Ceccon breaks world record; Ledecky claims another title
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Italy’s Thomas Ceccon set a world record in the men’s 100 backstroke and Katie Ledecky claimed yet another gold at the swimming world championships on Monday.
Ceccon stunned the competition in Budapest by clocking 51.60 seconds to shave 0.15 seconds off the previous best mark set by American Ryan Murphy at the 2016 Olympics.
“Yesterday I swam 52.1, very easy,” Ceccon said. “I am feeling good in water and just doing my race, staying calm and focusing on my race. And that’s it.”
Murphy finished second, 0.37 seconds behind, followed by compatriot Hunter Armstrong, 0.38 behind Ceccon.
Ledecky extended her record title haul to 17 with her fourth in the 1,500 freestyle. She never looked threatened and clocked 15:30.15 — just under 10 seconds more than her world record from 2018 — to finish 14.74 seconds ahead of fellow American Katie Grimes.
Regan Smith got another gold for the United States in the women’s 100 backstroke.
Romania’s David Popovici set a world junior record to win the men’s 200 meters in 1:43.21 — 1.26 seconds ahead of the competition.
Transgender athletes banned from women’s competitions: The world governing body for swimming effectively barred transgender women from women’s international competition.
The vote by FINA, which administers international competitions in water sports, prohibits transgender women from competing unless they began medical treatments to suppress production of testosterone before going through one of the early stages of puberty, or by age 12, whichever occurred later. It establishes one of the strictest rules against transgender participation in international sports. Scientists believe the onset of male puberty gives transgender women a lasting physical advantage over athletes who were female at birth.
More than 70 percent of FINA’s member federations voted to adopt the policy, which was devised by a group that included athletes, scientists and medical and legal experts.
Meanwhile transgender athletes will be barred from women’s international rugby league matches while the sport’s governing body formulates its inclusion policy. The International Rugby League said it was continuing to review and update rules about transgender participation.