Meg Harris puts gold stamp on swim worlds but US pip Australia on medal table
Australia, with eight gold, six silver and six bronze, finished second on the medal tally behind the United States (nine, 11, nine).
The 23-year-old Harris, who is partially deaf, was stunned at her success – not least because she swims the entire lap with her eyes closed.
'It's normal for me,' Harris said of her shut-eye habit. 'I do it a lot in the 50m and in the 100m, I always do it on the second lap. So I'm not quite sure what it is, I do it in training as well, but I guess it's just like trying to focus on my stroke … not 100%, that's just what happens.'
Harris clocked 24.02 seconds to claim her first individual title in a career also featuring nine relay golds at Olympics and world championships.
'Stoked ... I have achieved what the dream that I've been dreaming of this whole time,' said Harris, who won silver in the event at last year's Paris Olympics.
In the women's 400m medley final, Australia's Forrester finished second behind Canadian megastar Summer McIntosh, who won four gold medals in Singapore.
Sam Short's illness-troubled titles finished with fourth place in the men's 1500m, Isaac Cooper was seventh in the men's 50m backstroke and Brendon Smith came last in the men's 400m medley.
And the Dolphins' women's 4x100m medley team of Kaylee McKeown, Ella Ramsay, Alex Perkins and Mollie O'Callaghan took silver in the last race of the championships, won by the US in a world record time of three minutes 49.34 seconds.
O'Callaghan was Australia's most successful swimmer of the meet with three gold medals and two silvers.
Kaylee McKeown collected two golds, repeating her 100-200m backstroke double from last year's Olympics, plus a silver while Cam McEvoy became Australia's oldest gold medallist at a world titles, winning the men's 50m freestyle aged 31.
Sign up to Australia Sport
Get a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports desk
after newsletter promotion
Another veteran, 27-year-old Kyle Chalmers, won gold as part of the men's 4x100m freestyle relay, and bronze in the individual 100m.
Meanwhile, in the diving world titles in Singapore, Australia's Cassiel Rousseau won the men's 10m platform for the second time.
The 24-year-old produced consistent excellence in Sunday night's final – he led after the first dive, was second after the next two, then held the gold medal position for the final three dives.
Rousseau described his gold, which follows his victory in the event at the 2023 world championships, as 'unexpected'.
'It definitely feels amazing,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wales Online
7 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Lions star accused of 'criminal' act as damning image emerges
Lions star accused of 'criminal' act as damning image emerges Fans were left in disbelief at what they were seeing in the third Test in Sydney Andrew Porter of the British & Irish Lions has found himself in the firing line after a controversial outing in Sydney in the third and final Test (Image: Getty Images) British and Irish Lions star Andrew Porter has seen his methods pulled under the microscope again by furious Australia fans, after the Wallabies saved a series whitewash with in an eventful victory in Sydney. Tries from Dylan Pietsch, Max Jorgensen and Tate McDermott proved enough to seal victory for the hosts, with the Lions responding with touchdowns from Jac Morgan and Will Stuart. On a day where play was delayed by severe weather, there were several key talking points to emerge from the contest. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. Loosehead prop Porter was just one such topic of discussion, with his scrummaging technique called into question by fans online. The Irishman's angle in driving the scrum has been called out by fans before, but reached an apex on social media during this defeat, with some onlookers in disbelief at what he was able to get away with by referee Nika Amashukeli's whistle in the loss, but fans online are still dismayed by what he was able to get away with. Just hours after the match, one user on X shared an aerial image of Porter's scrummaging, which appeared to demonstrate his unusual driving angle. Article continues below 'Porter up to his normal tricks again yesterday," they wrote. "And the most astonishing thing is? It was the Aussies who got penalised in this scrum!' Content cannot be displayed without consent This post sparked plenty of healthy debate, with another user musing 'Not even Shane Warne got that much turn in Australia!' Another fan wrote: 'How Porter is allowed to scrummage at that angle is beyond me. Should be a penalty almost every scrum." "Andrew Porter would never win a scrum if he was forced to scrum straight," said another. "Nika allowing him to scrum skew just to get the ball out.' 'I'm sorry but Andrew Porter on those aerial views is a ****** criminal for the way he binds down to scrum," was the view of another fan. "WOW. And they are all in front of the referee!!!' But despite the fume from some, there were a few onlookers that did offer some support to Porter. Former referee Nigel Owens wrote: 'Although I am not disputing either way with you on this image, you can only make an accurate call if you see the whole sequence in motion, not just a still image.' Porter was eventually taken off just after half-time and was replaced with Ellis Genge, but some felt even his replacement was guilty of attempting to manipulate the scrum laws. Article continues below "I noticed it consistently across all three games from both Porter and Genge. To the point where it felt like they'd been deliberately coached to do it."
The Independent
7 minutes ago
- The Independent
Singapore F1 tycoon pleads guilty in landmark corruption case
A billionaire, best known for bringing the Formula One night race to Singapore, has pleaded guilty to a charge linked to a landmark corruption scandal that shocked the Asian financial hub known for its squeaky clean government. Ong Beng Seng, 78, has conceded to obstructing justice by helping ex-transport minister Subramaniam Iswaran in covering up evidence as he was being investigated in a corruption case. However, Ong will be granted judicial mercy by both the prosecution and defence due to his ongoing chronic illness argued for him to be fined in lieu of imprisonment. In a case that shocked Singapore – one of the least corrupt countries globally – Ong was accused of giving kickbacks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to Iswaran. The list of luxury gifts sent by Ong included 2022 a trip on his private jet to Doha, a stay at the Four Seasons there, and a return business class ticket worth S$5,700 ($4,422). The former transport minister was also made the chair of chairman of a committee for the F1 night race. Ong will be sentenced on 15 August. Ong initially faced up to two years in prison for abetting a public servant in accepting gifts, and up to seven years for abetting the obstruction of justice. However, the city-state's courts allow judicial mercy, allowing a more lenient sentence in exceptional mitigating circumstances, such as a terminal illness or when imprisonment could pose a high risk of endangering a life. The business tycoon had been suffering from a rare bone marrow cancer diagnosed in 2020, a type of it which is incurable cancer that affects his blood plasma cells and renders him immunocompromised. 'Ong's home environment will be more pristine than prison,' lawyer Cavinder Bull said. 'Ong is living within a narrow margin where there is no room for error.' In 2024, Iswaran was sentenced to one year in prison in 2024 for accepting gifts from Ong more than $300,000 worth of gifts, which included items such as a Brompton bicycle and race tickets. Ong gave Iswaran tickets to English Premier League soccer matches, the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, and London musicals. In February, Iswaran was put under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence. At Iswaran's sentencing last October, the court was told that the minister requested Ong to bill for the business class flight from Doha to Singapore after Ong told him that the flight was being investigated by the corruption watchdog. Ong had informed Iswaran that his associates had been questioned, and a private flight manifest with Iswaran's name on it for a flight had been seized by the corruption watchdog during investigations. Ong pleaded guilty to belated billing Iswaran for the expenses and on a second charge for abetting Iswaran's acceptance of an all-expenses-paid trip to Doha, valued at approximately S$20,850 (US$16,188). Both were arrested in July 2023, and it was alleged that Iswaran received gifts worth more than S$403,000 ($311,882). Born in 1946 in what was then Malaya, Ong moved to Singapore as a child and went on to establish Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) in the 1980s – a hotel and property firm with global brands such as Four Seasons and Marriott under its umbrella. The current contract, secured through a multiyear agreement with Singapore's tourism board, is set to run until 2028.
Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Bundee Aki reveals his wife gave birth in a CAR on the day of the British & Irish Lions' first Test in Australia
The British and Irish Lions completed their first series win in over a decade following a number of impressive performances down under. While Andy Farrell's side were denied a clean sweep against a resurgent Wallabies side on Saturday, the tour still marks a significant achievement for the team and a highlight of the players' careers. Perhaps none more so than New Zealand-born Ireland international Bundee Aki. While many of his team-mates will be enjoying some downtime ahead of their returns to club rugby, Aki looks set to be immediately occupied once he arrives home. That is, after the 35-year-old revealed he and his wife welcomed a fifth child during the Lions' tour of Australia. 'I haven't seen my family for eight weeks. I have a newborn child who I haven't met yet.' Aki told reporters on the final day of the series. 'A girl. She was born when we were playing in Brisbane, so I haven't met her. Her name is Aine, so I'm looking forward to going and meeting her.' He added that his fifth child had actually been born in the car as his wife Kayla rushed to hospital. 'It was a good day. I was in the team hotel. I knew we were overdue. The missus calls me and she's like, 'My water hasn't broken but I'm going to the hospital, I'm feeling contractions'. 'We were getting ready for the team meeting pre-match and she calls back and says she's now on the way to the hospital. 'Five minutes later, she sends a photo - her water had broken. I was like, 'Cool, OK, are you almost there?' This is like 30 or 40 minutes away from the hospital. I said, 'You'll be all right, Mum is there'. 'Ten minutes later, she video calls. I was like, 'What's going on?' - and I saw a baby on the video call. She had it in the car on the way to the hospital. They're both strong and healthy, so happy days.'
