USA women win 4x100m gold, Sjostrom claims ‘world record’

Great Britain’s Siobhan O’Connor competes in a women’s 200m medley heat during the swimming competition at the 2017 FINA World Championships

in Budapest, on July 23. (AFP)

BUDAPEST, July 23, (AFP): Katie Ledecky earned a second gold medal on Sunday at the world aquatics championships in Budapest by helping the United States win the women’s 4x100m freestyle final.

Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom had set a world record of 51.71sec in the opening leg, becoming the first woman to break the 52-second barrier.

The USA clocked three minutes, 31.72 seconds with Australia taking silver at 0.29secs back, while the Netherlands earned bronze at 0.92.

Ledecky finished the opening day of the world champs with two golds after From left: Silver medalist Australia’s Mack Horton, gold medalist China’s Sun Yang and bronze medalist Italy’s Gabriele Detti celebrate on the podium of the men’s 400m freestyle final during the swimming competition

at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest on July 23. (AFP)

United States’ gold medal winner Katie Ledecky listens to the national anthem during the ceremony for the women’s 400-meter final during the swimming competitions of the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on July 23. (AP)

Australian rival of ‘dirty tricks’ to try and put the freestyle specialist off his game.

Sun’s victory in Budapest means he now has eight world gold medals spanning four championships dating back to Shanghai in 2011.

He has now won the 400m world title at each of the last three championships after his Barcelona 2013 and Kazan 2015 triumphs.

Horton could not hide his disappointment after the race and said his time was disappointing. “I thought I would have

Great Britain’s Adam Peaty dives at the start of a men’s 100m breaststroke heat during the swimming competition at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest Hungary, on July 23.

(AFP)

been faster, the time stings more than losing,” said the 21-year-old.

“I thought I was capable of more tonight, I tried to be stronger in the front part of the race.

“This is the start of the cycle towards Tokyo,” he added with one eye on defending his Olympic title in 2020.

Two years on from sleeping rough in Budapest on a perilous trek from Syria to Germany, teenage refugee Yusra Mardini is back in the Hungarian capital competing in the world swimming championships.