{"id":507177,"date":"2022-06-21T09:39:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T16:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=507177"},"modified":"2022-06-21T18:05:52","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T01:05:52","slug":"world-championships-yuan-junxuan-edges-out-mollie-ocallaghan-for-200-freestyle-gold-china-finishes-1-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-championships-yuan-junxuan-edges-out-mollie-ocallaghan-for-200-freestyle-gold-china-finishes-1-3\/","title":{"rendered":"World Championships: Yang Junxuan Edges Out Mollie O’Callaghan for 200 Freestyle Gold; China Finishes 1-3"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Championships: Yuan Junxuan Edges Out Mollie O’Callaghan for 200 Freestyle Gold; China Finishes 1-3<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a 200 freestyle final lacking experience at the Budapest World Championships, 20-year-old\u00a0Yang Junxuan<\/strong> took advantage. No swimmer jumped out front early and took command of the race, but the Chinese swimmer pulled into a slight lead over Canada’s Taylor Ruck<\/strong> at the halfway point, and then she extended the advantage on the third 50 and held off Australian teenager Mollie O’Callaghan<\/strong> to win gold.<\/p>\n

Yang touched in 1:54.92, while O’Callaghan used an excellent final 50 to take silver in 1:55.22. Swimming in lane eight, Yang’s Chinese teammate Tang Muhan<\/strong> finished well to take bronze in 1:56.25. Great Britain’s\u00a0Freya Anderson<\/strong>, who topped the semifinal round, ended up fourth in 1:56.61.<\/p>\n

Yang ranks seventh all-time in this event with her mark of 1:54.37 that she swam leading off Australia’s gold-medal-winning, world-record-setting 800 free relay at the Tokyo Olympics. O’Callaghan, meanwhile, ranks 15th all-time at 1:54.94, and the 18-year-old finished just off that mark in winning her first individual medal at a major international competition.<\/p>\n

“This race is more for fun for me. I\u2019m gathering experience, but in the end I managed to get a medal, which is amazing. We set up a new plan for this race with my coach and it really worked out,” O’Callaghan said. “This is my first Worlds, and it feels nice so far.”<\/p>\n

The final was more notable for who was absent than who was present: Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus<\/strong> announced months ago she would skip this meet, while silver medalist\u00a0Siobhan Haughey<\/strong> withdrew from prelims because of an ankle injury. Bronze medalist\u00a0Penny Oleksiak<\/strong> was disqualified in the semifinals for a false start. Two-time defending world champion\u00a0Federica Pellegrini<\/strong> has retired, and 2016 gold medalist Katie Ledecky\u00a0<\/strong>opted to skip the 200 free at this meet.<\/p>\n

Just last month, Titmus swam a time of 1:53.31 that is more than a second-and-a-half quicker than the gold-medal-winning time here, and Ledecky has also posted a quicker time than Yang’s this year. But in the all-important moment, it was Yang who took advantage to capture her first individual medal at a major international competition and her first world title.<\/p>\n

\"w200free-worlds\"<\/p>\n