King & Murphy enter finals outdoors

2022 FINA WORLD WATER CHAMPIONSHIPS

The USA are in an expectedly strong position after two days of racing at the 2022 World Championships. Many of their stars, including gold medalists Caeleb Dressel, Katie Ledeckyand Torri Huske have hit some big swim strokes so far.

While US excellence is a common theme at these meetings, this article focuses on two US stars who seem a little off after 4 sessions. Ryan Murphy and Lili King Each made their Day 2 debut in their signature Stroke 100s, racing heats and semifinals. But the two world record holders got off to a somewhat slow start to the meet and both came close to missing the final.

Ryan Murphy – 100 backstroke

Ryan Murphy started with a 53.42 in the 100 runs of the backstroke to advance to the semifinals in sixth place. On lap 2 he held his position and improved to 52.80. He was just 0.20 seconds quicker than eighth-placed Robert Glinta (53.00). So far, Murphy’s fastest time at the meet is just under a second slower than his own world record of 51.85.

The fact that Murphy has been sixth in both rounds so far doesn’t mean he’s out of medals, but a sixth seed in the finals is the lowest seed he’s had in a major international 100 backstroke final in many years would have.

At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, he placed first in heats with a 52.19 before winning gold with a 51.94. There was no semi-final at this meeting.

Between his major international 100 back races throughout 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, this will be the only time he has competed outside of the top 2. What makes those stats a little more disturbing are the two men who beat him in Tokyo, Yevgeny Rylov and Kliment Kolesnikov absent in this area. That raises the possibility that Murphy would have finished 8th overall in the second round had those two Russians been present.

It would be utterly foolish to exclude Murphy from this race altogether given his history at the event and his status as a world record holder. But the front of the race has too much momentum to ignore the possibility of him missing the podium.

Apostolus Christou had the hot hand in the semifinals by setting a new World Championship and Greek record with a searing swim speed of 52.09. Thomas Cecon was right behind him, beating an Italian record of 52.12, followed by American Hunter Armstrong in 52.37 to easily beat his personal best. Ksawery Masiuk swam a 52.58 PB, becoming the fourth man to swim a 52-average or lower.

So that’s 4 men in the finals here who either clocked faster times or swam right at the top of what Murphy swam at the Tokyo Olympics. Time will tell how the finals play out, but the 6th place precedent for Murphy will be something to watch out for.

Lili King – 100 breaststroke

Lili King‘s status at her Stroke 100 event is even more precarious than Murphy’s. King swam a 1:06.40 in the semifinals, initially making her the ninth fastest woman in the field. your teammate Annie Lasorhowever, was disqualified from the event after swimming faster than King, meaning King moved up to 8th overall.

So as of now, King is expected to compete in the 100+ breaststroke final on lane 8 despite being a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, 2017 and 2019 world champion and world record holder. However, the problem is that Annie Lasor has appealed the disqualification and the result is expected on Monday morning.

Pending FINA’s decision, King will either compete as an 8th seed or will not be able to swim at all. Either has the potential for a dramatic outcome as we could either see a final without such legendary power, or we could see King attempting to win the event from lane 8.

Like Murphy, if King competes in this event, it will be the lowest seeded move to a major international final in recent memory.

Like Murphy, King was the top seed and champion at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, meaning that’s a significant departure from her record at the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021 meetings.

King certainly tends to lose time from semifinals to finals, but it might be difficult to get down to a low range of 1:05 from the 1:06.40 she swam in Round 2. She was also at her best in the prelims when she swam a 1:06.65 for 7th place.

King will take on a strong field of contenders as she competes in the finals, including the top seed Anna misery (1:05.62), Benedetta Pilato (1:05.88), Tang Qianting (1:05.97) and 2012 Olympic champion Ruta Meluttyte (1:06.07). The good news for King is that all of these women were still a long way from their world record and time in Tokyo, meaning it won’t take a lifetime to win gold here.

While we’re not ready to bet against Murphy or King just yet, it was interesting to see two of America’s mainstays were at their best on the same day. Both have further competition ahead of them at this meeting and will compete in the men’s 200m backstroke and women’s 200m breaststroke respectively, along with any relays they have been selected for.

North American Medal Table – From Day 1 Finals

North American National Records – Day 1

• Summer McIntosh400 Freestyle – Canadian Record: 3:59.39 (breaking her own record of 3:59.39 from April 2022).
• Dylan Carter50 Fly – Trinidad & Tobago Record: 22.87 (breaking his own record of 23.11 set in 2018)
• Torri Huske100 Fly – American Record: 55.64 (breaking her own record of 55.66 from the 2021 Olympic Trials)