World Championships, Day One Men’s Semifinals: Maxime Grousset Speeds to Top Seed in 50 Butterfly
Although the women’s events were dotted with unfortunate stortylines (illness; DQ by Erika Fairweather) during the first prelims session at the World Championships in Singapore, the men’s events were quieter – except for the speed on display. The 50-meter butterfly and 100 breaststroke featured several strong performances, and now the athletes in those disciplines will look to continue their momentum.
The first night of competition at the World Champs features men’s semifinals in the 50 fly and 100 breaststroke. France’s Maxime Grousset and Switzerland’s Noe Ponti are the top seeds in the 50 fly while Russia’s Kirill Prigoda is the top seed in the 100 breaststroke.
Here is how the men’s semifinals unfolded on Sunday.
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Men’s 50 Butterfly
At the 2023 edition of the World Championships, Maxime Grousset made his way onto the podium in the 50 butterfly, as he earned the bronze medal. Two years later, the Frenchman is seeking gold. Grousset comfortably claimed the top seed for the final, thanks to a career-best clocking of 22.61. That performance moved Grousset into a tie for ninth all-time.
It required a sub-23 effort to qualify for the final, with two athletes actually going 22-point and not advancing to the medals race. One of the athletes missing out was Canadian Ilya Kharun, who came into the meet with a best of 22.68, but covered his semifinal in 22.92, which left him .01 on the outside.
Qualifying in the second and third positions were Switzerland’s Noe Ponti (22.72) and Great Britain’s Ben Proud (22.79) while the Netherlands’ Nyls Korstanje checked in at 22.79.
The United States was shut out of the final. Dare Rose finished 12th in 23.02 while Michael Andrew was 16th in 23.23.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
The world champion from 2023 in Fukuoka, China’s Qin Haiyang established himself as the gold-medal favorite in the 100 breaststroke behind a swim of 58.14. Qin was out in 27.19 and came home in 31.05, a back-half split that was .35 faster than anyone in the field. Qin was one of four athletes to crack the 59-second barrier, and was followed as the No. 2 seed by reigning Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy, who went 58.62. Martinenghi was initially disqualified, but was quickly reinstated for the final, which will take place on Monday night.
At the 2023 World Championships, Qin swept the breaststroke events and set a world record in the 200 breaststroke. He then had a disappointing appearance at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, where he finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke and tied for 10th in the 200 breaststroke.
Italian Ludovico Viberti (58.89) and Germany’s Lucas Matzerath (58.93) were the other swimmers under 59 seconds, grabbing the third and fourth seeds. The United States’ Josh Matheny advanced in the fifth position, off a performance of 59.15. The other American, 18-year-old Campbell McKean, was 15th in 59.74.
