Marrit Steenbergen convincingly qualified for the final of the 100-meter freestyle at the World Long Course Swimming Championships in Singapore on Thursday. Milou van Wijk also qualified.
The 25-year-old Steenbergen finished after 52.81 seconds. With that time, the reigning world champion qualified first for the final. Van Wijk advanced to the final in eighth place with a time of 53.51 seconds. The twenty-year-old from South Holland had never before been in a World Championship final. The top eight swimmers advance to the final.
The final is scheduled for Friday at 13:02. Steenbergen won the World Championship title last year in Doha by defeating Siobhan Haughey from Hong Kong and the Australian Shayna Jack. She finished seventh at the Olympic Games in Paris last year.
In the final of the 200-meter butterfly, the much-discussed twelve-year-old Zidi Yu missed out on a medal. The Chinese finished fourth after a strong final sprint. The Canadian Summer McIntosh won her third gold medal of these World Championships.
The eighteen-year-old Canadian had hoped for a world record but got stuck at a time of 2:01.99. That didn’t come close to her own world record (1:59.32). McIntosh visibly regretted that she couldn’t give her world title extra shine with a world record.
McIntosh also won World Championship gold in Singapore in the 200-meter individual medley and the 400-meter freestyle. She will also be in action later in this tournament in the 800-meter freestyle.