2023 World Aquatics Championships: Day 6 recap ft. Mollie O’Callaghan 

Day 6 of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, was an action-packed affair. There were two semifinals and as many finals in the women's section, while the men's side had three semifinals and one final.

The day began with Mollie O’Callaghan earning her second individual gold of the meet when she came out on top in the Women’s 100 Freestyle. The proceedings ended with Great Britain winning gold in the Men's 4×200 Freestyle Relay.

On that note, here's a recap of everything that unfolded on Day 6 of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.

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Women’s 100 Freestyle — Final

Australia's Mollie O’Callaghan clinched gold in the Women’s 100 Freestyle with a 52.16 seconds effort, which was just .08 seconds off the 52.08 time she set to lead off the women’s 4×100 free relay on Day 1.

Siobhan Haughey took home silver with a season-best time of 52.49 seconds, giving Hong Kong their first swimming medal at Worlds. Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen registered a personal best of 52.71 seconds to complete the podium.

Women’s 100 Freestyle (final) results:

1. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) — 52.16
2. Siobhan Haughey (HKG) — 52.49
3. Marrit Steenbergen (NED) — 52.71
4. Kate Douglass (USA) — 52.81
5. Emma McKeon (AUS) — 52.83
6. Abbey Weitzeil (USA) — 53.34
7. Michelle Coleman (SWE) — 53.83
8. Yang Junxuan (CHN) — 54.06

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Men's 100 Butterfly — Semifinals

Dare Rose came out on tip in the first semifinal, winning the heat in a personal best 50.53 seconds, bettering the 50.74 seconds he set at the US Trials and qualifying for the finals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.

Maxime Grousset qualified second, with his 50.62 seconds effort just a hundredth off his personal best. Josh Liendo followed him in third in the heat. Matt Temple (fourth), Nyls Korstanje, and Gal Cohen Groumi (both tied fifth) rounded out the qualifiers who went sub-51 in the heat.

Katsuhiro Matsumoto and Noe Ponti completed the eight-member list for the final.

Men's 100 Butterfly (semifinals) results:

1. Dare Rose (USA) — 50.53
2. Maxime Grousset (FRA) — 50.62
3. Josh Liendo (CAN) — 50.75
4. Matt Temple (AUS) — 50.89
5. Nyls Korstanje (NED) / Gal Cohen Groumi (ISR) — 50.98
6. Katsuhiro Matsumoto (JPN) — 51.16
7. Noe Ponti (SUI) — 51.17

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Women's 200m Backstroke — Semifinals

Regan Smith and Kaylee McKeown set up their third head-to-head of the week when they qualified for the final of the women’s 200 backstroke. Peng Xuwei pipped both when she won the first semifinal with a 2:07.40 effort.

19-year-old Katie Shanahan qualified fourth, just ahead of the veteran Kylie Masse. Laura Bernat, Rhyan White, and Jenna Forrester rounded up the list.

Women's 200m Backstroke (semifinals) results:

1. Peng Xuwei (CHN) — 2:07.40
2. Regan Smith (USA) — 2:07.52
3. Kaylee McKeown (AUS) — 2:07.89
4. Katie Shanahan (GBR) — 2:08.32
5. Kylie Masse (CAN) — 2:08.51
6. Laura Bernat (POL) — 2:08.96
7. Rhyan White (USA) — 2:09.13
8. Jenna Forrester (AUS) — 2:09.74

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Men's 50 Freestyle — Semifinals

Cameron McEvoy clocked a personal best time of 21.25 seconds to qualify on top for the final. He was followed by 100 free silver medalist Jack Alexy, who also hit a personal best (20.60 seconds).

Ben Proud, Isaac Cooper, Jordan Crooks, Leonardo Deplano, Kristian Gkolomeev, and Josh Liendo complete the eight-man list for the final.

Men's 50 Freestyle (semifinals) results:

1. Cameron McEvoy (AUS) — 21.25
2. Jack Alexy (USA) — 21.60
3. Ben Proud (GBR) — 21.61
4. Isaac Cooper (AUS) — 21.65
5. Jordan Crooks (CAY) — 21.73
6. Leonardo Deplano (ITA) — 21.74
7. Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) — 21.85
8. Josh Liendo (CAN) — 21.88

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Women's 200m Breaststroke — Final

Tatjana Schoenmaker took home the gold medal with a 2:20.80 effort. Kate Douglass swam a field-best 36.40 on the final 50 to clinch the silver medal. Tes Schouten set a new Dutch record on her way to claiming the bronze.

Women's 200m Breaststroke (final) results:

1. Tatjana Schoenmaker (RSA) — 2:20.80
2. Kate Douglass (USA) — 2:21.23
3. Tes Schouten (NED) — 2:21.63
4. Lilly King (USA) — 2:22.25
5. Thea Blomsterberg (DEN) — 2:22.42
6. Kotryna Teterevkova (LTU) — 2:24.22
7. Abbey Harkin (GBR) — 2:24.55
8. Kelsey Wog (CAN) — 2:25.21

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Men's 200m Backstroke — Final

Hubert Kos swam a big personal best of 1:54.14 to break the Hungarian record (1:55.58 set in 2017) to clinch gold. Defending champion Ryan Murphy had to settle for silver. Roman Mityukov's 29.08 effort saw him better his personal best and the Swiss record, and win the bronze medal.

Men's 200m Backstroke (final) results:

1. Hubert Kos (HUN) — 1:54.14
2. Ryan Murphy (USA) — 1:54.83
3. Roman Mityukov (SUI) — 1:55.34
4. Mewen Tomac (FRA) — 1:55.79
5. Benedek Kovacs (HUN) — 1:55.85
6. Bradley Woodward (AUS) — 1:56.29
7. Hugo Gonzalez (ESP) — 1:56.33
8. Daiki Yanagawa (JPN) — 1:58.75

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Women's 50 Butterfly — Semifinals

With a blistering 24.74 effort, Sarah Sjostrom won her heat and qualified for the final. Zhang Yufei swam a Chinese record 25.17 to finish second, ahead of Gretchen Walsh (25.48).

Melanie Henique, Rikako Ikee, Farida Osman, Torri Huske, and Sara Junevik rounded out the top eight.

Women's 50 Butterfly (semifinals) results:

1. Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) — 24.74
2. Zhang Yufei (CHN) — 25.17
3. Gretchen Walsh (USA) — 25.48
4. Melanie Henique (FRA) — 25.70
5. Rikako Ikee (JPN) — 25.72
6. Farida Osman (EGY) — 25.74
7. Torri Huske (USA) — 25.75
8. Sara Junevik (SWE) — 25.77

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Men's 100 Breaststroke — Final

With a 2:05.48 effort, Qin Haiyang broke the world record and clinched the gold medal. In doing so, he became the first man to win the 50/100/200 breaststroke at the same World Championships.

Stubblety-Cook posted 2:06.40, less than a half-second from his former world record time, to take the silver medal. Matt Fallon, competing in his maiden Worlds, walked away with the bronze medal after clocking 2:07.74.

Men's 100 Breaststroke (final) results:

1. Qin Haiyang (CHN) — 2:05.48 (WORLD RECORD)
2. Zac Stubblety-Cook (AUS) — 2:06.40
3. Matt Fallon (USA) — 2:07.74
4. Dong Zhihao (CHN) — 2:08.04 (WORLD JUNIOR RECORD)
5. Caspar Corbeau (NED) — 2:08.42
6. Ippei Watanabe (JPN) — 2:08.78
7. Anton McKee (ISL) — 2:09.50
8. Josh Matheny (USA) — 2:10.41

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Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay — Final

Great Britain took home the goals medal thanks to Duncan Scott (1:45.42), Matt Richards (1:44.65), James Guy (1:46.17), and Tom Dean (1:43.84) executing their strategy perfectly.

USA's (Luke Hobson, Carson Foster, Jake Mitchell, and Kieran Smith) won silver ahead of bronze medallists Australia (Kai Taylor, Kyle Chalmers, Alexander Graham, and Thomas Neill).

Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay (final) results:

1. Great Britain (Scott, Richards, Guy, Dean) — 6:59.08
2. United States (Hobson, Foster, Mitchell, Smith) — 7:00.02
3. Australia (Taylor, Chalmers, Graham, Neill) — 7:02.13
4. France — 7:03.86
5. Italy — 7:03.95
6. South Korea — 7:04.07
7. Germany — 7:06.14
8. Brazil — 7:06.43