SHANGHAI (AP) — Defending champion Britta Steffen of Germany barely advanced in the preliminaries of the 100-meter freestyle at the world championships.
Steffen’s time of 54.86 seconds was just good enough to grab the 16th and last spot for the Thursday evening semifinals.
Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands had the fastest time of 53.75. Jeanette Ottesen of Denmark was second at 53.88. Heemskerk’s teammate, Ranomi Kromowidjojo, was third in 54.10.
American Dana Vollmer was fourth, and her teammate Natalie Coughlin finished 12th.
Michael Phelps returns to the pool in the evening for the 200 individual medley final, a showdown with teammate Ryan Lochte.
