Swimming-Ledecky throws down the gauntlet ahead of 800 freestyle showdown with McIntosh
(Reuters) -Katie Ledecky showed it will take a monumental effort to pry the 800 metres freestyle title from her grip after the American great came home more than five seconds quicker that Summer McIntosh in the world championships heats on Friday.
Ledecky, a four-time Olympic and six-times world champion in the event, posted a time of eight minutes and 14.62 seconds, with Australian Lani Pallister second quickest (8:17.06) and 18-year-old Canadian McIntosh third fastest (8:19.88).
McIntosh is attempting to match Michael Phelps's record of five individual titles at a single world championship and while she already has three in the bag, beating Ledecky in the 800 looks like her biggest challenge.
Ledecky, 28, broke her own 800 world record in May, swimming 8:04.12 to improve a mark she set nearly a decade ago at the Rio Games, but McIntosh has been making waves in the event.
She posted the third-fastest time ever in June and ended Ledecky's 13-year unbeaten streak in 2024 when she bested the American at a sectionals meeting in Florida.
McIntosh said she had been conserving energy for the final.
"My goal was just to win my heat, to pretty much secure that I'll get a lane for tomorrow night's final, and do that with the least amount of energy possible," she added.
Serbian Andrej Barna was quickest in the men's 50 freestyle heats (21.44), with Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy of Australia fourth (21.53).
McEvoy's compatriot Kyle Chalmers, a former Olympic and world champion in the 100, failed to make the semi-finals while David Popovici pulled out of the event after sealing both the 100 and 200 titles this week.
Kaylee McKeown topped the women's 200 backstroke heats with a swim of 2:08.01, while her American rival Regan Smith was fifth fastest with 2:08.65.
Defending champion Claire Curzan, who completed a world 50, 100 and 200 backstroke treble in Doha last year, was third quickest.
Swiss Noe Ponti was top seed into the men's 100 butterfly semi-finals with a time of 50.68, leading a tight field of 16 swimmers who were all separated by just 0.9 seconds.
There were some concerns over Gretchen Walsh's fitness when she withdrew from the 100 freestyle prelims on Thursday, after sickness swept through the U.S. team camp in the lead-up to the meet, but she squashed those fears by topping the 50 butterfly heats with a time of 25.22.
Olympic champions Britain will be favourites for the men's 4x200 freestyle relay gold in the evening session after finishing quickest (7:03.98) in the heats.
The evening programme will begin with Australian Mollie O'Callaghan's attempt to add the 100 freestyle title to her 200 crown.
Medals will also be handed out in the men's 200 breaststroke and 200 backstroke, as well as the women's 200 breaststroke.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
9 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
'Struggling' Marchand targets second gold at swimming worlds
SINGAPORE: Leon Marchand admitted he was "struggling" on the final day of the world championships on Sunday after qualifying for the 400m individual medley final with an uncharacteristically sluggish swim. The French superstar broke the world record and won gold in the 200m individual medley earlier this week in Singapore but he was seventh fastest in the 400m medley heats with a time of 4min 13.19sec. Marchand, who broke Michael Phelps's 400m individual medley world record at the world championships in Japan two years ago, said his performance "worries" him ahead of Sunday night's final. "I would have preferred to set the best time this morning and it didn't go as planned, I was struggling a bit," said the 23-year-old. "Strange, because I slept well, I felt fine this morning, but that's swimming – sometimes you dive in and you don't feel good." Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita set the fastest time in 4:10.39, almost three seconds quicker than Marchand. Marchand is swimming a lighter programme than usual in Singapore, competing only in the individual medley and relay events. His heat on Sunday morning was only his fifth swim of the championships. "It worries me, but I have a lane tonight so in the end it's OK," said the Frenchman. Summer McIntosh was fastest in the women's 400m individual medley heats, the morning after her epic battle with American great Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle final. McIntosh saw her bid to join Phelps as the only swimmers to win five individual golds at a single world championships end after finishing third behind Ledecky and Australia's Lani Pallister. McIntosh said she "got all of my thoughts and emotions out last night", before coming through the 400m individual medley heats in 4:35.56. "I'm really just focusing on the 400 IM and putting a good time down and touching the wall first," said the 18-year-old Canadian, who has already won three golds in Singapore. "There's more reflection that I can do from what happened last night in the 800 but I think that's reflection that will be happening at the start of next season." Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi also qualified for the final in a third-fastest time of 4:36.49, less than a second behind McIntosh. Yu won her heat and will be appearing in her third individual final in Singapore. She finished fourth in both the 200m individual medley and 200m butterfly and picked up a bronze medal as a member of China's 4x200m women's freestyle relay team.
The Star
39 minutes ago
- The Star
Rugby-Farrell's Lions fall short of greatness after conquering Australia
SYDNEY (Reuters) -The British & Irish Lions had already done enough to assure their legacy before their dream of a 3-0 series triumph was washed away in a maelstrom of lightning, rain and defiant Australians on Saturday night. Lions test series triumphs are rare and the 2025 squad captained by Maro Itoje and coached by Andy Farrell will take their rightful place alongside the esteemed post-war tourists of 1971, 1974, 1989, 1997 and 2013. "I know we're disappointed but we should be unbelievably proud of what we achieved as a group," Farrell said after the 22-12 defeat. "Lions tours are tough and ... upon reflection after tonight, I'm sure we'll be super proud of the achievements. "How we got the job done in that type of theatre will live with us forever. These lads have been an absolute dream to work with. It's been the time of our lives." In fact, had the Lions reproduced their dominance of the first hour of the Brisbane opener and final 50 minutes in Melbourne to take a third test win in Sydney, it might only have diminished their achievement in taking out the series. Starting with Ben Youngs last year, there have been plenty of voices suggesting that Australian rugby has fallen so far that the country no longer deserves the honour of the Lions visit every 12 years. Those voices were noticeably absent from the Lions camp during a series where the two teams were separated by only a single point over the three tests. Lions coach Farrell is convinced his old friend and mentor Joe Schmidt is building something special in Australia and if he is correct, it may be a couple of years before the achievement of his squad is fully appreciated. "Come the 2027 World Cup they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, 100%," Farrell said this week. "It would be tragic not to tour here. We've had a blast." Farrell may have been formed as a player in rugby league but the Englishman has shown over the last eight weeks that few understand the spirit and dynamics of the Lions better. SQUAD COHESION In Itoje, he chose a captain who was an automatic selection in the test team and there was never a hint of the sort of squad divisions that have plagued previous tours once it became clear which players were first choice. "It hasn't felt like there's been any separation in the group whatsoever," New Zealander Andrew Goodman, one of Farrell's assistant coaches, said this week. "A big part of his philosophy as a coach is to make sure everyone's all-in all the time in terms of what we do on the field and off the field. "He's a great man motivator. He's a great man around connecting, not just the playing group, but the wider staff and management group as well. "He's an amazing coach and I'm privileged to work underneath him." Itoje said Farrell's attention to detail had surprised him and thought the way the tour had been organised ensured the players formed genuine bonds with each other. "If we won every game and we absolutely hated one another in some ways. Yes, that's what you're going for, because it's a test series win," the England lock said. "But I think life is more than that." That squad cohesion was vital because it quickly became clear that Farrell, on sabbatical from his job as Ireland coach, was going to rely on a test team with a distinctly Irish tinge. LIONS OOZE CLASS That was most controversial in his back row selections, where the likes of Wales captain Jac Morgan and English youngster Henry Pollock missed out and the trio of Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan and Tom Curry started all three tests. His selection paid off with Beirne named Player of the Series and the energy and power of all three ensuring the Lions were often dominant and never overwhelmed by the Wallabies. Farrell's halfback combination of scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell was also locked in and paid huge dividends with the Scottish flyhalf rivalling Beirne for individual series honours. The tour started with an understrength Lions side losing to an understrength Argentina in Dublin, but once the Lions arrived in Australia they oozed class in all areas of the park. Six wins in six tour matches followed with only the inaugural First & Pasifika XV coming close to claiming a famous upset in Melbourne. Some 450,000 souls, many of them red-clad travelling fans, packed into stadiums around country to watch the nine games and prove the spirit of the Lions was alive and kicking after the COVID-impacted 2021 tour had played out to empty stands. The Lions will be back on the road in 2029 and it would be a huge surprise if Farrell was not asked to repeat his coaching alchemy against the All Blacks in New Zealand. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-Bayern's Pavlovic suffers eye socket fracture
(Reuters) -Bayern Munich midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering an eye socket fracture in training, the German club said. The 21-year-old Germany international had undergone successful surgery, the club said in a statement on Saturday without providing a timeline on his return. Bayern are already without playmaker Jamal Musiala, who sustained a fibula fracture with a broken and dislocated ankle at the Club World Cup last month, while left back Alphonso Davies is out due to an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear. Bayern play VfB Stuttgart in the German Super Cup final on August 16 before beginning their Bundesliga title defence against RB Leipzig at home six days later. (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
