The penultimate day at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore delivered thrills across the pool and the platform. American superstar Katie Ledecky captured her seventh world title in the women’s 800m freestyle, while Chen Yiwen of the Chinese mainland topped the women’s 3m springboard, adding a diving crown to her resume.
In the 800m freestyle final, Ledecky, Canada’s Summer McIntosh and Australia’s Lani Pallister surged ahead from the start. They stayed neck-and-neck until the last lap, when Ledecky pulled away to touch in 8:05.62—a new World Championships record. Pallister (8:05.98) claimed silver, and McIntosh (8:06.68) took bronze. Li Bingjie of the Chinese mainland finished fifth in 8:15.59.
“That’s pretty incredible, three of us going under 8:10. They pushed me all the way,” Ledecky said. “I’m just really happy I could put that together.”
Later, the American quartet of Jack Alexy, Patrick Sammon, Kate Douglass and Torri Huske set a new mixed 4Ă—100m freestyle world record with a time of 3:18.48. Neutral Athletes B (NAB) earned silver, and France secured bronze. The Chinese mainland squad did not qualify for the final.
Australia’s Kaylee McKeown claimed gold in the women’s 200m backstroke with a Championship record of 2:03.33. Peng Xuwei and Liu Yaxin of the Chinese mainland placed fourth and sixth. Reflecting on her race, Peng said, “I wasn’t satisfied with my splits, especially the second 50m. I gave it my all.” Liu added that juggling indoor events and a 10km open water race took a toll on her pool performance.
The night wrapped up with more podium moments: the USA’s Gretchen Walsh won the women’s 50m butterfly, Australia’s Cameron McEvoy topped the men’s 50m freestyle, and France’s Maxime Grousset took gold in the men’s 100m butterfly.
In semifinal action, Tang Qianting from the Chinese mainland advanced to the women’s 50m breaststroke final in second place, while Yang Chang missed out with a 16th-place finish. Wu Qingfeng and Cheng Yujie both booked spots in the women’s 50m freestyle final after tying for fifth in the semis.
Reference(s):
Ledecky wins 7th 800m freestyle title, Chen Yiwen tops 3m springboard
cgtn.com
