By Charlotte Wells on SwimSwam
2025 World Championships
July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming) Singapore, Singapore World Aquatics Championships Arena LCM (50m) Meet Central Live Results SwimSwam Preview Index Psych SheetBy The Numbers: Women’s 50 Backstroke
World Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023) World Junior Record: 27.49 – Minna Atherton, Australia (2016) Championship Record: 27.06 – Jing Zhao, China (2009) 2023 World Champion: Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 27.08The women’s 50 backstroke is shaping up to be a star-studded race, with 6 out of the 8 finalists at the 2023 World Championships are headed to Singapore.
Headlining the event is the United States’ Katharine Berkoff. She has long been a top performer on the racing circuit and looks poised to make waves in Singapore, having just set a new American record in the 50 back (26.97) at the U.S. National Championships in June.
Far from the only familiar faces in the lineup, the 50 back will also see the likes of Kylie Masse, Regan Smith, Ingrid Wilm, Lauren Cox and Analia Pigree step up to battle for a medal.
Australia’s Kaylee McKeown dropped the 50 back from her lineup in Singapore, despite being the defending world champion and the world record-holder in this event.
The 26s Club
Only three women in the world have ever broken 27 in the 50 back, and with McKeown out of this event, only one of them will be racing in Singapore.
Katharine Berkoff (photo: Jack Spitser)
The U.S. has a long history of producing top backstrokers, and that legacy is currently being upheld by Katharine Berkoff in the 50 back. Berkoff has been one of the top performers in the world for the past few years, topping the global ranking in 2022 and landing at #3 in 2023.
She came into this season with a lifetime best of 27.12 from the 2022 U.S. Nationals, only to blow that time out of the water at the 2025 National Championships in June. Berkoff blasted a time of 26.97 to win by .23 and shatter Regan Smith’s old record of 27.10, qualifying for Worlds in the top spot ahead of Smith. Her performance not only set a new American record in the event, but also marked new U.S. Open and LC Nationals records.
Berkoff’s performance at Nationals made her the third woman ever to break 27 in the 50 back, joining McKeown and Liu in the 26 club. She is now the top seed heading into Worlds, which is a huge leap forward from her performance at the 2023 World Championships, where she placed 5th in 27.38.
Elite Eight
Aside from Berkoff, five more of the top eight finalists at the 2023 World Championships are back for another shot at a medal in Singapore.
As one of the top seeds in both 50 and 100 back, Canada’s Kylie Masse has been on the racing circuit for a long time and is a force to be reckoned with. Back in 2022, she won the 50 back at the World Championships in Budapest; she posted a time of 27.31 to narrowly beat out Berkoff (27.39) as well as several of her other Singapore competitors. Masse took 4th the following summer in Fukuoka, turning in a time of 27.28.
Kylie Masse (photo: Marcus Chen Photography)
Masse kicked off this season at the Pro Swim Series in Westmont, where she won the 50 back in 27.42 ahead of Berkoff, Wilm and Smith, all of whom she will face in Singapore. The Fort Lauderdale stop of the series saw her post a lifetime best time of 27.13 during the prelims, ranking her 4th in the world this season, before taking 3rd in 27.53 behind Berkoff and Smith in finals.
Masse most recently swam a 27.34 at the Canadian Swimming Trials, so she will likely need to be a bit faster in Singapore if she wants to land on the podium. If she can turn in a performance similar to that 27.13, then she should be a strong contender for a medal.
Great Britain’s Lauren Cox picked up the bronze medal in the 50 back at the 2023 World Championships, turning in a 27.20, and looks to be in similarly top form as she gears up for this year’s competition. Cox posted a best time of 27.15 at the AP Race London International meet in May, setting a new national record in the event. Her performance marks the 5th-fastest time in the world this season, setting her up to be right at the heart of the competition and one of the top contenders to land on the World Championships’ podium.
American backstroke star Regan Smith can’t be counted out of contention for a medal. Unquestionably one of the top backstrokers in the world, Smith is not quite as dominant in the 50 back as she is in the 100 and 200. At the 2023 World Championships, she broke the American record in 27.10 during the semifinals before going on to snag silver in 27.11, just .03 behind McKeown.
Smith has raced the 50 three times so far this season, placing 4th in 27.68 at the Pro Swim Series in Westmont and 2nd in 27.43 in Fort Lauderdale before turning in a time of 27.20 to take 2nd at Nationals in June. She was beaten out by Masse, Berkoff and Wilm in Westmont, while Berkoff prevailed at both of the following competitions. Smith is currently ranked 6th in the world, and while it seems unlikely that she will claim victory in Singapore, she could certainly land on the podium.
Analia Pigree (photo: Patrick B. Kraemer / MAGICPBK)
Singapore marks French national record-holder Analia Pigree’s third-straight World Championships, with her having made it to the final of the 50 back at both the 2022 and 2023 competitions. Pigree claimed bronze in Budapest (27.40) and took 8th in Fukuoka (28.04); she has already been faster than both of those performances this season, turning in a 27.36 at the French Elite Championships in June. With a lifetime best time of 27.27 from back in 2022, when she set the French record, Pigree is the 19th-fastest woman of all time in the 50 back. She is the #5 seed heading into Worlds and should land herself in the final, possibly even making a push for a medal.
Canada’s Ingrid Wilm is another repeat World Championships finalist in this event. She placed 4th at the 2022 championships in 27.43 and 6th at the 2023 Championships in 27.41, just off the best time (27.37) that she set in May 2023. Wilm has not been under 27.50 since Fukuoka and has dropped down the global rankings a bit; her top time so far this season was 27.58 at the Canadian Swimming Trials in June. That performance ranks her 14th in the world for this season, putting her in a tougher spot to secure a spot in the final once again.
Sweet 16
A handful of semifinalists from the 2023 World Championships are also back in action this summer and will be looking to break into the top 8 for the first time.
China’s Wan Letian just barely missed the final in Fukuoka, having tied for 8th in 27.74 with her teammate Wang Xueer, only to lose the swim-off by .12. Wan has significantly improved her lifetime best since then, lowering it to 27.41 in September 2023 before throwing down a tremendous time of 27.09 at the 2025 Chinese Spring National Championship to mark the 3rd fastest time in the world this season. A few months later, she won the event at the Chinese National Championships, posting a 27.56 to log the only sub-28 time in the field. If Wan can turn in another performance like her 27.09 from earlier this year, then she should land safely in the final and be a top contender for the podium.
Up-and-coming French star Mary-Ambre Moluh, who is coming off of a strong first season with Cal-Berkeley, will be looking to crack the top 8 for the first time. Back in 2023, she placed 10th in 27.82 when she was just 17 years old; Moluh tied that performance to kick off the season in May this year. She went on to post a new best time of 27.43 at the French Elite Championships in June, bumping herself up to #11 on the season’s world rankings and making her the #6 seed heading into Singapore. Moluh could be able to squeeze into the final, provided she can stay in that low to mid-27 range.
Greece’s Theodora Drakou was just behind Moluh at the 2023 championships, taking 11th in 27.87. Drakou has been a fixture at the World Championships for the last several years, having placed 12th in 2022 (27.99) and 21st in 2019 (28.48). She posted a lifetime best time of 27.84 at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, where she placed 5th, and followed it up with a 27.87 at the European Aquatics Championships last summer, but has not been under 28 since then.
Drakou turned in a 28.32 at the 2025 Settecolli Trophy in June, which did not crack the top 25 times this season. Her performances in the 50 back tend to take dramatic dips up and down, so it is hard to predict what she will do in Singapore, but she will likely need to drop a significant amount of time to make it to the final.
Danielle Hill (photo: European Aquatics)
Ireland’s Danielle Hill threw down a lifetime best time of 27.64 in May 2024, following it up with two more top performances (27.65 and 27.67) in quick succession last summer. She has not been quite as fast this season, with a season-best time of 27.84 from May, but all four of those times are faster than her performance in Fukuoka, where she finished 13th in 28.10. Hill’s lifetime best would have landed her solidly in the final at the 2023 championship, but she tends to perform better at lower stakes competitions, so she may be harder pressed to repeat her top performance in Singapore.
The Newcomers
Several first-time qualifiers in this event will be looking to make a splash in Singapore. Tessa Giele from the Netherlands is one of the front runners of the group of newcomers, currently ranked 12th in the world thanks to her lifetime best time of 27.53 at the Dutch Long Course Championships in June. Giele has been on fire this season, as she had just set her previous best time of 27.67 a few months earlier. She is not always the most consistent, as her performances in between took a sharp dip, but with two best times under her belt already this season, Giele cannot be counted out for the final.
Just .02 behind Giele is Anastasia Gorbenko from Israel, who turned in a huge personal best time in May. Gorbenko threw down a time of 27.55 at the Mare Nostrum Monaco stop, knocking .73 off of her time and marking her first time breaking the 28 barrier. She turned in another sub-28 performance a few weeks later, swimming 27.76 in Canet-en-Roussillon. As the #10 seed heading into Singapore, Gorbenko could turn in another strong swim and land herself in the final.
Alina Gaifutdinova, representing Neutral Athletes ‘B’, has been on a fairly steady upwards trajectory in the 50 back over the past two years, going from a best time of 28.57 in April 2023 to a best time of 27.54 in July 2024. She came close to matching that time earlier this season, turning in a 27.62 at the Russian Championship in April. Gaitfutdinova’s marked the 16th-fastest performance in the world so far this season, and with her best time making her the #9 seed heading into the World Championships, she has a decent shot at making it into the top 8.
Carmen Weiler Sastre (photo: Jack Spitser)
Spain’s Carmen Weiler Sastre has also been on the rise over the past year or two. She kicked off this season with a best time of 28.26 at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale before lowering her time even further with a tremendous performance at the Spanish Summer Championship in June. Weiler threw down a time of 27.78, tying her at 23rd for top times in the world this season. Weiler is currently the #16 seed in the 50 back, so she would have to make a bit more of a jump to make it to the final, but she will certainly be someone to keep an eye on.
At just 15 years old, South Korea’s Kim Seung-Won is one of the youngest competitors in the field at the World Championships this summer. At the Korean Swimming Championships in March, Kim broke her own national record in the 50 back; she turned in a 27.71 to shave .13 off of the previous standard (27.84). That performance ranks her 20th in the world for this season and shows her to be in top form as she gears up to race in Singapore, so we could see a surprise performance from Kim.
The Verdict
The 50 back is one of those events that could go either way, especially with how close a lot of this competition is shaping up to be, but it looks like it will be Berkoff’s time to shine.
While Berkoff’s only been under 27 once so far in the 50 back, the fact that it was her most recent performance and marked a new American record shows her to be on top of her game heading into the World Championships. Her performance at Nationals was also the first time since 2022 that she has beaten Smith while going head-to-head in the 50 back, which is no small feat given Smith’s dominance in the backstroke events.
Berkoff has been steadily climbing the world rankings in the backstroke events the past couple seasons and being more of a sprinter, she looks poised to make a big splash at Worlds.
SwimSwam’s Picks
Rank Swimmer Country Season Best Lifetime Best 1 Katharine Berkoff United States 26.97 26.97 2 Kylie Masse Canada 27.13 27.13 3 Regan Smith United States 27.10 27.20 4 Wan Letian China 27.09 27.09 5 Lauren Cox Great Britain 27.15 27.15 6 Analia Pigree France 27.27 27.36 7 Mary-Ambre Moluh France 27.43 27.43 8 Alina Gaifutdinova Neutral Athletes ‘B’ 27.54 27.62Dark Horse: Maaike de Waard (Netherlands) – Another veteran on the World Championships scene, De Waard’s highest-placing performance at Worlds came in 2022 in Budapest, when she placed 10th in 27.77. She also placed 12th in both 2019 and 2023, posting times of 28.03 and 28.19, respectively. While she boasts a lifetime best of 27.54 from 2022, she has not come close to that time since then. De Waard kicked off this season with a handful of performances in the 28 range, before turning in a season-best time of 27.87 at the Dutch Long Course Championships in June, making her the #18 seed heading into the World Championships.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 World Championship Previews: Katharine Berkoff Going for Gold in the Women’s 50 Back
Hence then, the article about 2025 world championship previews katharine berkoff going for gold in the women s 50 back was published today ( ) and is available on swimswam ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( 2025 World Championship Previews: Katharine Berkoff Going for Gold in the Women’s 50 Back )
Also on site :