Swimming-Sjostrom tops qualifying for 50m freestyle in Doha

Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships – Swimming – Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A, Fukuoka, Japan – July 28, 2023 Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom during the women’s 50m butterfly semi final 2 REUTERS/Issei Kato/ File Photo

By Ian Ransom

DOHA (Reuters) – Defending champion Sarah Sjostrom was fastest in the women’s 50 metres freestyle preliminaries at the World Championships in Doha on Saturday ahead of her bid for a sixth successive 50m butterfly world title.

The evergreen Swede comfortably won her heat in 23.91 seconds at the Aspire Dome pool, nearly three-tenths of a second quicker than the United States’ second-ranked Kate Douglass (24.19).

“It was good. I’m happy with that. I felt a bit more tired this morning but I could still swim a pretty fast race,” the 12-times world champion Sjostrom told Reuters, the morning after securing top seed for the 50m butterfly final.

If all goes to plan, world record holder Sjostrom will add to her record 21 world championship medals in the butterfly decider later on Saturday.

That will be one of six gold medals up for grabs in a bumper evening programme, which sees Australia’s 50m freestyle world champion Cameron McEvoy defend his title and American Claire Curzan attempt to complete a rare sweep of the backstroke golds by winning the 200m.

South African veteran Chad le Clos will bid for a medal in the men’s 100m butterfly, while Italian distance queen Simona Quadarella and German Isabel Gose will battle for the women’s 800m freestyle title relinquished by the absent Katie Ledecky.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Doha; Editing by Frances Kerry)