Ledecky, Walsh cap Pro Swim meet with world records
MIAMI: Katie Ledecky broke her longstanding world record in the 800m freestyle and Gretchen Walsh lowered her 100m butterfly world mark twice in one day as the Tyr Pro Swim meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida concluded on Saturday. Nine-time Olympic gold medallist Ledecky clocked 8min 4.12sec to win the 800m freestyle — the event that catapulted her to stardom when she won it at the 2012 London Olympics when she was 15.
Ledecky, 28, improved on the previous record of 8:04.79 that she set at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on August 12, 2016. The performance capped a stellar week for Ledecky, who hadn't broken a long-course world record since 2018. 'I can't stop smiling,' she said. 'It has been so many years in the making to do it tonight... I flipped at the 750 and it was loud in here and I just told myself I'm not letting this opportunity go to waste and started sprinting.'
Ledecky posted the second-fastest 1,500m free in history on Wednesday and swam the second-fastest 400m free of her career a day later — all signaling that she remains a force with the World Championships in Singapore approaching on July 27-August 3. Jillian Cox was second, 19.46sec back on 8:23.58. Claire Weinstein was third in 8:26.06. Ledecky said she was 'fired up' after her 1,500m free triumph, which launched her first elite competition since the Paris Olympics last year.
In Paris, she won the 1,500m free and also claimed a fourth straight 800m free gold as she equalled the record for most gold medals won by a woman athlete in any sport. She owns the 10 fastest 800m free times in history, with Canadian Summer McIntosh the second-fastest performer with her career-best time of 8:09.86. She credited Walsh with 'starting a world record party'.
Walsh became the first woman to break 55 seconds in the 100m butterfly, winning Saturday's final in a jaw-dropping world record of 54.60sec. That came hours after she lowered her own world record with a swim of 55.09sec in the preliminaries, improving on the 55.18 she set at the US Olympic trials in Indianapolis last June.
Another level
The American settled for silver in the event at the Paris Olympics behind teammate Torri Huske, who was a distant second in Saturday's final in 56.59. Walsh's 100m fly exploits came a day after the two-time Olympic relay gold medallist joined Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom as the only women to break 25 seconds for the 50m butterfly, clocking 24.93 to win the final.
France's Leon Marchand, who starred at the Paris Olympics with four individual gold medals, departed Fort Lauderdale without a victory. The 22-year-old closed his campaign with a runner-up finish to Shaine Casas in the 200m individual medley — one of his gold medal events in Paris. He had finished second to Bobby Finke in the 400m medley — in which Marchand is the Olympic champion and world record-holder. He posted a personal best in finishing third in the 400m freestyle — an event he rarely swims.
The meeting was Marchand's first in four months. He opted out of the short course world championships in December then sought a change of pace by training in Australia. He has dealt with shoulder and rib injuries, but has now resumed training with coach Bob Bowman in Texas with the World Championships beckoning — and he was energized by his closeup look at Ledecky and Walsh's records. 'That was crazy,' he said. 'Katie is the GOAT. Doing that well for that long is insane. And Gretchen, too — it's another level.' — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Young stars sparkle as Thunder and Pacers seek first NBA titles
Oklahoma City hosts game one in best-of-seven series Thursday OKLAHOMA CITY: Powered by young star talent and deep rosters, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers open the NBA Finals on Thursday, each trying to bring their city a first-ever crown. Oklahoma City, fancied by oddsmakers after an NBA-high 68 regular-season wins, will host game one in the best-of-seven championship series. Both teams are fast-paced squads with young star point guards, 26-year-old NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder and Indiana's 25-year-old Tyrese Haliburton. The Pacers seek the first NBA crown in their 58-year history while the Thunder, who moved from Seattle in 2008, took the franchise's only title as the SuperSonics in 1979. "It's a new blueprint for the league," Pacers center Myles Turner said. "The years of the superteams and stacking, it's not as effective as it once was. The new trend now is kind of what we're doing. OKC does the same thing. Young guys, get out and run, defend and use the power of friendship." Oklahoma City's only prior NBA Finals appearance was in 2012, when Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook lost to LeBron James-led Miami. Indiana's only prior trip to the NBA Finals came in 2000, a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Pacers also won three 1970s titles in the American Basketball Association, which sent four teams into the NBA in 1976. Gilgeous-Alexander could become the first league scoring champion to win an NBA title in the same season since 2000, when Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers past the Pacers. "SGA" averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocked shots a game in leading the Thunder to the NBA's best regular-season record at 68-14. With forwards Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander has formed a formidable trio. The Thunder swept Memphis in the first round of the playoffs, outlasted Nikola Jokic-powered Denver in seven games then dispatched Minnesota in five. The Pacers went 50-32 behind 20.2 points and 6.9 rebounds a game from Pascal Siakam and 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game by Haliburton, who helped the USA win Paris Olympic gold last year. "What makes him very good is that he's very confident," Williams said of Haliburton. "It makes him a very dangerous individual." Indiana eliminated Milwaukee and Cleveland in five games each and took out New York in six. Oklahoma City beat Indiana twice in the regular season with Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 39 points, eight assists and seven rebounds while Haliburton struggled, averaging 11 points, three rebounds and 5.5 assists. The Thunder dominate defensively, leading the playoffs with 18 turnovers forced and 10.8 steals a game plus a 42.6 percent opponent shooting percentage from the floor. The Pacers, however, average 117.4 points a game in the playoffs and own the top shooting percentage overall at 49.7 percent and from three-point range at 40.1 percent. 'Be who we are' Each team helped build their current lineup by trading NBA star Paul George. The Pacers sent him to the Thunder in 2017 for players that were later traded for Haliburton and draft picks that landed Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard. "This franchise took a chance on me, saw something that other people didn't see in me," Haliburton said. The Thunder traded George to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019 in a deal that landed Gilgeous-Alexander and a draft pick that was used on Williams. Oklahoma City has a player who won an NBA title in Alex Caruso, who helped the Lakers win the 2020 crown, while the Pacers boast Siakam from Toronto's 2019 title run. "You don't have to do anything special," Caruso said of winning an NBA crown. "You just have to be who we are. That has worked for us throughout this whole year." Indiana coach Rick Carlisle won an NBA title guiding the 2011 Dallas Mavericks and could become only the fourth coach to win NBA crowns with multiple teams. – AFP
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Canada-US renewed rivalry highlights Oilers vs Panthers NHL title series rematch
Edmonton try to end Canada's Stanley Cup drought by dethroning Florida WASHINGTON: A tension-packed Canada-United States rivalry reaches an emotional high starting Wednesday when the Edmonton Oilers try to become the first Canadian club since 1993 to win the Stanley Cup. The Oilers, powered by superstar Connor McDavid, will face defending champion Florida in the NHL's best-of-seven championship series in a rematch of last year's final, won by the Panthers in seven games. Not since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 has a Canadian team captured the trophy, but in what has been an intense US-Canada rivalry year, the Oilers have a chance to end the epic drought and US possession of the Cup. 'It's going to be an incredible battle again,' Panthers forward Sam Reinhart said. 'They're playing some pretty dominant hockey, so we're excited for the challenge. We've got to be ready for it.' A US-Canada grudge match fueled by political overtones could be in the making when the series begins on Wednesday in Edmonton. US President Donald Trump began the tensions by calling for Canada to become the 51st state, even calling former prime minister Justin Trudeau 'governor' as if he were only in charge of a US state not a nation. Tariffs against the border neighbors didn't help either. It all boiled over in the NHL's Four Nations Faceoff tournament when the United States played Canada at Montreal in a round-robin game on February 15 and fans booed the pre-game singing of the US national anthem. Once the puck was dropped, there were three fights in the first nine seconds as the crowd roared. A hard-hitting contest followed with the Americans winning 3-1. Five nights later, the USA and Canada met in the tournament final at Boston, where microphone-wearing referee Gord Dwyer said, 'Let's get ready for an epic battle,' before dropping the puck. Only one penalty was called and the teams delivered a world-class contest with McDavid scoring the winning goal for Canada in a 3-2 overtime triumph. 'You can't take our country -- and you can't take our game,' Trudeau posted on X moments after the finish. Heated emotions remain in US-Canada relations. Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky faced backlash at home over his support for Trump. 'Never say never' Travel from Canada to the United States has dipped dramatically and new Canadian prime minister Mark Carney had a minor confrontation in a White House visit with Trump. Carney told Trump Canada would never be for sale, with the US leader replying, 'Never say never.' That is the backdrop for the Oilers and Panthers rematch, the 12th time the same two teams meet in consecutive Cup finals, the first since Pittsburgh beat Detroit in 2009 after losing to the Red Wings the previous year. No NHL team has beaten the same rival in back-to-back finals since Montreal beat Boston in 1977 and 1978. McDavid and German teammate Leon Draisaitl lead all NHL playoff scorers and Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner has rebounded after losing his starting job earlier in the playoffs. The Panthers seized a 3-0 lead in last year's final before the Oilers pulled level only to fall in game seven. 'I think we were better for going through last year. It was a great learning experience and it has really driven us all year,' McDavid said. 'This run has felt different than last year. It has felt very normal. It hasn't been as emotional. We haven't had the highs and we haven't had the lows. It has just kind of been steady and I think that has put us in a good position.' Florida makes a third consecutive finals appearance, having lost to Vegas in 2023 before winning last year. The Panthers are sparked by Finnish forward Alexander Barkov, who has six goals and 11 assists to lead Florida in this playoff run. Sam Bennett has a playoff-best 10 goals for the Panthers and right wing Matthew Tkachuk, who started one of the early fights in the US-Canada Four-Nations slugfest, brings an emotional lift to the trophy holders. Russian 36-year-old goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is 12-5 in the playoffs with a 2.11 goals-against average for Florida. — AFP
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Swiatek and Sabalenka set up French Open clash
PARIS: Three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek set up a blockbuster French Open semi-final clash with world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday. Swiatek, the fifth seed, got past 13th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5 in Paris after top women's seed Sabalenka won a nervy quarter-final against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. '(Aryna) has been having a great season so I'm not going to lie, it is going to be a tough match. But I'm happy for the challenge,' said Swiatek after reeling off her 26th win in a row at the French Open. Both players have shared the number one ranking between them since April 2022. Sabalenka ended Swiatek's 11-month reign as world number one last October but the Pole leads 8-4 in their previous meetings. World number five Swiatek has been struggling for her best form and has not reached a final since winning the French Open title last year. But she gave Svitolina little opportunity on her favored clay surface, breaking in the fourth game to ease through the first set. The pair exchanged consecutive breaks of serve early in the second set, before Swiatek forced the breakthrough at 5-5 with a powerful forehand down the line. She then sealed the win with back-to-back aces. Swiatek is aiming to become the first woman to win four straight Roland Garros crowns since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago. Zheng streak over Earlier, reigning US Open champion Sabalenka defied the windy conditions and Zheng to avenge her recent loss to the Chinese star in Rome. 'The last tournament I was pretty exhausted,' said Sabalenka. 'Today I was more fresh I was ready to battle.' Sabalenka once again got the upper hand on Zheng, who had been on a winning streak of 10 matches on the Paris clay after her run to Olympic gold last year. Zheng broke and led 4-2 in the first set. But numerous unforced errors - 31 in total - allowed the Belarusian to come back. The second set was also tight before Sabalenka broke back to lead 4-3, taking advantage of her opponent's errors. 'I gave her the chance, so easy,' said Zheng, who has lost seven times in eight meetings to Sabalenka, including in last year's Australian Open final. Madrid Open champion Sabalenka feels she is ready to go all the way in Paris, where her previous best performance was reaching the semi-finals two years ago. 'It's high-level matches. I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win,' said Sabalenka of her tie against Swiatek. — AFP
