McIntosh and Marchand dazzle for gold at Swimming World Championships
Romania's David Popovici also flirted with a record on day five at the World Aquatics Championships Arena, the 20-year-old claiming a thrilling 100 metres freestyle gold to go with his 200 crown on day three.
The 200 butterfly world record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 is the last surviving mark from the supersuit era in women's swimming -- and McIntosh all but took it down.
She stormed to her third individual gold medal of the meet in 2:01.99, the second-fastest swim of all time and a yawning three seconds better than American silver medallist Regan Smith.
Having made the last turn under world record pace, the Canadian 18-year-old flagged slightly coming home and shouted an expletive when she spied the clock.
'I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race,' she said. 'Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight.'
China's 12-year-old marvel Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also placed fourth in the 200 IM.
McIntosh might console herself in the knowledge that her bid for five individual titles remains intact, with the 400 IM and a hugely anticipated showdown with American great Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle still to come.
Only Michael Phelps has won five individual golds at a World Championships.
RELATED | How a sleepless Marchand clinched gold at World Swimming Championships day after breaking world record
Marchand, dubbed the 'French Phelps', celebrated a world record on Wednesday when he blitzed the long-standing 200 IM mark of Ryan Lochte with an incredible swim of 1:52.69 in the semifinal.
With victory seemingly assured in the final, the only suspense was whether Marchand might reset his world record from the previous night but he ended up nearly a second short, with a time of 1:53.68.
It was still the second fastest swim ever and led to a dominant win by 0.62 seconds ahead of American Shaine Casas and Hungarian Hubert Kos. Marchand said the record may have taken a bit out of him but he was hardly complaining.
'I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep,' he said. 'So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it.'
POPOVICI DOUBLE
Popovici then emerged the winner of a sensational men's 100 freestyle final, clocking 46.51 to give Pan Zhanle's world record (46.40) a big scare.
American runner-up Jack Alexy also broke the 47-second barrier (46.92), while Paris Games silver medallist Kyle Chalmers took the bronze for Australia.
At 20, 200 Olympic champion Popovici has already completed the 100-200 sweep twice at the World Championships, having done the double at Budapest three years ago.
The relaxed Romanian said he had reached a higher plain; no longer worried about winning or losing.
'I just feel very relieved that this huge pressure of being afraid of winning or losing is off me,' he said.
'I don't mean it in an arrogant way, I mean it in a self-maturing way.'
Romania's David Popovici celebrates winning the final of the Men 100m Freestyle of the World Aquatics Championships. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
The United States celebrated a fourth gold in the meet as Katharine Berkoff won the 50 backstroke in 27.08 seconds, edging compatriot Smith.
In the finale of Thursday's programme, Australia's women clinched a second relay gold as Mollie O'Callaghan held off Ledecky in a thrilling final leg to guide her 4x200 freestyle relay team over the finish line.
Australia also won the men's and women's 4x100 freestyle golds on Sunday.
O'Callaghan, whose 11th gold tied her with Ian Thorpe as the most successful Australian at the World Championships, will now look to add the 100 freestyle title to her 200 crown on Friday.
Medals will also be decided in the men's 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke and 4x200 freestyle relay, as well as the women's 200 breaststroke.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
39 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley declines invitation to join Trump's sports council
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley has declined an invitation to join President Donald Trump's council on sports, fitness, and nutrition, which is being revitalized under an executive order that also reestablishes the Presidential Fitness Test for American children. HT Image Barkley, the 2,000-yard rusher for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, was on a list of sports personalities that included golfers Bryson DeChambeau and Nelly Korda, WWE executive Paul 'Triple H' Levesque, football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and retired New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera. Barkley said Monday following Eagles' practice that he had actually declined the invitation. 'A couple months ago, it was brought to my team about the council," Barkley said. "So I'm not really too familiar with it. I felt like that I am going to be super busy. Me and my family thought it would probably be of best interest to not accept that. I was definitely a little shocked when my name was mentioned. I'm assuming it's something great, so I appreciate it but was a little shocked when my name was mentioned.' Trump last week reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test for American children, a fixture of public schools for decades that gauged young people's health and athleticism with 1-mile runs, sit-ups and stretching exercises. 'This is a wonderful tradition, and we're bringing it back,' Trump said of the fitness test that began in 1966 but was phased out during the Obama administration. The executive order also reinvigorated the national sports council that could have included Barkley. Barkley won AP Offensive Player of the Year last season after rushing for 2,005 yards, eighth-best in NFL history, in his first season with the Eagles. Barkley has golfed with Trump and former President Barack Obama over the last year and the running back attended the White House celebration of the champion Eagles while some teammates — notably star quarterback Jalen Hurts — skipped the ceremony. Barkley visited Trump in April at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and caught a ride with the president to Washington on Air Force One and then to the White House on Marine One. 'He loved it,' Trump said then of Barkley's short flight on the presidential airplane. 'He's a great young guy and an incredible football player. Saquon had a season for the ages, running behind the most powerful offensive line in the NFL." Barkley, meanwhile, pushed back on social media criticism following the visit. He noted that he had already golfed with Obama, a Democrat. 'Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand,' Barkley posted on X. ___ AP sports:
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Lyles and Bednarek involved in heated episode; Olympic champion says best timing yet to come
Noah Lyles believes he is rounding into form at the right time ahead of next month's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo after a scintillating world-leading 200m victory at the US trials on Sunday. Lyles, the reigning Olympic 100m champion, will attempt to defend both his 100m and 200m world crowns in Japan, aiming to emulate Usain Bolt with a fourth consecutive world 200m gold. The 28-year-old from Florida warmed up for that challenge in Eugene on Sunday by clocking a world-leading 19.63 seconds in a testy battle with Kenny Bednarek. Lyles angered Bednarek by turning his head to stare down his rival just before he took the tape. Bednarek shoved Lyles in the back over that apparent taunt. Lyles refused to comment about the flashpoint after his win. 'Under the coach's orders, no comment,' Lyles said before brushing off further attempts to talk about the spat. Bednarek, though, was more expansive. 'That's unsportsmanlike sh*t, and I don't deal with that. I don't deal with any of that stuff. It's not good character,' Bednarek said. 'The summary is, don't do that to me. I don't do any of that stuff. It's not good character right there. That's pretty much it. At the end of the day, he won the race. I've got to give him props. He was the better man today. What he said didn't matter, it's just what he did,' Bednarek added. The feud sets up the possibility of an intriguing rivalry over the remaining months of the season between the two US sprinters. While both men are planning to run in Europe ahead of the World Championships, they will almost certainly duel again in Tokyo. 'I can beat him' Lyles, who has endured a patchy season disrupted by niggling ankle and groin injuries, believes that his best is yet to come and that Sunday's win augurs well for his world championship hopes. 'If they ain't gonna beat me now, they ain't gonna beat me ever,' Lyles said. 'I'm seeing everything I need to see in practice, so I'm truly just waiting for it to transfer over. My coach and I say that when you see something happen in practice, it takes about three weeks to see it on the track in a race. 'And it's still not even close to what we've seen in practice — we're still far behind. 'I'm trying to get as many races in as possible. You know, as you can all see, I'm underdeveloped in terms of races. So I just need to keep getting sharp. So I need to keep putting myself in more and more competitions.' Bednarek, meanwhile, plans to be lying in wait for Lyles in Tokyo. The 26-year-old from Tulsa has three silver medals in the 200m at major championships, but is so far waiting for his breakthrough gold. 'Next time we line up, I'm gonna win,' Bednarek said. 'That's all that matters to me.' Bednarek noted, too, that while Lyles had run only three races in Eugene — scratching from the 100m after his opening heat — he had raced all five rounds of the 100m and 200m. 'I've said it for years, Noah's gonna be Noah. If he wants to stare me down, that's fine,' Bednarek said. 'But I ran five rounds, and he was fresh. We can line up again when we're both fresh, and let's see what happens -- because I'm very confident I can beat him.'
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
The 'one-word' that Mohammed Siraj looked on Google this morning and made his phone's Wallpaper
Mohammed Siraj delivered a brilliant spell at The Oval today, August 1. He took three quick wickets in less than an hour, helping India beat England by six runs in the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy . Siraj finished with his fifth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, leading India to level the series 2-2. Soon after the match, Siraj shared what he Googled this morning. He said: 'I woke up in the morning and checked google on my phone and took out a 'Believe' emoji wallpaper and told myself that I will do it for the country.' 'I always believe that I can win the game from any point, and did that to the morning,' Siraj told Dinesh Karthik in a post match chat. 'My only plan was to bowl good areas. Didn't matter if I took wickets or went for runs,' Siraj said. Google India has responded to an X (formerly Twitter) post with Siraj's comments. 'There are Google Searches and then there's this,' the company replied. Anand Mahindra reacts to India's win Sharing a post on X, billionaire Anand Mahindra wrote: 'The scoreboard reads 2–2 and the series is drawn. But the spirit says India WON this one. Because when you come back from the brink and refuse to fold, the scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story.' He also quoted American football coach Vince Lombardi in his post: 'It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.' Biggest Tech Layoffs of 2025: Job Cuts at TCS, Intel, Microsoft, Google and more AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
