Ledecky wins gold at worlds

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Katie Ledecky claimed her first gold medal of the world championships July 24, cruising to a dominating win in the women’s 400-meter freestyle though she failed to break her own world record.

As expected, the 20-year-old American pulled away on the first lap and was essentially racing the clock the rest of the way. She finished in 3 minutes, 58.34 seconds — more than 3 seconds ahead of U.S. teammate Leah Smith. China’s Li Bingjie took the bronze.

Ledecky has set such a high standard that her time was a bit of a letdown. She finished nearly 2 seconds off the world record (3:56.46) she set at the Rio Olympics.

Of course, Ledecky likely wanted to conserve energy for her second event of the night, swimming the third leg of the 4x100 free relay. It’s all part of her audacious goal to win six gold medals covering 6,300 meters in Budapest.

Ledecky didn’t have much of a reaction after touching the wall, but she eventually broke into a big smile and hugged Smith.

Then, it was off to get ready for the relay.

In the first swimming final of the championships, China’s Sun Yang got a bit of payback for his Olympic defeat in the men’s 400 freestyle by pulling away from rival Mack Horton of Australia.

Yang was in a league of his own in a stacked field that featured the past three Olympic champions: Horton (2016), Sun (2012) and South Korea’s Park Taehwan (2008).

Basketball

HALL OF FAMER DIES AT 101 » John Kundla, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships, died Sunday. He was 101.

Son Jim Kundla said his father died at an assisted living facility in Northeast Minneapolis that he has called home for years.

Kundla coached George Mikan and the Lakers in the 1940s and 1950s, helping them become the NBA’s first dynasty. He went 423-302 before retiring at the age of 42 and went on to coach his alma mater, the University of Minnesota.

Kundla was the oldest living Hall of Famer in any of the four major pro sports.

Kundla was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995. A year later, he was named one of the league’s 10 greatest coaches as part of the league’s “NBA at 50” celebration.

Baseball

STRASBURG LEAVES GAME » Washington Nationals standout righthander Stephen Strasburg left his start Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks after two innings.

There was no immediate word from the team as to the reason.

Strasburg noticeably had problems with his command in the second inning, walking the No. 8 and 9 batters in the Arizona lineup.

The Nationals scored four runs in the first inning off Robbie Ray and led 5-0 when Strasburg departed.

Strasburg threw 51 pitches, 29 strikes, in his shortest outing of the season.

He entered the game with a 10-3 record and a 3.21 ERA.

College football

HAZING CASE WILL PROCEED » A judge has denied a motion by the University of Dayton to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former student claiming the school covered up allegations of football team hazing by not disclosing a campus police investigation to local law enforcement.

The Dayton Daily News reports a visiting judge ruled Friday all counts in the lawsuit could proceed. The lawsuit claims the former student and player suffered a cognitive brain injury from the hazing in 2014.

The school’s attorneys had argued Ohio’s hazing statute covers group initiations and that former student and offensive lineman Max Engelhart was already on the team.

Engelhart’s lawsuit says freshman players were hazed and forced to drink excessively by football upperclassmen in 2014.

The suit claims Engelhart suffered a cognitive brain injury during the hazing and is being treated with a drug typically given to Alzheimer’s patients.