Recap of Day 6 Finals at the 2025 World Championships

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Entry Book
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

DAY 6 FINALS HEAT SHEET

Event Schedule:

• Women’s 100 free final
• Men’s 100 fly semi-finals
• Women’s 200 back semi-finals
• Men’s 50 free semi-finals
• Men’s 200 breast final
• Men’s 200 back final
• Women’s 200 breast final
• Women’s 50 fly semi-finals
• Men’s 4×200 free relay final

Things will be fast paced on Day 6 of the 2025 World Championships as we’ve got four individual finals, four sets of semi-finals, and an exciting curtain call, the men’s 4×200 free relay, on the schedule tonight.

Things will kick off with the final of the women’s 100 freestyle, where Mollie O’Callaghan will be aiming to complete the 100/200 free double for the second time in her career after she swept the two events for the first time at the 2023 World Championships. The Australian could also win the world title in the 100 free for the third time after topping the podium in both 2022 and 2023.

Her main rival figures to be Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen, who was the only other swimmer to break 53 seconds in the semis, while American Torri Huske is one to watch as she’s the 2024 Olympic silver medalist, but has been battling illness all week.

In fact, Huske, O’Callaghan and Steenbergen are the only three women who were in last summer’s Olympic final who will be contesting the 100 free tonight in Singapore.

The next final of the night will be the men’s 200 breast, which looks wide open given the absence of reigning Olympic champion Leon Marchand and former world champion Zac Stubblety-Cook, while world record holder and 100 breast winner Qin Haiyang hasn’t looked his best over the 200 distance and barely squeaked into the final in 8th.

The top qualifier was Japan’s Ippei Watanabe in 2:08.01, with American AJ Pouch seeded 2nd and Olympic bronze medalist Caspar Corbeau in 3rd.

That will be followed by the men’s 200 back, which has leveled up over the last 12 months with four swimmers breaking 1:55 in the semis and 1:55.6 being required to earn a lane in the final. Last summer in Paris, only the three medalists broke 1:55 in the final, and 1:56.52 was good enough to crack the top eight.

Leading the field is South African Pieter Coetze, who followed up his 100 back victory by shattering the African Record in the 200 in a time of 1:54.22, while France’s Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (1:54.47), Switzerland’s Roman Mityukov (1:54.83), Canada’s Blake Tierney (1:55.03) and the Czech Republic’s Jan Cejka (1:55.46) also set National Records to advance to the final.

Qualifying 3rd overall was Hungarian Hubert Kos, the reigning Olympic champion and 2023 world champion, who put up a time of 1:54.64 shortly after winning bronze in the 200 IM last night.

The last individual final of the night will be the women’s 200 breast, where we’ll see Olympic champion Kate Douglass and world record holder Evgeniia Chikunova go head-to-head for gold.

The two of them have distanced themselves from the rest of the field heading into the final, with Chikunova qualifying 1st out of the semis in 2:20.65, while Douglass cruised through to win her semi in 2:20.96 and advance in 2nd.

The night will close with the men’s 4×200 free relay, where Great Britain comes in as the team to beat after winning the world title in 2023 and then following up with Olympic gold last summer in Paris. The U.S. team looks to be formidable, however, led by 200 free silver medalist Luke Hobson, who will swim third along with Henry McFadden, Gabriel Jett and Rex Maurer.

Great Britain is using Jack McMillan after his 1:45.28 lead-off in the prelims, taking over for a mainstay on the relay, Tom Dean, who split 1:46.35 in the morning, and joining Matt Richards, James Guy and Duncan Scott.

Leon Marchand will be swimming the anchor leg for the French team out in Lane 8.

• Full Relay Lineups

We’ll also see semi-final heats in the men’s 50 free and 100 fly, and the women’s 200 back and 50 fly.

WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINAL

• World Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 2017
• World Junior Record: 52.70, Penny Oleksiak (CAN) – 2016
• Championship Record: 51.71, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 2017
• 2023 World Champion: Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS), 52.16
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 52.16

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – SEMI-FINALS

• World Record: 49.45, Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 2021
• World Junior Record: 50.62, Kristof Milak (HUN) – 2017
• Championship Record: 49.50, Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 2019
• 2023 World Champion: Maxime Grousset (FRA), 50.14
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Kristof Milak (HUN), 49.90

Top 8 Qualifiers: 

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – SEMI-FINALS

• World Record: 2:03.14, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2023
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35, Regan Smith (USA) – 2019
• Championship Record: 2:03.35, Regan Smith (USA) – 2019
• 2023 World Champion: Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2:03.85
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Kaylee McKeown (AUS), 2:03.73

Top 8 Qualifiers: 

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – SEMI-FINALS

• World Record: 20.91, Cesar Cielo (BRA) – 2009
• World Junior Record: 21.75, Michael Andrew (USA) – 2017
• Championship Record: 21.04, Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 2019
• 2023 World Champion: Cameron McEvoy (AUS), 21.06
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Cameron McEvoy (AUS), 21.25

Top 8 Qualifiers: 

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 2:05.48, Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 2023
• World Junior Record: 2:06.91, Shin Ohashi (JPN) – 2025
• Championship Record: 2:05.48, Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 2023
• 2023 World Champion: Qin Haiyang (CHN), 2:05.48
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Leon Marchand (FRA), 2:05.85

MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 1:51.92, Aaron Peirsol (USA) – 2009
• World Junior Record: 1:55.14, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) – 2017
• Championship Record: 1:51.92, Aaron Peirsol (USA) – 2009
• 2023 World Champion: Hubert Kos (HUN), 1:54.14
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Hubert Kos (HUN), 1:54.26

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – FINAL

• World Record: 2:17.55, Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS) – 2023
• World Junior Record: 2:19.64, Viktoriya Zeynep Gunes (TUR) – 2015
• Championship Record: 2:19.11, Rikke Pedersen (DEN) – 2013
• 2023 World Champion: Tatjana Smith (RSA), 2:20.80
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Kate Douglass (USA), 2:19.24

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – SEMI-FINALS

• World Record: 24.43, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 2014
• World Junior Record: 25.46, Rikako Ikee (JPN) – 2017
• Championship Record: 24.60, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 2017
• 2023 World Champion: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 24.77

Top 8 Qualifiers: 

MEN’S 4X200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINAL

• World Record: 6:58.55, United States – 2009
• World Junior Record: 7:08.37, United States – 2019
• Championship Record: 6:58.55, United States – 2009
• 2023 World Champion: Great Britain, 6:59.08
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Great Britain, 6:59.43

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 World Championships: Day 6 Finals Live Recap