McIntosh and Marchand clinch medley doubles; Tunisian Jaouadi claims distance double

Qatar Tribune

a day ago

DPA
Singapore
Canada's Summer McIntosh stormed to her fourth gold from five individual events at the World Aquatics Championships on Sunday in the 400 metres medley, and French star Leon Marchand was almost as dominant in the men's race.
Marchand also got a silver on the final day of competition as part of the French team in the 4x100m medley relay which was won by the neutral athletes from Russia.
McIntosh was not so lucky as Canada placed fifth in the women's relay where the US team of Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Terri Huske clocked a world record 3 minutes 49.34 seconds.
While McIntosh and Marchand won both medley events, Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi followed up on his 800m gold with victory in the 1,500m freestyle where German Florian Wellbrock failed to get a fifth Singapore gold after a sweep of all four open water events.
McIntosh clocked a championship record 4:25.78 seconds for an eighth career world title in the 400m medley, finishing a massive 7.48 seconds ahead of Australian Jenna Forrester and Mio Narita of Japan, who shared silver.
Triple Olympic champion McIntosh had earlier in Singapore won the 200m medley, 200m butterfly and 400m freestyle. Her bid for a golden sweep of five individual golds did not happen when she had to settle for bronze in the 800m freestyle.
In the men's race, Marchand was in a league of his own en route to victory in 4:04.73 minutes, 3.59 seconds ahead of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita. Ilia Borodin, a neutral athlete from Russia, earned bronze.
Marchand only competed in the 200m and 400m medley in Singapore, and not in the 200m butterfly and 200m breaststroke which he had also won at the home Olympics last year in Paris for four golds. He now has seven world titles.
In the 1,500m, Jaouadi pulled away from Sven Schwarz of Germany in the final 100 metres for an identical one-two finish as in the 800m.
Jaouadi clocked 14:34.41 minutes, with Schwarz 1.28 seconds back.
American Bobby Finke, the twice Olympic champion and world record holder, earned bronze 2.19 seconds behind the winner.
'I know that everyone was feeling the pain and maybe I was the strongest mentally,' Jaouadi said.
Wellbrock had led the heats but failed to get a second gold over the distance, two weeks after claiming an unprecedented sweep of the four open water golds. He finished almost 10 seconds off the pace in fifth.
Elsewhere, Kliment Kolesnikov lived up to his top billing with 50m backstroke gold in 23.68 seconds ahead of fellow Russian Pawel Samusenko and South African Pieter Coetze, who shared silver .49 of a second back.
'It was a tough years since my first world championships. I didn't think I would be so fast,' said Kolesnikov, who missed his world record by a mere 13-hundredths.
Kolesnikov got his first gold after a silver and two bronze in 2019, having not been eligible at the last three worlds due to sanctions against Russia which can now send athletes again. Coetze got his third Singapore medal, to go with 100m gold and 200m silver.
Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte got a fourth straight women's 50m breastroke gold in 29.55 seconds for a total tally of six world titles, while American great Lilly King missed the podium in fifth place in her last career race.
'This is what I wanted to do my whole life. I am very grateful,' the triple Olympic and 11-time world champion King said.
There was also no podium for team-mate Walsh in the 50m freestyle as the 100m butterfly champion came home fourth, with gold going to Australia'a Meg Harris in 24.02. But Walsh then returned later for relay gold ahead of Australia.