Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey is heading into the women’s 100m freestyle showdown as the favourite, after qualifying the fastest out of the 16 swimmers in the semi-finals at La Defense Arena in Paris.

Haughey, who notched a silver in Tokyo, clocked 52.64 seconds, 0.08 seconds ahead of Australia’s Shayna Jack in second place.

The 26-year-old SAR star was only fourth at the halfway mark, but moved past her rivals with a late charge.

China's Yang Junxuan also punched her final ticket alongside world recorder holder Sarah Sjoestroem, but Wu Qingfeng barely missed out on a spot after finishing ninth overall.

Earlier in the pool, China's Pan Zhanle also qualified fastest in the men's 100m freestyle semi-finals.

The world and Olympic record holder will go up against Australia's Kyle Chalmers, the 2016 champion who set a time of 47.58 seconds, 0.37 seconds slower than Yang.