works. Of course, it would be foolish to count out\u00a0<strong>Katinka Hosszu<\/strong>, aiming for a record five consecutive world titles and a record six world titles ever in one event, and the 400 IM is Hosszu&#8217;s best shot to reach the podium. The other Hungarian in the field,\u00a0<strong>Viktoria Milalyvari-Farkas<\/strong>, Japan&#8217;s <strong>Ageha Tnigawa<\/strong>, Australia&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Jenna Forrester<\/strong> and Canada&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Tessa Cieplucha<\/strong> are outside medal possibilities.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Predictions<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><strong>Gold<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> Summer McIntosh, Canada<br \/>\n<strong>Silver:<\/strong> Yui Ohashi, Japan<br \/>\n<strong>Bronze:<\/strong> Katie Grimes, USA<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Men&#8217;s 400 Medley Relay<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>With\u00a0<strong>Caeleb Dressel<\/strong> leading the way, the American men are again favored in the 400 medley relay. Great Britain upset the U.S. team for gold at the 2019 World Championships before taking silver at the Olympics, but Britain loses two big legs here with\u00a0<strong>Adam Peaty<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Duncan Scott<\/strong> both missing Worlds. The Americans will swim\u00a0<strong>Ryan Murphy<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Hunter Armstrong<\/strong> on backstroke,\u00a0<strong>Nic Fink<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Michael Andrew<\/strong> on breast, Dressel or Andrew on fly and then Dressel or\u00a0<strong>Brooks Curry<\/strong> on free. Dressel typically handles the fly leg, but the absence of any internationally-proven relay anchor swimmers might convince the U.S. coaches switch up the lineup, depending on individual results from the meet.<\/p>\n<p>Even without Peaty and Scott, Britain will still have a medal-contending bunch with\u00a0<strong>James Wilby<\/strong> on breast and\u00a0<strong>Lewis Burras<\/strong> on free to join butterflyer\u00a0<strong>James Guy<\/strong>, although backstroke could be an issue. Italy took bronze at the Olympics and will be really strong on the front end with\u00a0<strong>Thomas Ceccon<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Nicolo Martinenghi<\/strong>, and\u00a0<strong>Alessandro Miressi<\/strong> is likely to anchor. Australia could be in the mix if\u00a0<strong>Kyle Chalmers<\/strong> handles anchor duties behind\u00a0<strong>Mitch Larkin<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Zac Stubblety-Cook<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Matt Temple<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Predictions<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><strong>Gold<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> United States<br \/>\n<strong>Silver:<\/strong> Italy<br \/>\n<strong>Bronze:<\/strong> Great Britain<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Women&#8217;s 400 Medley Relay<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Australia took down the United States for Olympic gold in the medley relay when\u00a0<strong>Chelsea Hodges<\/strong> kept it close enough on the breaststroke leg to give\u00a0<strong>Emma McKeon<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Cate Campbell<\/strong> a chance on the back end. But McKeon absent, Australia has a big hole to fill on the fly leg, even with 100 back world-record holder <strong>Kaylee McKeown<\/strong> leading off and <strong>Mollie O&#8217;Callaghan<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Shayna Jack<\/strong> capable of filling in for freestyle. The Americans, meanwhile, have individual gold-medal contenders in backstroke (<strong>Regan Smith<\/strong>), breaststroke (<strong>Lilly King<\/strong>) and butterfly (either\u00a0<strong>Torri Huske<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Claire Curzan<\/strong>). One of Huske or Curzan will swim fly, and the other will anchor, likely with a big enough lead to hold off the field.<\/p>\n<p>The Americans typically deploy two completely different squads for prelims and finals, so they will have to make some difficult lineup decisions with Huske and Curzan set to swim the 100 fly and 100 free in Budapest and Curzan also entered in the 100 back. However, there are enough versatile swimmers on the team to handle each leg in prelims. <strong>Rhyan White<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Katharine Berkoff<\/strong> could swim backstroke,\u00a0<strong>Annie Lazor<\/strong> can swim breast,\u00a0<strong>Kate Douglass<\/strong> is the likely call on fly, and either\u00a0<strong>Erika Brown<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Natalie Hinds<\/strong> could serve as the No. 2 freestyler.<\/p>\n<p>Canada was the bronze-medal-winning team in Tokyo, with IMer\u00a0<strong>Sydney Pickrem<\/strong> stepping in for breaststroke duties alongside the the all-star squad of\u00a0<strong>Kylie Masse<\/strong> (back),\u00a0<strong>Maggie Mac Neil<\/strong> (fly) and\u00a0<strong>Penny Oleksiak\u00a0<\/strong>(free). The teams with the best chance of breaking into the medal mix are China and Sweden, two nations with incredible back-halves of their relays. China will finish with\u00a0<strong>Zhang Yufei<\/strong> (fly) and <strong>Yang Junxuan<\/strong> (free), while Sweden has the sisters\u00a0<strong>Sophie\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>Louise Hansson<\/strong> on breast and fly, respectively, with\u00a0<strong>Sarah Sjostrom<\/strong> anchoring.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Predictions<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><strong>Gold<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> United States<br \/>\n<strong>Silver:<\/strong> Australia<br \/>\n<strong>Bronze:<\/strong> Canada<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>World Championships Day Eight Preview and Predictions: Sarah Sjostrom, U.S. Medley Relays Hoping to Finish Strong The final day of the FINA World Championships will feature seven gold medal-finals, beginning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":490971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,17,10],"tags":[130625,75881,72820,35724,60521,68659,32022,71204,28605,126090,127681,42783,45350,25269,32196,35725,120547,74161,61619],"class_list":["post-506297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-commentary","category-world","tag-2022-fina-world-championships-budapest","tag-benedetta-pilato","tag-bobby-finke","tag-caeleb-dressel","tag-claire-curzan","tag-florian-wellbrock","tag-gregorio-paltrinieri","tag-hunter-armstrong","tag-justin-ress","tag-kasia-wasick","tag-katie-grimes","tag-lilly-king","tag-regan-smith","tag-ryan-murphy","tag-sarah-sjostrom","tag-shayna-jack","tag-summer-mcintosh","tag-torri-huske","tag-yui-ohashi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>World Championships Day 8: Sjostrom, U.S. Relays Hope to Finish Strong<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The final night of the FINA World Championships will include five individual finals plus the men&#039;s and women&#039;s 400 medley relays.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-day-eight-preview-and-predictions-sarah-sjostrom-u-s-medley-relays-hoping-to-finish-strong\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Championships Day Eight Preview and Predictions: Sarah Sjostrom, U.S. Medley Relays Hoping to Finish Strong\" 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