McKeown beats Smith again for world backstroke double
Another American, Claire Curzan, was third in 2:06.04.
McKeown picked up the 100m backstroke gold earlier this week in Singapore -- also beating Smith into second -- for her sixth career world title.
She also won the 100-200 backstroke double at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.
McKeown made a fast start but Smith held on and overtook her rival heading into the final lap.
McKeown switched up the gears to regain the lead and power towards the finish, although she fell just short of her own world record.
The Australian's time was the third-fastest swim ever.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
NBA Spurs agree to four-year extension with Fox: reports
Fox, who would have become a free agent next year but is now set through the 2029-30 campaign according to ESPN and The Athletic, was obtained in a trade with Sacramento last February. The 2023 NBA All-Star and 2024 league leader in steals averaged 19.7 points, 6.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals a game in 17 appearances for the Spurs last season before season-ending surgery on his left pinkie finger last March. Fox spent more than seven seasons in Sacramento and has career averages of 21.5 points, 6.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game. The 27-year-old American becomes a key player in the Spurs future plans alongside 21-year-old French star big man Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 (2.21m) All-Star who averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and a league-high 3.8 blocked shots a game last season after being the NBA Rookie of the Year two seasons ago. San Antonio, which boasts last season's NBA Rookie of the Year in guard Stephon Castle, also selected guard Dylan Harper with with second pick in June's NBA Draft.
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Djokovic withdraws from ATP Cincinnati Masters
Tournament officials confirmed the news to The Athletic, meaning the 38-year-old Serb will have played no matches between his Wimbledon semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner and the US Open start in three weeks. World number one Sinner, who like Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz skipped the current ATP Toronto Masters in order to rest and recover from Wimbledon, has been in Cincinnati since the weekend. Sinner and his team posted a golf course selfie to social media on Monday, one day after an opening practice session at the pre-US Open event. Djokovic, winner of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, first played Cincinnati in 2005 and won the last of his three titles there in 2023 after losing five previous finals. © 2025 AFP
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Shubman Gill: India's elegant captain
The stylish batsman scored a remarkable 754 runs in five Tests, falling just 20 shy of Sunil Gavaskar's long-standing series record for an Indian cricketer. Gill, nicknamed "Prince", arrived in England in early June under intense pressure and with a modest Test average of 35. Not only was he succeeding Rohit Sharma as captain, he was also filling the number four slot vacated by the great Virat Kohli, who followed Rohit into Test retirement in May. But Gill has led from the front in spectacular style, combining an effortless elegance with an ability to go through the gears and innovate when necessary. The 25-year-old scored 147 in his first innings of the series at Headingley. During the second Test at Edgbaston he compiled a majestic 269 in the first innings and a turbo-charged 161 in the second innings as India won to level the series. After a quiet third Test at Lord's, won by the hosts, Gill returned to form in Manchester, grafting for 103 in 238 balls as the tourists battled successfully to draw the match and keep the series alive. An unnecessary first-innings run-out in the fifth Test at the Oval left him an agonising 31 runs short of Gavaskar's mark and he fell for just 11 in his final innings of the campaign. Gill grew into his role as captain during a series in which he faced several challenges, including the vocal presence of several senior players and the limited availability of paceman Jasprit Bumrah. The series was still alive heading into the final match in London but India appeared to be sliding inexorably towards defeat before England suffered a dramatic collapse, with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj doing most of the damage. The nervy six-run win turned a potential 3-1 series defeat into a 2-2 draw, dramatically changing the narrative, and Gill collected India's player-of-the-series award to add gloss to his tour. Child prodigy Born in Fazilka, near the border with Pakistan, Gill moved to Mohali aged eight to be closer to better cricket facilities. As a boy he wanted to know what Kohli's scores and achievements were when he was at an equivalent age. And when Kohli, a former India captain, first saw his eventual successor in the nets, he said he had not even had 10 percent of Gill's talent when the same age. Gill made his one-day international debut in 2019 but it was in his first Test series, in Australia in 2020/21, that he caught the eye, notably with a fluent 91 in India's thrilling series-clinching win at the Gabba. His first Test hundred came in Chattogram at the end of 2022 and a month later, aged 23, he became the youngest player to make a one-day international double-century, smashing 208 off 149 balls against New Zealand. But it has not all been plain-sailing for the prodigiously talented batsman, whose average dipped below 30 after a duck against England in Hyderabad last year. Rahul Dravid, the then India coach, resisted the temptation to drop Gill, who went on to make two centuries during a series India won 4-1. Gill, who has skippered India in T20 cricket and leads the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, was the man chosen to replace Rohit as Test skipper despite his relative youth. He has passed his first major test, with elated India great Sachin Tendulkar posting on social media after Monday's thrilling success: "Series 2–2, Performance 10/10!"
