2023 World Championships Day 5 Finals Preview: Can McIntosh Win Her First Gold?

2023 WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 23 to 30, 2023
• Fukuoka, Japan
• Marine Messe Fukuoka
• LCM (50m)
• WORLD CHAMPS WATCH PARTY – DAILY
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Entry Book
• Live Results (Omega)
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Live Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Live Recap | Day 4 Finals Live Recap
• Day 5 Prelims Live Recap

The night session on Day 5 of the 2023 World Championships will feature the finals of women’s 200 fly, men’s 100 free, women’s 50 back, and women’s 4×200 free relay.

Favorites Regan Smith of the United States and Canada’s Summer McIntosh will kick off the action in the 200 fly. Both swimmers will have the opportunity to win their first gold medal of Worlds in this race after missing out in past races, with Smith taking silver in the 100 back and McIntosh missing the 400 free podium and taking bronze in the 200 free.

Smith’s personal best time of 2:03.87 is nearly a second faster than McIntosh’s 2:04.70, but her prelims and semi-finals swims were very erratic. She finished 15th in prelims and barely qualified for semis, and then in semis, she went out super hard before dying on her last 50—but she still managed to make finals in third. McIntosh, meanwhile, has had a smoother sail through prelims and semis. And don’t forget about Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Lana Pudar and Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers who hold best times of 2:06.26 and 2:05.26 respectively.

The men’s 100 free could go in so many different ways, and every single swimmer in the final has a chance of taking gold. Of course, there’s World Record holder David Popovici of Romania, who is looking to bounce back after missing the podium in the 200 free. He’s seeded in fifth in a time of 47.66, and will be swimming in an outside lane. Also keep an eye the fastest two performers of semis, Great Britain’s Matt Richards and Australia’s Kyle Chalmers. Richards has reset the British record twice already this meet and eyes a sweep of the 100 and 200 free events, while Chalmers looks to claim his very first individual World Championships gold.

In the women’s 50 back, newly-minted American record holder Smith will lead the way with her 27.10 from semi-finals. Rivaling her will be former American holder Katharine Berkoff, 100 back champ Kaylee McKeown of Australia, and defending gold and bronze medalists Kylie Masse of Canada and Analia Pigree of France.

To conclude the night, the women’s 4×200 free relay will be held. The Australians, led by Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus, are the heavy favorites to win and take down the World Record, while the United States are in a strong position to get silver with Katie Ledecky at the helm.

There will also be plenty of semi-final action on Thursday night. Many questions will be answered in the women’s 100 free semis—the prelims of the event were very slow, as it only took a 54.67 to make it back. Most of the top medal contenders—O’Callaghan, Australia’s Emam McKeon, Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey, and America’s Kate Douglass—will be in the same semi-final, which will make for a very interesting race.

Speaking of Douglass, she will also be in the women’s 200 breast semi-final alongside defending champion Lilly King of the United States, South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker, and the Netherland’s Tes Schouten. Schouten and Schoenmaker were dominant to win their preliminary heats, while Douglass cruised through most of her prelims race and barely scraped by for the win. In addition, King had closed very fast to nearly run down Schoenmaker in prelims.

The semis of the men’s 200 breast and 200 back will be held. Names to watch out for in the 200 breast include world record holder Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia and 50/100 breast champ Qin Haiyang and China, who will not go down without a fight. Also be on the lookout for America’s Matt Fallon, who has the same type of closing speed as Stubblety-Cook. The 200 back is headlined by defending champ Ryan Murphy, but in a very tight prelims field, it was Bradley Woodward who posted the top time of 1:57.14.