Chad Le Clos of South Africa won the men's 200m butterfly with a time of 1 minute 50.42 seconds, with the U.S.A.'s Trenton Julian second (+1.26) and Italy's Alberto Razzetti third (+1.54).

"I really wanted that podium, but it was still a good time," said Zirk after the race. "I haven't swam that fast during the whole season, so that's always positive."

"Usually in freestyle I put in better times during the season, and in the butterfly I swim better times in the championships, but as I said, it was a very good time. Some of the turns didn't work out and neither did the finish, but we'll make a more precise analysis after the race," Zirk added.

Ralf Tribuntsov finished eighth in the men's 50m backstroke with a time of 23.35 seconds. The Estonian was 0.02 seconds faster in the final than in the heats.

The top three were Isaac Cooper of Australia (22.61 seconds), Pieter Coetze of South Africa (22.75 seconds) and Poland's Kacper Stokowski (23.05 seconds).

"It was the best I could do in the moment," Tribuntsov said after the final. "It was positive that this was my fastest time over the three stages. However, there is still room for improvement, especially in the underwater part. I will keep my head up and go again tomorrow in my last start."

On Saturday, Tribuntsov is in action in the men's 100m backstroke while Zirk will compete in the 200m freestyle.

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