The newly crowned world record holder, Pan Zhanle of China, emerged as the fastest qualifier in the men’s 100-meter freestyle semi-finals at the Doha World Championships. He clocked a time of 47.82 seconds in the morning session at the Aspire Dome pool, just over a second slower than the world record of 46.80 that he set earlier with his remarkable lead-off swim in the relay event.
Pan Zhanle’s performance marks a swift recovery after his unexpected elimination from the 200-meter freestyle heats earlier in the week, an event where he was considered a strong medal contender. Alessandro Miressi of Italy secured the second spot in the 100-meter freestyle qualifying with a time of 47.94 seconds, while Matt Richards of Britain, the reigning 200-meter freestyle world champion, finished as the fourth quickest.
With world champion Kyle Chalmers absent from the competition, along with other notable swimmers like Jack Alexy and Maxime Grousset, Pan Zhanle is in a favorable position to claim his first individual world title.
In the men’s 200-meter individual medley, Swiss swimmer Jeremy Desplanches, the bronze medallist from the Tokyo Olympics, clinched the top seed for the semi-finals with a time of one minute 58.17 seconds. While French medley world champion Leon Marchand opted out of the Doha Championships, Duncan Scott, the silver medallist from Fukuoka, comfortably progressed to the semi-finals of the 200-meter event.
Later in the day, Scott contributed to Britain’s top qualifying position in the mixed medley relay final, ahead of Australia and the United States.
In the women’s 200-meter butterfly, Helena Bach of Denmark emerged as the fastest qualifier in a relatively small field, clocking a time of 2:09.21.
The evening session will feature Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Siobhan Haughey vying for her first world title in the women’s 200-meter freestyle final, while Japan’s Tomoru Honda, also a silver medallist from Tokyo, will compete for the men’s 200-meter butterfly crown.
