The 2023 World Aquatics Championships is all set to take place in Fukuoka, Japan in less than a week. Swimmers from around the globe will congregate in the sixth-largest city in Japan and showcase their talent. In the United States, the Nationals took place recently, where, among other swimmers, Caeleb Dressel made his comeback after a year. Shaine Casas came 2nd in the 200-meter Individual Medley, and Katie Ledecky won the women’s 150-meter freestyle. These are a few of the American swimmers who will be on the lookout this summer in Fukuoka.

The World Aquatic Championship will take place from 14-30 July. It was originally scheduled for 2021, but owing to the postponement of the Olympics in Tokyo 2020 to 2021 due to COVID-19, it was rescheduled for 2022 to avoid any clashes. It was pushed back another year due to travel restrictions and safety measures in Japan. While Budapest held the 2022 edition, Fukuoka will be hosting the 2023 one. This will be the 2nd time the city will be hosting the World Aquatic Championships after first hosting it in 2021, nearly 22 years ago. Amidst the championship fervor, here are 7 swimmers from the USA who are on the lookout for making a big splash:

Katie Ledecky (Age 26)

She is not only one of America’s most decorated swimmers but also one of the swimming giants in the world. Besides her 15 World Championships victory, Ledecky has also won 7 Olympic gold medals and 3 silver medals. She is always a threat to any up-and-coming swimmer, be it in any competition. With more Olympic medals than any other swimmer in history, Ledecky is revered around the world.

With reverence comes immense respect and with that comes nervousness among fellow competitors. That’s the kind of aura Ledecky carries with her. At the US Nationals, Ledecky also won the 400m freestyle, and 800m freestyle, along with her 150m freestyle, and she will look to bring multiple medals from the World Championships.

Kate Douglass (Age 21)

Speaking of America’s brightest up-and-coming talents, Kate Douglass’s name comes up more often than not. The 21-year-old swimming sensation has created and broken her own records at the NCAA championships multiple times. She has been in dominating form for the past year itself. A bronze medalist in 200IM at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Douglass has also won multiple golds in other championships.

She participated in the US Nationals, where she came 3rd in 50m freestyle, 1st in 200m IM, 3rd in 100m butterfly, 2nd in 200m breaststroke, and 1st in 100m freestyle. She is definitely one of the toughest contenders to look out for at the Championships in Japan.

Regan Smith (Age 21)

At merely 21 years of age, Regan Smith has created a huge splash in the US swimming circuit. She has won two World Championship gold medals in 200m backstroke, and 4x100m medley, and 2 silver and bronze medals at the Olympics. Nicknamed the ‘Riptide Rocket’, Smith will put up a fight against all veterans at the Championships.

She won the 100m backstroke, came 2nd in 50m backstroke, won the 200m backstroke, and the 200m butterfly at the US Nationals this year. She will look to replicate her performance in Fukuoka and bring back at least 4 medals.

Hunter Armstrong (Age 22)

Joseph Hunter Armstrong holds a world record in the long course 50m backstroke event, which he achieved at the 2022 US International Team trials in Greensboro, North Carolina. At age 22, Armstrong is already an Olympic gold medal winner in the 4x100m medley. He has also won the gold and silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Melbourne in the 4x100m medley and 4x50m medley.

Armstrong will look to make a mark at the Fukuoka World Championships this year, after his qualification at the US Nationals. He landed strongly on his specialty and won the 100m backstroke and came 2nd in the 50m backstroke events at the Nationals. He will look to repeat the feat now in Japan.

Thomas Heilman (Age 16)

Coming up at the earliest instance is one of America’s youngest and brightest swimming prodigies, Thomas Heilman. Yet to graduate high school, 16-year-old Heilman will try to be the center of attention by being one of the youngest to win a World Championship gold medal.

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He is yet to represent his country at the Olympics but made his mark in the US Nationals this year. Coming 2nd at 200m butterfly and 100m butterfly, Heilman will look to replicate that performance and clinch medals at both events in Fukuoka.

Ryan Murphy (Age 28)

Coming up next is American competitive swimming backstroke specialist Ryan Murphy. Murphy is all but 28 years old and he has already won 4 Olympic gold medals, a silver and a bronze each. On top of that, he has also World Championships 5 times, and the ‘Short Course Worlds’ 9 times. A world record holder in 100m backstroke, Murphy finished that race in 51.85 seconds at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

7 years hence from the Rio Olympics, Murphy is still putting his arm and feet forward to make it count in the swimming world. He won the Men’s 200m backstroke and came 2nd in the 100m backstroke at the US Nationals this year. He will be looking to bring gold medals in both these events at the World Championships in Japan now.

Leah Smith (Age 28)

Pairing at the same age as Ryan Murphy, Leah Smith is a former World Championship gold medal winner in 4x200m freestyle. She qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics but failed to win any medal there, where Ledecky dominated.

Then for the US Nationals this year, Smith is once again charged up. She came 4th in the women’s 800m freestyle, 2nd in women’s 400m freestyle, and 6th in women’s 200m freestyle. While she qualifies for the 400m freestyle directly, she will also qualify for others owing to other swimmers qualifying in multiple events. She will look to prove a point at the World Championships in Fukuoka.

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As these swimmers and many more from the States, all line up for the World Championships in Japan, the swimming world will come to a standstill. With less than a week to go before the championships start, only time will tell which of these swimmers stand tall on expectations and which ones take everyone by surprise.