{"id":533228,"date":"2023-07-24T17:47:47","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T00:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=533228"},"modified":"2023-07-24T17:47:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T00:47:47","slug":"are-fukuoka-world-championships-faster-than-last-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/are-fukuoka-world-championships-faster-than-last-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Fukuoka World Championships Faster Than Last Year’s?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are Fukuoka World Championships Faster Than Last Year’s?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two of the three medalists hoping to return to the World Championships podium in the men’s 100 backstroke had a close call in the preliminary heats of the event Monday morning in Fukuoka<\/a>. Italy’s Thomas Ceccon<\/strong>, who set a world record to win gold last year, swam more than two seconds slower at 53.84 to finish 14th while the United States’\u00a0Hunter Armstrong<\/strong>, sporting a beard for his prelims race, squeaked into the semifinals by a single hundredth, his 53.94 edging Australia’s\u00a0Isaac Cooper’s<\/strong> 53.95.<\/p>\n

Any worries about Ceccon quickly fell by the wayside in the semifinals as he posted the world’s fastest time at 52.16 to lead the way into the final<\/a>, and minutes later, he scored a world title in the 50 butterfly. Armstrong, on the other hand, played with fire again as he swam a time of 53.21 in semis, nowhere close to his season-best time of 52.33 and his lifetime best of 51.98. He qualified for the final but again will swim in lane eight after edging Great Britain’s\u00a0Oliver Morgan<\/strong> by five hundredths.<\/p>\n

Another American medal favorite had a tough time with qualification as\u00a0Lydia Jacoby<\/strong>, ranked second in the world entering the meet, placed 14th in the 100 breaststroke prelims<\/a> and then seventh in the semifinals<\/a>, her time of 1:06.29 only three hundredths ahead of ninth-place\u00a0Reona Aoki<\/strong>. That event also featured some big misses as South Africa’s\u00a0Lara van Niekerk<\/strong> and Germany’s Anna Elendt<\/strong>, a teammate of Jacoby’s at the University of Texas who was the silver medalist in the event last year, both missed out.<\/p>\n

So are these big names struggling or are they miscalculating because times in the qualifying heats are faster than normal? Let’s compare what it has taken to advance at the Fukuoka meet and the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Event<\/strong><\/td>\n2022 16th<\/strong><\/td>\n2023 16th<\/strong><\/td>\n2022 8th<\/strong><\/td>\n2023 8th<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women’s 200 IM<\/strong><\/td>\n2:13.20<\/td>\n2:12.83<\/td>\n2:10.72<\/td>\n2:10.62<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men’s 400 Freestyle<\/strong><\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n3:46.47<\/td>\n3:45.43<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women’s 100 Butterfly<\/strong><\/td>\n59.46<\/td>\n58.56<\/td>\n57.91<\/td>\n57.17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men’s 50 Butterfly<\/strong><\/td>\n23.53<\/td>\n23.36<\/td>\n23.04<\/td>\n23.05<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women’s 400 Freestyle<\/strong><\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n4:06.44<\/td>\n4:04.98<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men’s 100 Breaststroke<\/strong><\/td>\n1:00.70<\/td>\n1:00.22<\/td>\n59.52<\/td>\n59.50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men’s 400 IM<\/strong><\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n4:12.50<\/td>\n4:12.85<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women’s 400 Free Relay<\/strong><\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n3:39.04<\/td>\n3:37.71<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men’s 400 Free Relay<\/strong><\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n3:14.26<\/td>\n3:14.03<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women’s 100 Backstroke<\/strong><\/td>\n1:01.13<\/td>\n1:00.46<\/td>\n1:00.06<\/td>\n59.62<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men’s 100 Backstroke<\/strong><\/td>\n54.22<\/td>\n53.94<\/td>\n53.00<\/td>\n53.21<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women’s 100 Breaststroke<\/strong><\/td>\n1:07.35<\/td>\n1:06.87<\/td>\n1:06.40<\/td>\n1:06.31<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Men’s 200 Freestyle<\/strong><\/td>\n1:47.51<\/td>\n1:46.70<\/td>\n1:46.06<\/td>\n1:45.97<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women’s 1500 Freestyle<\/strong><\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n16:13.52<\/td>\n16:01.95<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In most cases, the cut lines for semifinals and finals have been speedier, and in some cases significantly so. Among the standout events:<\/p>\n