Ledecky leads US charge
Budapest, July 28: Katie Ledecky claimed her 13th career world championship gold medal on Thursday as the USA ruled the pool in Budapest with a hat-trick of victories.
Ledecky led the USA to the women’s 4x200m freestyle title with a powerful anchor leg to win her fourth gold medal in the Hungarian capital and the 13th world title of her career.
Ledecky sealed gold for the USA quartet, alongside Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford, Melanie Margalis, as she held off China’s Li Bingjie, who took silver for China, while Adriane Titmus earned bronze for Australia.
“It was a big victory for us,” said Ledecky.
It was the perfect response after the 20-year-old Ledecky was beaten into joint second in Wednesday’s 200m freestyle — her first defeat in 13 finals at world championships.
“I had no frustation about yesterday any more. I had confidence in my other team mates, that we can do it together.”
Ledecky has now won five medals at these championships after gold in the 400m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, the 4x100m, plus that 200m silver.
Another gold beckons for her on Saturday night when she defends her 800m freestyle crown as the reigning world and Olympic champion.
Ledecky helped the USA quartet win gold after Chase Kalisz had earlier won the men’s 200m individual medley gold.
He touched the wall at one minute, 55.56 seconds, with Japan’s Kosuke Hagino taking silver at 0.45sec and China’s Wang Shun earning bronze at 0.72.
It means he follows in the footsteps of compatriots Michael Phelps, who won the 200m IM gold medal at four Olympic Games from 2004 until 2016, and Lochte, who won four titles in the event from 2009 until 2015.
Caeleb Dressel and Nathan Adrian came first and second respectively in the men’s 100m freestyle final as the Americans dominated.
Elsewhere at the Duna Arena on Thursday, Mireia Belmonte overcame a sore throat to win the women’s 200m butterfly title to add to her Olympic gold medal. MANUEL WINS WOMEN'S
100M FREESTYLE Simone Manuel of the US won the women’s 100m freestyle gold on Friday. Manuel, the joint Olympic champion, touched the wall at 52.27 seconds with Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, the world-record holder, at 0.04 back while Pernille Blume of Denmark took bronze at 0.42.
Later, Russia’s Evgeny Rylov won the men's 200m backstroke title, clocking one minute, 53.61 seconds — AFP