The Missile: Magnussen easily posts fastest time in 100 free at world swimming championships

BARCELONA, Spain — The Missile lived up to his nickname.

James Magnussen of Australia posted the fastest preliminaries time in the 100-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships Wednesday, nearly a second ahead of the next qualifier.

Looks like he's put the disappointment of the Olympics behind him. Magnussen was a huge favorite in London but only got a silver in the 100 free behind American Nathan Adrian — and didn't even win a medal in his other two events.

"I'm just keeping my emotions out of it this year," Magnussen said. "Each swim, I leave it in the water and look toward the next one."

The defending world champion touched in 47.71 seconds, far ahead of Konrad Czerniak of Poland at 48.50. Both Americans advanced to the semifinals, with Jimmy Feigen ninth-fastest in 48.86 and Adrian moving on in 12th at 48.93.

"I was a little surprised," Adrian said. "It was a little slower than I expected."

He said it had nothing to do with throwing up on the deck after the 400 free relay, in which he swam the leadoff leg for a U.S. team that finished second behind France.

Feigen is trying to learn from his performance as the relay anchor, when he was caught by the French while admittedly spending too much time worrying about the teams right next to him, Russia and Australia. The bitterness of that defeat left some, including Michael Phelps, to question why the coaches put Feigen in such a crucial spot when he had the least international experience.

"I'm using that as a learning experience," Feigen said. "I wish it had turned out a little bit better, but I've got to take what happened and learn from it, put it toward some experience, find some good in the bad and do my best to rebound here in the 100."

Ryan Lochte is also in bounce-back mode after struggling in his first individual event. He missed a medal in the 200 free, laboring to the finish in fourth place, but awoke Wednesday with a new outlook.

Lochte won his heat in the 200 individual medley and put up the fifth-fastest time overall, 1 minutes, 58.46 seconds, to safely advance to the semifinals. Conor Dwyer also advanced in 10th.

"I felt like myself again," said Lochte, who was within striking distance of the leader, Hungary's Laszlo Cseh (1:57.70). "The first couple of days, I was worried about winning, worried about the times I went. It wasn't me. It wasn't Ryan Lochte. I woke up this morning without a care. I'm just going out there and having fun."

After advancing to the semifinals with only the 13th-fastest time, 28.44, Franklin scratched the event, giving up on her quest to join Michael Phelps as the only swimmers to eight golds at a major championship. She'll focus on the 200 free final in the evening session.

"I'm a little sore this morning, I'm not going to lie," Franklin said, before it was revealed she was scratching.

Fu Yuanhui of China was top qualifier in the non-Olympic event at 27.55.

Franklin acknowledged she doesn't train much for the 50 back, even though she won a bronze in that race at the 2011 worlds in Shanghai.

"The 50 back is kind of just a fun event with no pressure," she said. "It's fun getting out there and seeing what can happen."

Franklin will go for her third gold of the meet in one of her most challenging races. She finished fourth in the 200 free at the London Olympics, just one-hundredth of a second away from a bronze, and has spent much of the past year trying to improve that stroke.

"It's going to be very, very tough tonight," Franklin said. "The field is so close. It really could come from anywhere. It's going to be a really good race."

Also on tap in the evening, South Africa's Chad le Clos is the favorite in the 200 butterfly, but he figures to be challenged by American Tyler Clary and China's Wu Peng.

Sun Yang of China goes for his second gold of the championships in the 800 free after winning the 400 free with a dominating performance. Connor Jaeger of the United States was the top qualifier in the semifinals.