Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte won the women’s 50m breaststroke at the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships, setting a new world record with a time of 29.16 seconds. This was her second world record in two days, surpassing her previous record of 29.30 seconds. Meilutyte expressed her happiness and confidence in her performance, stating that she enjoyed the process. She finished 0.78 seconds ahead of silver medalist Lilly King from the United States, while Benedetta Pilato of Italy took the bronze.
In another impressive performance, Sweden’s Sarah Sjoestroem broke her own world record in the women’s 50m freestyle semi-finals with a time of 23.61 seconds. Although she didn’t break the record again in the final, she still claimed the gold medal with a time of 23.62 seconds. Sjoestroem expressed her satisfaction with her performance and mentioned her previous world record and gold medal in the 50m butterfly event. Her victory also marked her 21st individual medal at the world championships, surpassing Michael Phelps.
Ahmed Hafnaoui from Tunisia won the men’s 1,500m freestyle race in a fiercely contested competition. He finished in 14 minutes 31.54 seconds, narrowly missing out on the world record set by Sun Yang. Bobby Finke from the United States came in second, just 0.05 seconds behind Hafnaoui. Hunter Armstrong from the United States secured his first individual crown by winning the men’s 50m backstroke title. Canada’s Summer McIntosh dominated the women’s 400m individual medley, setting a championship record with a time of 4:27.11.
The United States teams emerged victorious in the 4x100m medley relays for both men and women. The men’s team, consisting of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Dare Rose, and Jack Alexy, finished first with a time of 3:27.20. The women’s team, featuring Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh, and Kate Douglass, won with a time of 3:52.08. Australia topped the medal table with 13 golds, followed by the United States with seven and China with five.
The next edition of the World Aquatics Championships will be hosted by Doha in February 2024.
