China's Olympic champion Zhang Yufei reaches women's 100m butterfly final

FUKUOKA, Japan, July 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic champion Zhang Yufei stormed into the final of the women's 100m butterfly at the World Aquatics Championships here on Sunday.

Zhang, the 200m butterfly gold winner at the Tokyo Olympics, clocked a leading time of 56.40 seconds in the semifinals.

Torri Huske of the United States was second in 56.76 seconds while Canada's Margaret MacNeil was third in 56.78.

In the first round qualifying heats Sunday morning, the 25-year-old Zhang was also the fastest in 56.89 seconds to lead the field of 49 competitors.

Eight swimmers have qualified for the final on Monday night.