Peaty and Sjostrom set pool alight at world championships
LEDECKY LOOKS UNSTOPABBLE AS SHE BIDS FOR 12TH WORLDS GOLD
ith Katie Ledecky taking the night off, Adam Peaty and Sarah Sjostrom shared the spotlight yesterday at the world championships.
Peaty romped to victory in the 100-metre breaststroke, while Sjostrom just missed breaking her own world record in the 100 butterfly.
Peaty made the turn under his world-record pace from last summer’s Rio Olympics but faded a bit on the return lap to touch in 57.47 seconds. The British star missed his mark of 57.13 yet still turned in the second-fastest time ever.
Having already set a world record with her leadoff leg in the 4x100 freestyle relay, Sjostrom nearly took down another mark in the fly with a winning time of 55.53. That was just 0.05 seconds off the Swede’s gold-medal triumph at Rio.
She is the first reigning Olympic champion to add the world title in the event.
Australia’s Emma McKeon took silver at 0.65sec back with Kelsi Worrell taking bronze at 0.84.
Sjostrom broke the 100-metre freestyle record on Sunday when she became the first woman to swim under 52 seconds. Sjostrom first won the 100-metre butterfly title as a 15-year-old at the 2009 championships in Rome.
She failed to defend it in 2011 in Shanghai, but took gold again at both the 2013 championships in Barcelona and then again two years ago in Kazan.
Gold-medal machine
Meanwhile, gold-medal machine Katie Ledecky cruised into the women’s 1,500-metre freestyle final from yesterday’s heats at the world aquatic championships to stay on course for a historic 12th worlds gold.
Ledecky was the fastest qualifier at 15 minutes, 47.54 seconds — nearly 18 seconds ahead of the field — to maintain her iron grip on the event.
“I feel good. I just wanted to have a good controlled easy swim and get a good lane for the final,” said Ledecky.
The unstoppable 20-yearold already picked up two golds on Sunday night, winning the 400-metre title for the third championships in a row, then helping the United States win the 4x100-metre relay.
That left her level with Missy Franklin on a record 11 gold medals at world championships.
Ledecky is on course to win her third title — of a possible six here — in today’s 1,500-metre final which would make her the first woman to win 12 world championship golds.
Fresh from his 400-metre freestyle gold medal on Sunday, Sun Yang was the fastest in the men’s 200-metre freestyle heats into yesterday’s semis, but admitted feeling jaded.
“I was a little tired, I didn’t do my best in the heat, but I didn’t have to,” said the 25-year-old Chinese superstar.
Despite his fatigue, Sun clocked one minutes, 45.78 seconds with Britain’s James Guy, the defending world champion, just 0.44secs back.