U.S.’ Dressel wins gold in 100

Caeleb Dressel put the United States back on top in swimming’s glamour event. Chase Kalisz proved to be a worthy successor to Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

Call it a changing of the guard for the American men.

For Katie Ledecky, on the other hand, it was a more familiar result — another gold medal after the biggest defeat of her career.

Ledecky earned her fourth gold of the world championships in Budapest, Hungary, by anchoring the U.S. victory in the 800-meter freestyle relay, taking over with a slight lead before powering away to win by a full body length.

About 24 hours after settling for silver in the 200 free, when she was passed on the final lap by Italy’s Federica Pellegrini, Ledecky reclaimed the more familiar top spot on the medal podium along with teammates Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford and Melanie Margalis. The winning time was 7 minutes 43.39 seconds. China took the silver and Australia the bronze.

The 20-year-old Dressel emerged as America’s newest sprinting star in 100 free, holding off longtime team stalwart Nathan Adrian. Dressel got off to a blistering start and won in a relative rout in the down-and-back race, touching in 47.17. Adrian surged from behind over the final strokes to claim the silver in 47.87, edging France’s Mehdy Metella.

Kalisz extended America’s rule of the 200 individual medley, rallying to claim his first major international championship in 1:55.56. The Americans have won the event at eight straight world championships, not to mention at the last four Olympics — with Phelps or Lochte winning every time.