2023 World Champs Preview: Will Schoenmaker Steal Women’s 200 Breast Crown from King?

2023 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 23 – 30, 2023 (pool swimming)
• Fukuoka, Japan
• Marine Messe Fukuoka
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Entries
• SwimSwam Preview Index

BY THE NUMBERS — WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE

• World Record: Evgeniia Chikunova, Russia – 2:17.55 (2023)
• World Junior Record: Viktoria Gunes, Turkey – 2:19.64 (2015)
• Championship Record: Rikke Pederson, Denmark – 2:19.11 (2013)
• 2022 World Champion: Lilly King, USA – 2:22.41

Eventually, the world will have to reckon with the fastest women’s 200 breaststroker of all time — 18-year-old Russian Evgeniia Chikunova, who crushed the world record with a 2:17.55 in April — but that moment will have to wait until a later meet with Russians and Belarusians still banned from international competition by World Aquatics.

For now, at the World Championships next week in Fukuoka, Japan, the 200 breast title still runs though defending champion Lilly King. The 26-year-old American began her career specializing in the 50 and 100 breast before capturing her first international medal in the 200 at last year’s World Championships, six years after winning gold in the 100 at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Since then, King has only appeared more comfortable in this event, clocking her second-fastest time ever (2:20.95) at U.S. Trials a few weeks ago. She triumphed last year despite adding over a second from U.S. Trials to Worlds (from 2:21.19 to 2:22.41), but she might not have that same luxury this time around.

After sitting out last year’s World Championships, reigning Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker returns looking to make up for lost time. The 26-year-old South African went 2:21.76 in the Commonwealth Games heats before winning the final in 2:21.96, both of which would have beaten King for the world crown last year.

Tatjana Schoenmaker (Swimming South Africa)

This season, Shoenmaker has been as fast as 2:22.44 at the South African Championships in April, still a couple seconds off her personal-best (and Olympic record) 2:18.95 from Tokyo. At the 2019 World Championships, she took silver in 2:22.52 behind Russia’s Yuliya Efimova (2:20.17).

The Americans will once again be looking for 21-year-old Kate Douglass to help deliver them multiple medals in this event after the recent University of Virginia graduate took bronze last summer in Budapest. At U.S. Trials, the NCAA record holder lowered her lifetime best from 2:21.41 (at last year’s International Team Trials) to 2:21.22, finishing just a few tenths behind King with the third-fastest time in the world this season.

Kate Douglass (photo: Jack Spitser)

It will be interesting to watch the race strategy next Friday given how different the past two matchups between King and Douglass have been. King took her U.S. Trials swim out fast and withstood a late push from Douglass at the finish, a far cry from her comeback at Worlds last year that saw her flip fifth at the final turn before roaring home for the victory.

Tes Schouten also joined the sub-2:22 club this season at just 22 years old. After missing the Worlds final last year in 12th place (2:26.26), Schouten has been on fire this year. She lowered her Dutch national record from 2:23.28 in March to 2:22.21 in April and finally 2:21.71 in June. The remarkable progression begs the question: Just how much more time could we see Schouten drop in July? And could it be maybe enough to pull off a colossal upset against a more experienced trio of swimmers?

Other A-Final Contenders

More than a decade after breaking the world record in the 400 IM at the London 2012 Olympics, Ye Shiwen is experiencing a career resurgence in the 200 breast at 27 years old. She has taken breaks from the pool to prioritize her studies following the Rio 2016 Olympics and did not compete in Tokyo, but her personal-best 2:22.44 from May’s Chinese Nationals signaled a promising comeback.

Shiwen Ye (photo: Jack Spitser)

It was the first lifetime best in four years for Shiwen, who barely missed the 200 breast podium at the 2019 World Championships with a 4th-place finish (2:23.14). The Hangzhou native is reportedly targeting the Asian Games later this year with her main focus on the Paris 2024 Olympics next summer.

Another Rio 2016 Olympian, Runa Imai, is also experiencing a resurgence in the 200 breast, albeit at just 22 years old. Imai registered a personal-best 2:22.98 at April’s Japanese Championships, bettering the 2:23.43 that she produced over seven years ago.

Watch out for 21-year-old Danish standout Thea Blomsterberg, who posted a huge improvement earlier this year that launched her into A-final consideration. She threw down a 2:22.61 in April, nearly two seconds faster than her previous-best 2:24.47 from just a month prior. However, Blomsterberg couldn’t quite replicate that same speed on the Mare Nostrum Tour in May (2:24.50).

Lisa Mamie narrowly missed the A-final by less than half a second last year with a 2:25.56, but the 24-year-old Swiss record holder bounced back later in the summer with a 2:23.27 to win the European title. Her lifetime best is a 2:22.05 from the 2021 European Championships, but this year she has only been as fast as 2:26.26 in March. The runner-up at the 2022 European Championships, Italy’s Martina Carraro also expects to be an A-final contender after clocking a personal-best 2:23.64 last August.

Canada’s Kelsey Wog and Lithuania’s Kotryna Teterevkova are attempting to return to the A-final after placing 4th and 5th, respectively, last year. However, the fact that neither have been under 2:25 so far this season doesn’t bode well for them. Fortunately for Wog, she was only 2:24.87 last season before dropping en route to 4th place at Worlds (2:23.86), but Terevkova was more than two seconds slower at this year’s Lithuanian Championships (2:25.42) compared to her personal-best 2:22.88 last year.

Reigning Worlds silver medalist Jenna Strauch of Australia is not competing at this year’s meet due to a knee injury. Also of note, Great Britain was the only other country besides the U.S. to put a pair into the final last year, but neither Molly Renshaw nor Abbie Wood will be swimming the event this year. Kara Hanlon (2:25.12) is Great Britain’s lone Worlds representative in the 200 breast this year.

SwimSwam’s Top 8 Picks