A strong push in the final 50 metres of Thursday’s women’s 100 freestyle semifinal allowed 2016 Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak of Toronto to qualify sixth for Friday’s final at the world aquatics championships
The 17-year-old, coming off a bronze medal in the mixed 4×100 medley relay on Wednesday in Budapest, stopped the clock in 53.05 seconds to finish third in her heat.
Oleksiak’s semifinal performance was similar to the 100 final at the Canadian trials in April when she was fourth after 50m but turned it on in the final 25 to win in 53.84 at Victoria.
At the Rio Olympics last August, Oleksiak earned Canada’s first-ever women’s medal in the 100, posting a time of 52.70 to tie Simone Manuel of the United States for an Olympic record.
Sandrine Mainville of Boucherville, Que., finished below the top-eight qualifiers on Thursday in 13th in 54.01.
Swedish sensation Sarah Sjostrom, who won Olympic bronze in Rio, qualified first for Friday’s final in 52.44.
Smith advances to 200 breaststroke final
Kierra Smith of Kelowna, B.C., will compete in the women’s 200-metre breaststroke final on Friday after qualifying fifth of eight on Thursday in two minutes 23.18 seconds.
A noted strong finisher, Smith sat fourth in her heat after 50 metres and third through 150 before pushing for top spot in the final 50 metres. Jinglin Shi of China won the heat in 2:23.17.
Canada’s Ashley McGregor, making her world championship debut, was seventh in her heat in 2:25.75 and 14th of 16 overall.
Emerging Dressel takes men’s 100 free
Caeleb Dressel of the United States emerged as his country’s newest sprinting star Thursday with a victory in the 100-metre freestyle, holding off longtime U.S. stalwart Nathan Adrian.
Dressel got off to a blistering start and won in a relative rout in the down-and-back race, touching in 47.17 seconds. Adrian surged from behind over the final strokes to claim the silver in 47.87, edging France’s Mehdy Metella — the fastest qualifier from the semifinals and swimming between the two Americans — by just two-hundredths of a second.
Chase Kalisz extended U.S. rule of the 200 individual medley, rallying to claim his first major international championship. The Americans have won the event at eight straight world championships.
