Erin Gallagher floats to fourth in butterfly final while Chad ends fifth

Erin Gallagher narrowly missed claiming a world championship medal in Doha on Saturday, ending fourth in the women’s 50m butterfly by just two-hundredths of a second.

Gallagher, 25, has endured a string of injuries and setbacks during her career, and she showed the value of gritting it out, even if she didn’t quite make the podium. 

The Tuks swimmer touched in 25.69sec, just two-hundredths behind bronze medallist Farida Osman of Egypt.

Swedish star Sarah Sjoestroem won in 24.63, with Melanie Henique of France second in 25.44.

Chad Le Clos, a former two-time 100m butterfly world champion, achieved his second-fastest time in this event this decade, but had to settle for fifth.

The 31-year-old touched in 51.48, behind 19-year-old winner Diogo Matos Ribeiro of Portugal in 51.17. Austria’s Simon Bucher was second in 51.28 and Jakub Majerski of Poland third in 51.32.

Le Clos’ best time since 2020 was 51.37, set in Gqeberha last year, and after that his best performance in international competition was the 51.61 he swam at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

His national record, from 2015, stands at 50.56.

Pieter Coetzé and Ksawery Masiuk of Poland ended in a dead heat for first in the second 50m backstroke semifinal, both touching in 24.46.

They will go into Sunday’s final seeded third behind the top two finishers of the first semifinal, Australian Isaac Cooper in 24.12 and American Hunter Armstrong in 24.43.

Lara van Niekerk advanced to Sunday’s 50m breaststroke final after finishing second in her heat in 30.56, behind Chinese teenager Qianting Tang in a 29.80 Asian record.

She will be seeded fifth going into the medal-decider on Sunday, with three swimmers going faster than her — defending champion Ruta Meiltyte of Lithuania set the pace in 29.42, with Italian Benedetta Pilato on 29.91 and American Piper Enge 30.53.