On the 23rd Beijing time, the 2023 World Swimming Championships ended the first competition day of swimming in Fukuoka, Japan, and a total of three world records were broken. This was Australia's Titmus setting the event's all-time best time of 3:55.38 in the women's 400m freestyle final, while France's Marchand broke the world record in 4:02.50 in the men's 400m individual medley final. The night's final was Australia's women's 4x100m freestyle relay, with Molly O'Callaghan, Xena Jack, Meg Harris and Emma McKeon setting a world record of 3:27.96 and winning the title.
The top three winners in the women's 400m freestyle at the 2023 World Championships, on the left, runner-up and American Ledecky
While these events make a positive history, a less laudable statistic comes from the American camp. For the first time since the 1994 World Championships, the country ended with zero gold medals on the first day of the World Swimming Championships.
The U.S. team watches Australia win gold in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2023 World Championships
The 23-night U.S. team's personal best came from Katie Ledecky, who won silver in the women's 400m freestyle, while Carson Foster finished runner-up in the men's 400m individual medley, behind Marchander.
On the relay side, the United States also failed to stand on the top podium. Among them, the U.S. women's 4x100m freestyle relay team won the silver medal, while the men's 4x100m freestyle relay team won the bronze medal.
Individual medal table for swimming at the 2023 World Championships, as of July 23
At the 1991 World Swimming Championships, Nicole Hayslet reached the podium in the women's 100m freestyle on her first day to win gold for the United States. However, at the subsequent 1994 World Championships, the U.S. swimming team had zero gold medals on its first day, as it did on the night of the 23rd. After the first competition day of swimming at the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships, Australia is at the top of the swimming medal table with four golds, and all gold, followed by France and the United States in third.