Joy of six for Hosszu at short course worlds

HUNGARY’S Katinka Hosszu powered to her sixth gold at the Short Course World Swimming Championships on Saturday with another dominant display in an all-conquering year.

Swimming’s “Iron Lady” – a star of the Rio Olympics, where she won three gold medals – finished more than two seconds clear of her nearest rival to claim the 200m individual medley crown.

The 27-year-old had already lit up the championships in Windsor, Ontario, with victories in the 100m medley, 400m medley, 200m butterfly and both the 100m and 200m backstrokes.

On Saturday she added to her haul, leading from start to finish to come home in 2min 2.9sec, ahead of Ella Eastin of the United States, who touched in 2:05.02. Another American, Madisyn Cox, took bronze in 2:05.93.

But Hosszu was denied the opportunity to claim a seventh gold medal later on Saturday when she was pipped for first place by Brazil’s Etiene Medeiros in the final of the 50m backstroke.

Medeiros, the world record holder over the distance, produced a late spurt to edge out Hosszu in 25.82sec, with the Hungarian claiming silver in 25.99. Alexandra Margaret De Loof of the United States took bronze in 26.14.

Elsewhere Saturday, South Africa’s Chad le Clos continued his successful meet with his third gold of the championships in the 50m butterfly.

Le Clos, who had smashed his own world record time to claim gold in the 100m butterfly on Thursday, was once again too hot for the competition.

The 24-year-old from Durban hit the wall in 21.98sec, almost half a second faster than American Tom Shields, who took silver in 22.40. Australia’s David Morgan won bronze in 22.47.

But there was an upset for US teenager Lilly King, the Olympic champion, who suffered a surprise defeat in the 100m breaststroke against Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson. Atkinson, the world record holder, finished in 1:03.03, with King just behind in 1:03.35.