Hopkin Swims into 50M Final at World Championships

Arkansas swimmer Anna Hopkin swam her way into the finals of the 50-meter freestyle final on Saturday at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, Korea.

Days after breaking the British record in the 100-meter freestyle, Hopkin showed excellent form again in the 50-meter touching the wall in a personal-best 24.85 to place fifth in her heat and move into the finals in 11th of the 16 qualifiers.

“I had the worst start of my life – I’d barely even hit streamline, so the whole way I was just thinking I just need to get through, which I did,” Hopkin told BritishSwimming.org afterwards. “I need to improve that tonight, but it was still a [personal best]!”

“Wow! What an amazing swim! She brought it in semifinals and looked great,” Arkansas swimming and diving head coach Neil Harper said. “To drop over half a second in the 50-meter free and to do it at the World Championships in the semifinals is high pressure execution. Now that she is in the final, she has nothing to lose and can race her heart out. We are so proud of her and so happy that the technique, experience and dedication she has developed this year at Arkansas is helping her show her true potential.”

Hopkin will step onto the starting block Sunday morning at approximately 6 a.m. CT in the 50-meter world championship final.