FUKUOKA, Japan – The California men's swimming contingent was on full display Tuesday at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, as alumnus Ryan Murphy won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke and Hunter Armstrong, a member of the Cal pro group, took bronze in the same event.
 
Murphy, a two-time Olympian who graduated from Cal in 2017, won with a time of 52.22. It was his second career gold medal at the World Championships and first in the 100 back. Murphy out-touched silver medalist Thomas Ceccon (Italy) by five-hundredths of a second. Heading into the turn, Murphy was in fourth but swam the fastest second 50 to capture the gold.
 
Armstrong, who trains professionally in Berkeley, won his second consecutive World Championship bronze in the event with a time of 52.58. From the prelims to the semifinals, Armstrong got stronger as the event progressed. He captured the final spot in both the semifinals and the finals, finishing 16th and eighth, respectively, before moving up to the podium.
 
In other events, alum Lucas Henveaux finished 15th in the semifinals of the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:46.77 – just three-tenths of a second out of the top eight that advanced to the finals. It is the second event for the Belgium national at the 2023 World Championships; he also competed in the 400 free earlier this week.
 
Rising senior Dare Rose finished his run in the 50 butterfly with a sixth-place finish of 23.01. It was Rose's first finals appearance competing for Team USA in the World Championships and followed a spectacular run at the Phillips 66 National Championships. He will also compete in the 100 fly later this week, with the prelims for the event beginning on Thursday at 6:32 p.m. PT.
 
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal men's swimming and diving, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMenSwim), Instagram (@CalMenSwim) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalMensSwimmingandDiving).