Swimming-Sjostrom tops 50m freestyle heats, Hafnaoui misses 1,500 final

Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships - Swimming - Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A, Fukuoka, Japan - July 28, 2023 Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom during the women's 50m butterfly semi final 2 REUTERS/Issei Kato/ File Photo

DOHA (Reuters) -Defending champion Sarah Sjostrom was fastest in the women's 50 metres freestyle preliminaries at the World Championships in Doha on Saturday, but 1,500m holder Ahmed Hafnaoui crashed out of the morning heats to cap a dismal meet.

Evergreen Swede Sjostrom comfortably won her heat in 23.91 seconds at the Aspire Dome pool, nearly three-tenths of a second quicker than the United States' second-ranked Kate Douglass (24.19).