The story of the 2025 swimming world championships in 15 photos

New York Times

7 hours ago

The swimming program of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships concluded Sunday in Singapore, ending an unusual stretch of four straight years of swimming worlds, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic's disruptions to the Olympic schedule in 2020 and 2021. We won't see the world's best swimmers all in the same pool again until the 2027 worlds in Budapest, Hungary, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to follow.
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There were notable absences from these worlds, with some swimmers taking time off after last year's Olympic grind. Team USA dealt with a stomach illness that forced some top swimmers to withdraw from their events and likely affected the performance of others. And with three years to go until the next Olympics, plenty can change. Still, there was a lot to take away from the week. Here's the story of the 2025 world championships in photos, with an eye forward to the L.A. Games.
In the first of two showdowns between Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky, the 18-year-old Canadian won the 400-meter freestyle last Sunday on the meet's first day, with Ledecky slipping to bronze behind China's Li Bingjie. Ledecky has inched down the 400-meter ranks over the years, going from gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics to silver in Tokyo behind Australia's Ariarne Titmus, to bronze in Paris behind Titmus and McIntosh. She's also still one of the fastest at the distance, posting the ninth-best time ever at a meet just three months ago. As the Olympics near, she'll have decisions to make on managing the load alongside her two stronger distances, the 800 and 1,500.
The 22-year-old Gretchen Walsh is a decorated short-course swimmer who is starting to find her way in the long-course, 50-meter pools. She won two golds at the world championships, starting with the 100-meter butterfly last Monday (pictured). Those were her first two individual gold medals in long-course international competition. She's on track to be a top contender for multiple golds in Los Angeles.
Much of the focus this week was on how McIntosh had passed Ledecky in the 400-meter freestyle and might catch her in the 800, too. In between, Ledecky left no doubt she still dominates at the 1,500-meter distance (which McIntosh doesn't race). She took gold Tuesday with the fifth-best time in the event's history, 15:26.44, and has now won the 1,500 all eight times she's contested it in an Olympics or world championships. It was a little closer than normal, though, thanks to a stellar swim from Italian Simona Quadarella, whose 15:31.79 made her the only swimmer besides Ledecky to finish it in under 15:38. Ledecky has done that 25 times. There's every reason to think she'll still be the clear favorite when the L.A. Games arrive.
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The Australian keeps winning gold medals and being a thorn in American Regan Smith's side. She beat Smith twice in individual events at these world championships, taking the title in both the 100- (pictured) and 200-meter backstroke in Singapore. Smith is the world-record holder in the 100, and also held the 200 mark for nearly four years, but McKeown keeps winning on the biggest stages. The American has now taken silver behind McKeown in both events in each of the last three major meets involving them — two world championships and the Paris Olympics. The 24-year-old Aussie now has six world championship golds to go with her five Olympic titles. This rivalry should be simmering throughout the lead-up to L.A.
Ryan Lochte's 14-year-old world record in the men's 200-meter individual medley was in big trouble the moment French sensation Léon Marchand said he was dropping his other two specialty events to focus on the 200- and 400-meter IM. And Marchand didn't even wait for the final to break the mark. In his semifinal swim Wednesday, he finished in 1:52.69, shaving more than a second off the longstanding record. The winner of four gold medals in his home Olympics last summer, Marchand won both IMs in Singapore and appears well on his way to similar feats in L.A.
It's tough luck for Regan Smith that she keeps running into Kaylee McKeown. It's been even tougher for Katharine Berkoff, Smith's U.S. teammate, who has had to deal with both of the sport's best backstrokers. Berkoff has finished in bronze position behind them in major meets a few times, but on Thursday, she got her breakthrough, winning her first major individual gold in the 50-meter. McKeown was not in the field, but Berkoff beat Smith to get the title. The 50-meter events in the backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly all took on extra meaning at these worlds — they'll be included in the Olympic program for the first time in Los Angeles.
At just 12 years old, China's Yu Zidi became the youngest swimmer to win a medal at the world championships as part of the country's 4×200-meter freestyle relay team. She swam in the preliminary rounds, and the team went on to win bronze. Yu had a busy week, swimming both individual medleys (pictured) and the 200-meter butterfly, and just missed the podiums, finishing fourth in all three. Swimmers normally need to be at least 14 to compete, but an exception was made for Yu, whose times were strong enough to meet the event's top standards.
American Kate Douglass added to her growing resume with an American record in the 200-meter breaststroke on Friday. She's now won individual golds in each of the past three world championships and the Paris Olympics. She was also a crucial part of two gold-medal-winning U.S. relay teams. At 23, she's tracking to be a key piece of any U.S. success at their home Olympics.
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The 800-meter freestyle was everything swimming fans hoped it would be — with an unexpected twist. The race, billed as a showdown between Ledecky and McIntosh was certainly that, but it was Australia's Lani Pallister who ended up taking silver and nearly dethroning the American legend. Ledecky held on, while McIntosh faded into bronze position. Ledecky is 11-for-11 in Olympic and world championship finals in the 800, and perhaps the most intriguing question going forward to L.A. is whether McIntosh and Pallister will be able to catch her by then.
It was a great week for Jack Alexy, the 22-year-old American freestyler. He set an American record in the semifinals of the 100-meter and ended up taking silver. He also won three bronzes, including in the men's 4×100-meter medley relay on Sunday, when his huge anchor leg was just enough to put the U.S. in a medal position. But Saturday may have been the highlight, when he teamed with Douglass, Torri Huske and Patrick Sammon to lower the world record in the mixed 4×100-meter freestyle relay. U.S. men's swimming continues to be in a down cycle — Luca Urlando was the only individual gold-medal winner, in one of the events Marchand skipped — but Alexy's five-medal showing was the highlight of the week and a good launching point into the L.A. run-up.
Maxime Grousset won two gold medals, in the 50- and 100-meter butterfly, and produced this excellent picture. Quite a week. He was one of five men to win multiple individual golds, along with Romania's David Popovici (100 and 200 freestyle), Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi (800 and 1500 freestyle), China's Qin Haiyang (100 and 200 breaststroke) and Marchand. McIntosh, Ledecky, McKeown and Walsh did so on the women's side.
The woman who won over fans with her finger-waving gold-medal run in 2016 said goodbye to competition on Sunday. Now 28, King was 19 when she went toe-to-toe with Russia's Yulia Efimova in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Rio Olympics and won. She just missed a medal in the 50-meter breaststroke on Sunday, then picked up one more gold for the road when the U.S. women's 4×100-meter medley relay team won gold — she swam that in the prelims.
McIntosh finished 4-for-5 in her quest for five individual gold medals in Singapore. Only Michael Phelps (2007) has ever won five at a single world championships, and only Ledecky (2015) and fellow Americans Ryan Lochte (2011) and Caeleb Dressel (2019) have ever won four. McIntosh joined the club Sunday with her win in the 400-meter IM. Just 18, she's likely going to be even better in 2028.
The U.S. and Australia were tied atop the gold-medal count with one event to go. Fortunately for the Americans, it was one of their strongest events. Smith, Douglass, Walsh and Huske posted a dominant swim in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay to set a new world record and be sure the U.S. has bragging rights for another cycle. But the Australians are right on their heels as we head into a home-and-home series of Olympics; the 2032 Games are in Brisbane.
On Sunday, McIntosh and Marchand were honored as the best swimmers of the meet. Here's an easy prediction: Be ready for them to be the stories of the L.A. Olympics as well.
(Top photo of Léon Marchand celebrating his 200-meter IM world record: Manan Vatsyayana / AFP via Getty Images)