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 | Day 5 Finals Live Recap
- Day 6 Prelims Live Recap | Day 6 Finals Live Recap
- Day 7 Prelims Live Recap
- Day 7 Finals Live Recap
Day 7 was an exciting day at the 2023 World Championships as three world records fell during the semifinals and finals. If you were unable to catch all of the record-breaking action, look no further, as we have all of the videos you’ll need to catch up on all of Day 7’s finals and world record-breaking swims.
Finals Races
WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERLY — FINAL
- World Record: 24.43 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2014)
- Championship Record: 24.60 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
- World Junior Record: 25.46 — Rikako Ikee, Japan (2017)
- 2022 Winning Time: 24.95 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
Top 8:
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 24.77
- Zhang Yufei (CHN) — 25.05
- Gretchen Walsh (USA) — 25.46
- Farida Osman (EGY) — 25.62
- Torri Huske (USA) — 25.64
- Sara Junevik (SWE) — 25.74
- Rikako Ikee (JPN) — 25.78
- Melanie Henique (FRA) — 25.80
Sarah Sjostrom did not disappoint in her first individual final of the meet, winning gold in the women’s 50 fly by a wide margin. The 29-year-old Swedish star pulled away from the field over the final 15 meters to hit the wall first ahead of Zhang Yufei, winning her 5th consecutive title in this event with a time of 24.77.
Yufei swam a personal best of 25.05 to take the silver medal in Asian Record fashion, while American Gretchen Walsh earned her first individual World’s medal by finishing 3rd for bronze.
MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — FINAL
- World Record: 20.91 — Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2009)
- Championship Record: 21.04 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
- World Junior Record: 21.75 — Michael Andrew, United States (2017)
- 2022 Winning Time: 21.32 — Ben Proud, Great Britain
Top 8:
- Cameron McEvoy (AUS) — 21.06
- Jack Alexy (USA) — 21.57
- Ben Proud (GBR) — 21.58
- Isaac Cooper (AUS) — 21.70
- Ryan Held (USA) — 21.72
- Jordan Crooks (CAY) — 21.73
- Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) — 21.82
- Leonardo Deplano (ITA) — 21.92
Cameron McEvoy posted the widest margin of victory ever seen in the men’s 50 freestyle en route to a dominant victory. McEvoy left little doubt about his dominance as he touched in a time of 21.06, a whopping .51 seconds ahead of the field over 50 meters. That swim puts him #4 all-time, and makes him the second-fastest ever in a textile suit behind American Caeleb Dressel.
Behind McEvoy, the field was much closer. However, newly-minted American sprint star Jack Alexy put his head down over the final 15 meters of the race and managed to touch second in a time of 21.57. With his swim, Alexy picked up his second individual silver medal of the meet. In the process, he out-touched defending world champion Ben Proud by one-hundredth, with Proud winning the bronze medal.
MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY — FINAL
- World Record: 49.45 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2021)
- Championship Record: 49.5o — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
- World Junior Record: 50.63 — Kristof Milak, Hungary (2017)
- 2022 Winning Time: 50.14 — Kristof Milak, Hungary
Top 8:
- Maxime Grousset (FRA) — 50.14
- Josh Liendo (CAN) — 50.34
- Dare Rose (USA) — 50.46
- Matt Temple (AUS) — 50.81
- Nyls Korstanje (NED) — 51.05
- Katsushiro Matsumoto (JPN) — 51.20
- Noe Ponti (SUI) — 51.23
- Gal Cohen Groumi (ISR) — 51.32
Maxime Grousset earned his first individual World Championship gold in this event, touching the wall first in a time of 50.14. His performance moves him up to #5 on the all-time list behind Caeleb Dressel, Kristof Milak, Michael Phelps and Milorad Cavic. Grousset managed to hold off a charging Josh Liendo, who came firing back on the last 50. Liendo himself managed to hit the wall second in a Canadian Record of 50.34, taking .02 off of his previous mark.
American Dare Rose entered the final as the top seed, and despite not getting the gold, still managed to post another best time for the bronze medal with a 50.46.
WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE — FINAL
- World Record: 2:03.14 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
- Championship Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)
- World Junior Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)
- 2022 Winning Time: 2:05.08 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia
Top 8:
- Kaylee McKeown (AUS) — 2:03.85
- Regan Smith (USA) — 2:04.94
- Peng Xuwei (CHN) — 2:06.74
- Katie Shanahan (GBR) — 2:07.45
- Kylie Masse (CAN) — 2:07.52
- Rhyan White (USA) — 2:08.43
- Laura Bernat (POL) — 2:10.68
- Jenna Forrester (AUS) — 2:11.44
Kaylee McKeown became the first female and second swimmer ever (and at this meet) to win the 50, 100, and 200 of a single stroke at the World Championships. Though American Regan Smith took the race out hard, McKeown held on, overtaking Smith on the 3rd 50 of the race and never looking back. She touched the wall in a time of 2:03.85 with Smith touching second in 2:04.94.
China’s Peng Xuwei was nearly two seconds behind the pair to take third in 2:06.74.
WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE — FINAL
- World Record: 8:04.79 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2016)
- Championship Record: 8:07.39 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2015)
- World Junior Record: 8:11.00 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2014)
- 2022 Winning Time: 8:08.08 — Katie Ledecky, United States
Top 8:
- Katie Ledecky (USA) — 8:08.87
- Li Bingjie (CHN) — 8:13.31
- Ariarne Titmus (AUS) — 8:13.59
- Simona Quadarella (ITA) — 8:16.46
- Isabel Gose (GER) — 8:17.95
- Jillian Cox (USA) — 8:19.73
- Lani Pallister (AUS) — 8:21.33
- Erika Fairweather (NZL) — 8:28.21
Katie Ledecky did what she’s best at: taking the race out hard. Flipping in a 4:01 at the 400 meter mark, Ledecky led the field from start to finish, touching in a blistering 8:08.87 to win her 6th consecutive title in this event, becoming the first person to ever achieve that feat. With her win, Ledecky claimed her 16th individual World Championship gold medal, moving her into sole possession of having the most individual gold medals of all-time, ahead of Michael Phelps.
MIXED 4×100 FREESTYLE RELAY — FINAL
World Record: 3:19.38 — Australia (2022)Championship Record: 3:19.38 — Australia (2022)- World Junior Record: 3:25.92 — United States (2019)
- 2022 Winning Time: 3:19.38
Top 8:
- Australia (Cartwright, Chalmers, Jack, O’Callaghan) — 3:18.83 (WORLD RECORD)
- United States (Alexy, King, Weitzeil, Douglass) — 3:20.82
- Great Britain (Richards, Scott, Hopkin, Anderson) — 3:21.68
- Canada — 3:23.82
- Italy — 3:24.53
- Brazil — 3:25.21
- Japan — 3:26.96
- Germany — 3:27.18
The Aussies showed off their sprint prowess as the team of Jack Cartwright, Kyle Chalmers, Shayna Jack, and Mollie O’Callaghan combined for a 3:18.83, winning World Championship gold in World Record fashion. They led the field by nearly 2 seconds, finishing well ahead of the United States. The US team of Jack Alexy, Matt King, Abbey Weitzeil, and Kate Douglass posted a time of 3:20.82 for the silver medal.
Semifinal World Records
WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — SEMIFINAL
World Record: 23.67 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)Championship Record: 23.67 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)- World Junior Record: 24.17 — Claire Curzan, United States (2021)
- 2022 Winning Time: 23.98 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden
Finals Qualifiers:
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 23.61 (WORLD RECORD)
- Shayna Jack (AUS) — 24.01
- Zhang Yufei (CHN) — 24.20
- Abbey Weitzeil (USA) — 24.27
- Cheng Yujie (CHN) — 24.56
- Michelle Coleman (SWE) — 24.63
- Emma McKeon (AUS) — 24.67
- Marie Wattel (FRA)/Marrit Steenbergen (NED) — 24.68 (Swim Off Required)
Only 15 minutes after her 50 butterfly victory, Sarah Sjostrom crushed a new World Record in the women’s 50 freestyle with a time of 23.61. Sjostrom took down her own mark of 23.67 that was set back at the 2017 World Championships, executing a perfect race from start to finish.
Seeing as it’s only the semifinals, Sjostrom will still have a chance to lower her record during tomorrow’s final.
WOMEN’S 50 BREASTSTROKE — SEMIFINAL
- World Record: 29.30 — Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)
Championship Record: 29.40 — Lilly King, United States (2017)- World Junior Record: 29.30 — Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)
- 2022 Winning Time: 29.70 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania
Finals Qualifiers:
- Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) — 29.30 (=WORLD RECORD, CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD)
- Lilly King (USA) — 29.72
- Lara van Niekerk (RSA) — 29.91
- Benedetta Pilato (ITA) — 30.09
- Tang Qianting (CHN) — 30.12
- Eneli Jefimova (EST) — 30.22
- Anita Bottazzo (ITA) — 30.28
- Satomi Suzuki (JPN) — 30.33
Only a few minutes after Sjostrom’s swim, Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte followed up with another World Record in the women’s 50 breaststroke, swimming a 29.30 to tie Benedetta Pilato’s record from 2021. Meilutyte only recently made a comeback to the sport after announcing her retirement back in 2019, first competing at the international level again last year. However, it appears that she’s doing better than ever as proven by her times at these Championships.