Fencing: Japan wins 1st world men's epee team title
It was the second title of the championships for anchor Koki Kano, who teamed up with Seiya Asami, Akira Komata and Masaru Yamada, following his epee individual triumph on Sunday.
"We proved we can beat a strong team like Hungary," Kano said. "I was looking for a title double, but I'm surprised I actually managed to do that."
At last year's Paris Olympics, Hungary won the men's epee team gold by edging Japan 26-25 in overtime in the final.
Also on Wednesday, Japan settled for fourth in the women's sabre team event won by France after losing in the third-place contest to Hungary.
Japan finished the championships with three medals -- two golds and a bronze.
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Japan Today
17 hours ago
- Japan Today
McIntosh, Ledecky set up 800m world title showdown
Katie Ledecky was fastest in qualifying for the women's 800m freestyle final in Friday's heats at the world championships in Singapore swimming By Andrew MCKIRDY Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky set up a showdown for the ages at swimming's world championships in Singapore when both stars cruised into the 800m freestyle final on Friday. American great Ledecky, 28, is the undisputed master in the event, having won the title at the last four Olympics and updating her own world record in May this year. But McIntosh, 10 years Ledecky's junior, is in the mood to snatch her crown as she looks to join Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to win five individual titles at a single world championships. The 18-year-old Canadian has already bagged three golds from three events in Singapore and she clocked the third-fastest 800m freestyle time ever in June. The other nine times on the top 10 all belong to Ledecky but McIntosh's form suggests a changing of the guard could be on the cards. Ledecky fired the first shots in Friday morning's heats, qualifying for Saturday's final fastest in a time of 8min 14.62sec, with McIntosh third in 8:19.88. McIntosh said she felt in good shape after winning 200m butterfly gold the previous night, and she had the rest of the day and the following morning to recover before the final. "I felt a lot better than I thought I was going to this morning," McIntosh said after her heat. "I've been recovering really well, probably the best I ever have in a big meet like this. "We're on day six so to feel like this is really promising." Titanic tussle - Ledecky made her international breakthrough in the 800m free, winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics at the age of 15. She went on to dominate the event for more than a decade and showed that she still had plenty to offer in June when she smashed her own world record, which had stood since 2016. McIntosh also headed to Singapore in red-hot form, breaking three world records in a matter of days at the Canadian trials in June. McIntosh and Ledecky have already had their first head-to-head in Singapore, with McIntosh coming out on top to win gold in the 400m free. The Canadian is a relative newcomer to the 800m free but she safely negotiated the heats with the minimum of fuss. "My goal was just to win my heat to pretty much secure that I'll get a lane for tomorrow night's final and do that with the least amount of energy possible," she said. "I'm just trying to get through it because I've never really done 800 heats before so I don't know what to expect. "I'm just glad it's over and done with now." Australia's Lani Pallister and Italy's Simona Quadarella will also hope to stand on the podium after Saturday's race but all eyes will be on Ledecky and McIntosh in the battle for gold. "Having all those girls around me will definitely push me to a really good time and I'm really excited to race Katie tomorrow night," said McIntosh. © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
More gold for Marchand, McIntosh at worlds
Leon Marchand of France, center, celebrates after winning gold medal in the men's 200-meter individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) swimming By STEPHEN WADE Léon Marchand of France won gold in the 200-meter individual medley at the swimming world championships on Thursday — and it had a Texas flavor to it. American swimmer Shaine Casas claimed the silver and Hubert Kós of Hungary took the bronze. The three — from three different countries — all train with American Bob Bowman at the University of Texas at Austin. Bowman is famous, of course, for training legendary American Michael Phelps. Marchand, who shattered the 200 IM world record just 24 hours earlier in the semifinal, almost did it again as he finished in 1 minute, 53.68 seconds. That was just off his Wednesday mark of 1:52.69. Both times blew away the old mark of 1:54.00 set 14 years ago by American Ryan Lochte. 'It was a bit tough today, but it was great,' Marchand said. "I know Shaine always goes out super fast so I knew I couldn't be far off him. It was a battle all the way to the end, so that was cool for me.' Marchand won four individual gold medals a year ago in the Paris Olympics but is only swimming for two individual golds in Singapore. He already holds the 400 IM record of 4:02.50 from the 2023 worlds. That one may go on Sunday on the eighth and closing day. 'That's still a whole new challenge,' Marchand added of the 400. 'I know I've gained a lot of power, but I'm not sure yet it makes a big difference over the 400. We'll see.' He also praised Bowman and said it was difficult to come back after his draining record swim. 'I was going for the title and I was racing my teammates,' Marchand said. 'We're sharing the podium together. That just shows how good a coach Bowman is at swimming.' Summer McIntosh of Canada won the 200-meter butterfly for her third gold of the championships. She was on pace to break the world record after 150 meters but faded, finishing in 2:01.99. The record is 2:01.81 set in 2009 in the super-suit era by Liu Zige of China. McIntosh will also start training this fall under Bowman at Texas. American Regan Smith took silver (2:04.99), with bronze for Elizabeth Dekkers of Australia (2:06.12). Yu Zidi, the 12-year-old Chinese prodigy, was fourth in 2:06.43. It was her second fourth-place finish at the worlds. 'My coach and I, our goal was to break the world record,' McIntosh said, openly disappointed she just missed it. 'That's what I've been training for — I missed it by that little, and I know that I messed up the last 15 meters of my race. I didn't reach my goal today.' It was, however, the second fastest time in history. David Popovici of Romania took the 100 freestyle in 46.51, the second fastest time in history behind the 46.40 set last year by Pan Zhanle of China. Pan failed to reach the final. American Jack Alexy was the silver medalist (46.92) and Kyle Chalmers of Australia claimed the bronze (47.17). Popovici was the bronze medalist a year ago in Paris in the 100 and he won the 200. 'Usually the one who wins is the one who can isolate themselves from others.' Popovici said of his race tactics. He also talked about constructing imaginary walls between his lane and the others. 'I imagine I'm alone and do what I trained for,' he said. American Katharine Berkoff of the United States took the 50 backstroke (27.08), just edging teammate Regan Smith (27.25) with bronze going to Wan Letian of China (27.30). It was Smith's second silver of the night and the Americans' fourth gold. The Americans have won four golds over five days. The team seems to still be battling a stomach bug picked up at its training camp in Thailand, but head coach Greg Meehan has suggested team health is improving. Gretchen Walsh of the United States pulled out of the women's 100 freestyle. The women's 4x200 freestyle relay went to Australia (7:39.35), with silver for the United States (7:40.01) and bronze for China (7:42.99). It was Australia's fifth gold and it tops the gold-medal table. Yu, the 12 year old, will get a bronze, having swum in the preliminaries. In the four semifinals, Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands led the women's 100 freestyle qualifiers, and Pieter Coetze of South Africa did the same in the 200 backstroke as he looks to complete the double. Neutral Athlete Evgenila Chikunova led the women's 200 breaststroke and Japan's Ippei Watanabe topped the men's 200 breaststroke. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Too much too young?: Swimming's dilemma over 12-year-old schoolgirl
swimming By Peter STEBBINGS Swimming is a sport well used to talented teenagers, but Yu Zidi's participation aged 12 at the world championships has sparked debate about how young is too young. The prodigious Chinese schoolgirl is not just making up the numbers at the event in Singapore this week. Yu qualified for Monday's final of the 200m individual medley and came fourth, missing out on a remarkable medal by just 0.06sec in what is not considered her strongest event. The race was won by Canada's Summer McIntosh -- she competed at the Tokyo Olympics as a 14-year-old and last summer in Paris won three golds at age 17. Yu was at it again on Wednesday in Singapore, racing alongside comparative veteran McIntosh to reach the finals of the 200m butterfly. Yu, who turns 13 in October, will also race in the 400m medley later this week. The Chinese prodigy, who discovered swimming aged six as a way to cool off in China's roasting summers, has drawn historical comparisons to Inge Sorensen. At 12, the Dane was the youngest-ever winner of an Olympic swimming medal after her bronze at the Berlin Games of 1936. More recently, there was Bahrain's Alzain Tareq, who was 10 when she competed at the swimming world championships in Kazan, Russia, in 2015. Unlike Yu, however, she never came close to a medal. Asked this week if she was a "genius", Yu replied: "No, not really. It's all the result of hard training." 'Too early' - While Yu's performances have been impressive and could well yield a medal, not everyone thinks she should be competing in Singapore. Some in the sport have raised questions about the impact on Yu mentally and physically of high-level training and competing at an age when she is still developing as a person. Under current World Aquatics rules, the minimum age is 14 but younger swimmers can compete at the championships if -- like Yu -- they are fast enough. Christian Hansmann, sports director of German swimming, called her participation in Singapore "questionable". "Putting a girl of 12 in front of a world championship crowd of 5,000 spectators, with the high pressure from the media and the coaches, is far too early in my opinion," said Hansmann, who has children of a similar age. French swimmer Lilou Ressencourt admitted it "pisses me off to be beaten by a girl 10 years younger than me" and said she was surprised by how fast Yu is at such a young age. She too fears for Yu's physical and mental well-being. "I'm 22 and handling world championships, even French championships, can be difficult," Ressencourt told AFP. "I tell myself that at 12, you have a heavy responsibility... it's not normal at 12 to have that kind of pressure." Finding balance - Yu's presence in Singapore could force a rethink of the rules at World Aquatics, the sport's governing body. Executive director Brent Nowicki admitted they had been surprised that someone as young as Yu had been fast enough to qualify. Nowicki said World Aquatics "feel quite good about where we are with our safeguarding approach in our sport", but admitted that Yu could force a re-evaluation of its rules. "She's great. I mean, there's a big future there for her. Hopefully there could be good things that could happen out of this, and it could be great," he said. But he added: "Obviously we have to make sure that that's what it is, right? We don't want to tip that balance and go the other way, and we have to be careful about that." Many other sports have wrestled with the same age issue. In 2022, ice skating's governing body voted to raise the minimum age for senior competition from 15 to 17, months after an Olympics drug scandal involving Russian teenager Kamila Valieva. Katarina Witt, who was 18 when she won Olympic skating gold at the 1984 Sarajevo Games for East Germany, said the change was "primarily protecting the female athletes from their sometimes over-ambitious managers". © 2025 AFP
