McIntosh signs off from stellar world championships with fourth gold
The US set a world record in the women's 4x100 medley relay to claim the final title and ensure they topped the medals table with nine golds, one ahead of Australia.
France finished third with Canada fourth, all four of their golds won by 18-year-old McIntosh, only the third swimmer to win five individual medals at a world championships, joining Michael Phelps (2007) and Sarah Sjostrom (2019).
World record holder McIntosh blitzed the field in the 400 IM with a time of 4:25.78, more than seven seconds ahead of joint silver medallists Jenna Forrester of Australia and Japan's Mio Narita.
The Olympic champion's third 400 IM world title added to her 200 IM, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle golds at the World Aquatics Championships Arena in Singapore.
MCINTOSH CLAIMS GOLD! 🥇🇨🇦
Summer McIntosh breaks her own 400m IM championship record with a time of 4:25.78 at the World Aquatics Championship 👏 pic.twitter.com/CkFs04Swbs
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 3, 2025
But bronze in the 800 freestyle won by the great Katie Ledecky on Saturday gave McIntosh little joy.
'I think it was very obvious that my goal was five golds,' she said.
'Even if I were to get five golds, I would still want more. That's just my mentality.'
China's 12-year-old prodigy Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again in the 400 IM, capping a sparkling debut at a global meeting. She was also fourth in the 200 IM and 200 butterfly.
Olympic champion Marchand nearly missed the 400 IM final after a slow heat in the morning but was back to his best in the evening, clocking 4:04.73 to finish well clear of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita, the Paris Games runner-up.
It was a stripped-back programme from Paris where Marchand won four individual titles but he made Singapore count, taking the 200 IM world record on the way to the title.
Two years after Tunisia's Ahmed Hafnaoui won the 800 and 1,500 freestyle at the Fukuoka championships, compatriot Ahmed Jaouadi completed the double by winning the 1,500 in 14:34.41 on the final day ahead of German runner-up Sven Schwarz and American Olympic champion Bobby Finke.
Leon Marchand takes gold swimming 5th-fastest time ever! 🇫🇷💥 #AQUASingapore25 #Swimming pic.twitter.com/4vTkZOQv1U
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) August 3, 2025
Jaouadi shaved nearly nine seconds off his personal best.
Australian relay stalwart Meg Harris grabbed the spotlight for herself when she won 50 freestyle gold in 24.02 ahead of Chinese duo Wu Qingfeng (24.26) and Cheng Yujie (24.28).
The 23-year-old Harris clinched her first individual title on the global stage after sharing two Olympic and five world relay golds in the last four years.
No Russian athletes competed at last year's world championships in Doha but the nation's swimmers racked up medals in Singapore under a neutral flag.
Russians were allowed to compete on condition they had not publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine or held any affiliation to the Russian military.
Russian Kliment Kolesnikov stormed to the men's 50 backstroke title in 23.68, just 0.13 off his world record, while compatriot Pavel Samusenko took a silver along with South African Pieter Coetze, each finishing in 24.17.
Russian swimmers then combined to win a shock gold in the men's 4x100 medley, giving the world record (3:26.78) a huge shake with a time of 3:26.93, a second clear of France.
🥇 🥈 🥉 The final medal table of the World Aquatics Championships Singapore 2025 🤩 #AQUASingapore25 pic.twitter.com/ErkfjmiA9M
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) August 4, 2025
With the US men taking bronze it was up to the nation's women to secure top spot on the medals table in the final event of the night by beating Australia.
They did just that and in some style, with Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske combining to set a world record of 3:49.34, improving on the US mark of 3:49.63 from the Paris Games.
World record holder Ruta Meilutyte earlier powered to the 50 breaststroke gold in 29.55, nearly half a second clear of China's Tang Qianting.
It was the Lithuanian's fourth successive world title in the event since returning from a two-year ban for anti-doping violations.
Retiring American Lilly King, who won the 100 breaststroke at the Rio 2016 Games, bowed out fifth in her last individual event.
King's teammates were proud of the US performance at the event after several of the team's swimmers suffered gastroenteritis from a pre-meeting camp in Thailand.
'I'd say Team USA always knows how to finish with a bang,' said Douglass.
'It just sends a really positive message out to the viewers at home who didn't really believe in us.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
The ripples from Pieter Coetzé's Singapore heroics could soon be felt in LA
Pieter Coetzé celebrates winning gold in the 100m backstroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Image: World Aquatics The emergence of recently crowned 100m world backstroke champion Pieter Coetzé as one of the best swimmers in the world right now has given the country's medal prospects in the pool at LA 2028 a major boost. The 21-year-old Tuks psychology student in Pretoria is fresh from becoming the only man to reach the podium in all three backstroke events at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, which featured the cream of the world's swimming talent. Coetzé powered his way to South Africa's first medal of the championships, claiming gold in the 100m backstroke. He fought off Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon and France's Yohann Ndoye-Brouard in the second half of the final to reach the wall in a sensationally quick new African record time of 51.85 seconds. His time was just 0.25 seconds off Ceccon's world record. It was also faster than Ceccon's gold-winning time from last year's Olympic Games in Paris. 'I always thought it would happen eventually,' admitted Coetzé afterwards during his poolside TV interview. 'In my mind, it was just a matter of time – but to do it this year is amazing.' Olympic 200m backstroke champion Hubert Kós was relegated to fourth in the 100m, but the Hungarian would enjoy a measure of revenge in the 200. The Pretoria swimmer went out hard in the final, turning first at both the 50m and 100m marks under world record pace, but was hunted down in the second half of the race by Kós. While Coetzé closed in on the Hungarian in the final metres, he just couldn't out-touch him, finishing second in 1:53.36 – just 0.17 seconds off the gold. That time took almost a second off the African record he had set in the semi-finals and now ranks as the seventh-fastest 200m backstroke swim in history. Faster than Paris Both Kós and Coetzé's times were faster than the Hungarian's gold medal-winning swim at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The tall and powerfully built South African then sealed his final medal of the world champs – silver in the 50m backstroke, a result that even took him by surprise. Coetzé lined up for the 50m final as the third-fastest qualifier behind two Russians – world record-holder Kliment Kolesnikov and Pavel Samusenko – having set an African record in the semi-finals. He went even quicker in the final, powering across the pool in another continental record of 24.17 seconds to share the silver with Samusenko, who touched in exactly the same time. Kolesnikov took gold in a championship record of 23.68. 'I'm very happy. I don't really train for the 50 – I train for the 200 – so to be able to go down so far and win a medal in the 50 is amazing,' said a thrilled Coetzé afterwards. Kaylene Corbett also claimed a bronze medal in the women's 200m breaststroke, lifting South Africa to eleventh in the medals table in Singapore. Proud tradition The pool has been a consistent source of Olympic medals for Team SA in recent history. Tatjana Smith won gold in the 100m breaststroke and silver in the 200m at the Paris Games. That took her Olympic tally to four – two gold and two silver – making her South Africa's most decorated Olympian. You would have to go back to the 2016 Rio Olympics for the last time a South African male swimmer won an Olympic medal: Chad le Clos' silver in the 100m butterfly. Others have flown the SA flag high at the Games, including Cameron van der Burgh, Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend and Ryk Neethling. There is still a long way to go until the LA Games in 2028, but Coetzé's rise has given the nation hope that his name can be added to that illustrious list. On current form – and considering his age – there is every reason to be optimistic. His medal heroics in Singapore will only fuel belief that Coetzé can take on and beat the world's best. His breakthrough is also expected to have a ripple effect on South Africa's rising swim stars, so more names could well be added to the country's medal hopefuls as LA 2028 draws closer.
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Djokovic withdraws from ATP Cincinnati Masters
USA - Novak Djokovic withdrew on Monday from this week's start of the ATP Cincinnati Masters, with the pullout coming a year to the day from his Paris Olympic gold medal victory. Tournament officials confirmed the news to The Athletic, meaning the 38-year-old Serb will have played no matches between his Wimbledon semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner and the US Open start in three weeks. World number one Sinner, who like Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz skipped the current ATP Toronto Masters in order to rest and recover from Wimbledon, has been in Cincinnati since the weekend. Sinner and his team posted a golf course selfie to social media on Monday, one day after an opening practice session at the pre-US Open event. Djokovic, winner of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, first played Cincinnati in 2005 and won the last of his three titles there in 2023 after losing five previous finals.
Eyewitness News
3 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Djokovic withdraws from ATP Cincinnati Masters
CINCINNATI - Novak Djokovic withdrew on Monday from this week's start of the ATP Cincinnati Masters, with the pullout coming a year to the day from his Paris Olympic gold medal victory. Tournament officials confirmed the news to The Athletic, meaning the 38-year-old Serb will have played no matches between his Wimbledon semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner and the US Open start in three weeks. World number one Sinner, who like Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz skipped the current ATP Toronto Masters in order to rest and recover from Wimbledon, has been in Cincinnati since the weekend. Sinner and his team posted a golf course selfie to social media on Monday, one day after an opening practice session at the pre-US Open event. Djokovic, winner of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, first played Cincinnati in 2005 and won the last of his three titles there in 2023 after losing five previous finals.
