The China Mail - Milak and Fratus move fast to fill Dressel void

While Dressel's name was still on the start lists, his lanes were empty when the swimmers dived in for the last heats of the men's 100m butterfly and, later, the 50m freestyle.

Dressel, the reigning Olympic and world champion in both events, withdrew "for medical reasons", Lindsay Mintenko, the Swimming Managing Director for the USA team, told media on Wednesday evening.

In the absence of the man who keeps beating him in the event, Kristof Milak cruised through to the semi-finals of the 100m fly.

The Hungarian, who broke the world record in the 200m butterfly earlier in the week to the noisy joy of his home crowd, was the fastest of the 16 qualifiers in 50.68sec.

Milak was second to Dressel in the last worlds and Olympics.

Canadian Joshua Liendo, a bronze medallist in the 100m freestyle the night before, was 0.29sec slower with Noe Ponti of Switzerland third.

Kyle Chalmers, whose decision to swim the event at the world championships caused a stir in Australia, swam a tight, slow heat, to finish 2.02sec slower than Milak and fail to qualify.

Chalmers has 12 Olympic and world medals, including a relay gold already in Budapest, but all of them are in freestyle or medley.

He had announced he was skipping these championships before edging pop star Cody Simpson in the 100m fly at the Australian trials.

- 'Find that passion again' -

Simpson is dating Australia's most medalled swimmer Emma McKeon. Chalmers has been romantically linked with McKeon in the past.

When Chalmers performed a tumble turn and said he would go to Budapest and swim one individual event, the 100m butterfly, he took Simpson's spot on the team.

Chalmers responded to suggestions that he was motivated by romantic jealousy by posting on social media that butterfly had simply rekindled his love of swimming.

"I was not swimming and had no intentions of swimming this season if ever again," he wrote. "Getting back in the pool, changing the stimulation and swimming some butterfly, which I grew up doing, helped me find that passion again!"

The deadline for changing entry lists has long passed, so the US team could not replace Dressel in his individual events, even though Trenton Julian, who was third in US trials in butterfly, and Brooks Curry, third in 50m freestyle trials, are with the team.

In the 50m, 32-year-old Brazilian Bruno Fratus, another swimmer who has been trailing in Dressel's wake in recent years, topped qualifying, 0.01sec aread of Liendo with American Michael Andrew third.

Fratus was Dressel's silver medallist in the last two world championships, and took bronze as the American won in last year's Olympics.

The Tokyo runner-up, Frenchman Florent Manaudou, squeaked into the last 16 with the 14th fastest time.

American Phoebe Bacon was fastest in the women's 200 backstroke heats followed by China's Peng Xuwei and Italian Margherita Panziera.

Reigning champion Regan Smith, who has winner of the 100m backstroke in Budapest, failed to make the US team at this distance.

Top seed Kaylee McKeown qualified fifth fastest. Canada's Kylie Masse, who won 50m gold the night before, was sixth.

J.Liv--ThChM