Romanchuk fastest in qualifying at world swimming

BUDAPEST, June 20 (AFP): Ukrainian Mykhailo Romanchuk made a statement at the World Swimming Championships on Monday morning as he grabbed a narrow edge in the 800m men's freestyle heats.
Romanchuk, twice a silver medallist in the worlds and once in the Olympics, is Ukraine's best hope of a gold in the worlds.
He trailed in fourth early on in a high-powered third heat. He surged through late in the race to win in 7min 44.75sec, edging German Florian Wellbrock, the Tokyo open-water gold medallist, by 0.05sec.
Italian Gabriele Detti, who won the event when the championships were last in Budapest in 2017, was third.
On a good morning for Italy, Gregorio Paltrinieri won the depleted final heat to qualify fourth.
Elijah Winnington, who won the 400m free on Saturday, and Austrian Felix Auboeck, who was fourth in that race, were late scratches from the heats.
The two men will race in the 200m freestyle final, which opens Monday evening's action.