United States set world record in women's 4x100 medley relay
Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske's time of 3:49.34 eclipsed the previous mark of 3:49.63 set by the U.S. team at the Paris Olympics last year.--REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
39 minutes ago
- The Star
Swimming - Ledecky heroics paper over rocky US campaign at world championships
FILE PHOTO: Swimming - World Aquatics Championships - Women 800m Freestyle Finals - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - August 2, 2025 Katie Ledecky of the U.S. celebrates after winning the final REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Katie Ledecky's sustained brilliance and a late gold-rush by her female teammates added gloss to an underwhelming campaign for Team USA at the swimming world championships in Singapore. The team's preparations were hit by a bout of gastroenteritis during a pre-meet camp in Thailand and they rallied to finish top of the medal table with nine golds, one better than rival power Australia. But three years out from the Los Angeles Olympics, where swimming will be the crowning event of the second week, alarm bells are ringing for the hosts. Luca Urlando won the only individual title for the American men in the 200 metres butterfly, an event the France's Olympic champion Leon Marchand conveniently sat out. There were no men's relay titles to boost the medal count but plenty of queries about selections and strategy from pundits and fans. Just as at last year's Paris Olympics, it was up to the women to save the team's blushes, with Ledecky underlining her greatness with another golden double in the 800m and 1500m freestyle. Gretchen Walsh's 50-100 butterfly double was another huge boost among the six individual titles won by the American women. The spoils gave the swimmers some ammunition to fire back at critics like Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps when two of the all-time greats of U.S. men's swimming made their disappointment clear on social media. Olympic men's 1,500m freestyle champion Bobby Finke, who took bronze in Singapore, called some of the criticism "weak" and "stupid". "You're never going to win with those people," said Finke. "So I have a lot of thoughts. My brain has just been spiralling. I'm just disappointed, but I'm going to back these boys no matter what they say." Finke's passion may have been a comfort for teammates given the absence of any spirited defence from the team's management or coaches. National Team Director Greg Meehan told broadcaster NBC on day two of the championships that he was proud of the swimmers and staff for working through the gastroenteritis outbreak, and said "the overall vibe" of the team was great. Team staff otherwise closed ranks, declining to shed light into problems at the camp in Thailand or comment on the fitness of individual swimmers in Singapore. LEDECKY CARRIES THE TEAM A year after Paris, where the U.S. slumped to their lowest medal haul in the pool since the 2004 Athens Olympics, plenty of questions remain. Nine-times Olympic champion Ledecky, the most decorated women's swimmer of all time, has carried the team on her shoulders for over a decade. But she will be 31 at the LA Games and Singapore showed the competition is catching up. The American system continues to develop world-beating swimmers but, in the men's ranks at least, it is Europeans profiting from college resources and competition. Bob Bowman, former coach of Phelps, boasts quadruple Olympic champion Marchand and Romanian sprinter David Popovici in his programme at Texas University. The European pair combined to take four of the men's individual titles at Singapore. Canada's Summer McIntosh, who won four individual women's titles and challenged Ledecky for the 800 freestyle gold, will join Bowman's stable within weeks. The competition is heating up abroad as well, with Russian swimmers back in force at the world championships and winning medals under a neutral flag. Only one competed at the Paris Olympics amid geopolitical tension over the invasion of Ukraine but Russians won three golds in Singapore as the neutral collective finished fifth on the medal table. No matter the strength of the competition, great expectations will follow the U.S. all the way to Inglewood's SoFi Stadium, which is set to be the largest swimming venue in Games history in 2028. Team USA have a busy three years working out how to live up to them. (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Teenage kicks: McIntosh, 12-year-old Yu set to rule the pool at LA 2028
SINGAPORE: The Los Angeles Olympics are three years away, but Summer McIntosh showed at the swimming world championships why she will be one of the stars of the Games while 12-year-old Yu Zidi is shaping up to be a major threat. The United States also demonstrated that tales of their demise were exaggerated as teams embarked on the long road to the LA 2028 at the World Aquatic Championships in Singapore over the past week. Canada ended the world championships on Sunday with four gold medals, all won by the 18-year-old phenomenon McIntosh. Yet it was the one that got away that rankled with the teenager, having been forced to settle for bronze in the 800m freestyle which American great Katie Ledecky won for a seventh time. It meant that three-time Paris Olympics gold medallist McIntosh fell just short of matching Michael Phelps's feat of five individual titles at a single world championships. "I think it's just going to keep me hungry and push, and keep moving forward," said McIntosh. "Even if I were to get five golds, I would still want more. That's just my mentality." McIntosh broke three world records in a matter of days at the Canadian trials in June and then powered to gold in the 200m and 400m individual medleys, 400m freestyle and 200m butterfly in Singapore. Chinese schoolgirl Yu became the youngest medallist in world championships history, taking home a relay bronze. Racing against McIntosh, Yu narrowly missed out on an individual medal by finishing fourth in each of her events – the 400m medley, 200m butterfly and 200m medley where she touched just 0.06 seconds from a bronze medal. Already her rivals are predicting Yu will be a major force at the 2028 Olympics. Canada's Mary-Sophie Harvey, who held off Yu for bronze in the 200m medley, said: "I think going into LA we're probably going to see her a lot more." American Alex Walsh, who took silver, said Yu was "phenomenally talented at such a young age." But there are also concerns about the physical and mental toll on someone so young. "Now she's gonna have a lot of pressure," said Harvey. The United States, who will be under huge pressure to deliver in the pool at their home Games, endured a turbulent time in Singapore. Most of the squad had to battle acute gastroenteritis following a pre-competition camp in Thailand. That led to stinging criticism from Phelps and fellow Olympic swimming great Ryan Lochte, with wider concerns about the management of the team in and out of the pool. Lochte shared an image on Instagram depicting a funeral that featured a tombstone inscribed: "In loving memory of United States Swimming." "They set the bar high – until they stopped reaching for it," the inscription said, with Lochte adding the caption: "Call it a funeral or call it a fresh start. We've got 3 years." The slight did not go down well in Singapore, with three-time Olympic gold medallist Bobby Finke among the American swimmers biting back. "There's just so much stupid stuff that's getting said," said Finke. The United States set two relay world records in Singapore and topped the final medals table with nine golds, one ahead of Australia. Third were France, with Leon Marchand blowing off the post-Paris Olympics cobwebs to smash Lochte's 200m individual medley world record from 2011. The 23-year-old Marchand, the face of the Paris Games with four individual golds, also romped to victory in the 400m medley. "It's not perfect, because it's never perfect, but it's more than I expected, especially the world record in the 200m medley," he said.
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Marchand says 'passion' burns bright on road to 2028 Olympics
SINGAPORE: Leon Marchand said his performances at the world championships proved he still had "a passion for swimming" after winning the 400m medley for his second gold in Singapore on Sunday. The French superstar took an extended break from swimming after wowing his home fans with four individual golds at the Paris Olympics last year. He announced his return in grand style in Singapore, smashing the 200m medley world record that had stood since 2011 on his way to gold. He completed the double with another imperious victory in the 400m IM, touching the wall in 4min 04.73sec, more than three seconds ahead of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita (4:08.32), with Russian Ilia Borodin (4:09.16) third. Marchand said his performances showed he still has the hunger to succeed on the long road towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. "It's not perfect, because it's never perfect, but it's more than I expected, especially the world record in the 200m medley," said the 23-year-old. "It shows that I still have a passion for swimming, that I love it. "It's still what I like the most, and that I want to continue." Marchand started the final in lane one after a below-par performance in the morning heats, which saw him qualify seventh fastest. But normality was restored in the final as he took an early lead before obliterating his rivals as the race progressed. Marchand broke Michael Phelps's 400m IM world record two years ago in Japan but his time in Singapore was more than two seconds outside his best mark. "Physically, it was very difficult, more than usual," he said.
