The pool competition of the World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023 continues with Day 3 tonight in the U.S. time zones (Tuesday morning in Japan) with another exciting batch of prelim swims.  

Here’s a closer look at the athletes entering tonight’s prelims session: 

Men’s 50m Breaststroke
Nic Fink got a taste of just how tight the competition is in Fukuoka with his three-way tie for silver in the 100m breaststroke. Tonight, he’ll start his quest to defend his world championship title in this event. 

• Athlete: Nic Fink (Morristown, N.J./Metro Atlantic Aquatic Club)  
• Fink’s qualifying time at the Phillips 66 National Championships of 26.74 seconds is just .2 seconds off his American record he set with his win at the world championships last year. 
• Fink set a championship record at the World Championships (25m) in the 50m breaststroke last year. 

Women’s 200m Freestyle
The pair of young phenoms from the Sandpipers of Nevada look to make their mark with swims today in the women’s 200m freestyle. Claire Weinstein shocked the field at the Phillips 66 National Championships, becoming the first American woman to beat Katie Ledecky in this event in nine years. Look for fast times coming from Australians Mollie O’Callaghan and Olympic champion Ariane Titmus, as well as Canada’s world junior record holder, Summer McIntosh. 

• Athletes: Claire Weinstein (White Plains, N.Y./Sandpipers of Nevada) and Bella Sims (Henderson, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) 
• The last two World Championships competitions (2019 and 2022) have not featured an American in the final. 
• Sims looks to become the eighth American in history to break the 1:56 barrier. Weinstein achieved the feat at the 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships when she out touched Katie Ledecky for the win.  

Men’s 200m Butterfly
Fresh off a silver medal performance in the men’s 400m individual medley, Carson Foster turns his attention to distance butterfly. He’ll be swimming in the next lane next to France’s Leon Marchand who not only bested him for the 400m individual medley gold but broke Michael Phelps’ world record time. The highest American finish in this event has been fifth place. 

• Athletes: Carson Foster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays) and Thomas Heilman (Crozet, Va./Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA) 
• U.S. seeking first World Championships medal in the event since Michael Phelps’ gold in 2011.  
• Heilman, the youngest American male on the roster, makes senior-level, international debut at this World Championships. 
• Foster’s time of 1:54.30 at the Phillips 66 National Championships was just 0.63 seconds off his personal best. 

Men’s 800m Freestyle
The defending Olympic and world champion Bobby Finke is looking strong as enters Fukuoka with the fastest time in the World this year. Prior to Finke’s win in 2022, the U.S. team hadn’t medaled in this event since Michael McBroom won silver in 2013. 

• Athletes: Bobby Finke (Clearwater, Fla./St. Petersburg Aquatics/Gator Swim Club) and Ross Dant (Hickory, N.C./Hickory Foundation YMCA/Wolfpack Elite/NC State) 
• Finke has chance to become first male in U.S. history to become the back-to-back world champion in this event. 
• Finke set a new U.S. Open record with his 7:40.34 at the Phillips 66 National Championships. The swim was less than a second off his American record time of 7:39.36, which he set at last year’s World Championships. 
• The event marks Dant’s senior-level, international debut. He last swam internationally in 2018 at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, where he won two golds (one of which was in the 800m free) and a silver. 

Watch Day 3 prelims on Peacock at 9:30 p.m. ET tonight and semifinals/finals at 7:00 a.m. ET tomorrow. The morning’s session will feature semifinals in the men’s 50m breaststroke, women’s 200m freestyle and men’s 200m butterfly. Finals will include the men’s 200m freestyle, the women’s 1500m freestyle, the women’s 100m backstroke and the women’s 100m breaststroke. 

More than 1,110 swimmers from 192 countries and the World Aquatics Refugee Team have descended on the city of Fukuoka, Japan to compete in the swimming portion of the 20th edition of these world championships.