Veteran Katie Ledecky claims seventh straight 800m free gold after winning clash with Summer McIntosh

Straits Times

3 days ago

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SINGAPORE – Experience proved to be the winning formula at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) on Aug 2, as American legend Katie Ledecky emerged victorious in the most anticipated race of the meet – the showdown between the veteran and Canadian teenage sensation Summer McIntosh in the 800m freestyle.
Ledecky triumphed for a seventh time in a championship record of 8min 5.62sec at the WCH Arena, touching home ahead of Australia's Lani Pallister – who set an Oceania record in 8:05.98 – and McIntosh, who clocked 8:07.29.
The 28-year-old said: 'That's pretty incredible, three of us going under 8:10... incredibly fast. They pushed me all the way. I'm just really happy I could put that together. I just told myself to trust my legs, because I've gotten a bit better at kicking. Just running home at the end.
'I just came in tonight trying to enjoy it as much as I can. I don't think I have anything to lose at this point of my career. Just enjoying the crowd, swimming against the best in the world. Everyone in that heat is the next generation of swimmers coming up; just proud to be a part of it.'
The race lived up to its billing, with the sold-out crowd treated to a thrilling battle between Ledecky, McIntosh, and Pallister from start to finish.
While Ledecky led for most of the race, McIntosh and Pallister were right on her heels.
The Canadian turned first at the 700m mark, but the American surged ahead again with 50m to go and began to pull away.
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In the final stretch, McIntosh began to drop off and Pallister moved ahead, but it was Ledecky's race as she asserted her dominance in an event she has won at every edition of the world championships since 2013.
The nine-gold Olympic champion did not take part in the 2024 World Championships in Doha, choosing to focus on training for the Paris Games, where she won her fourth consecutive title in the event at the quadrennial competition.
This was the closest contest Ledecky had faced for the title at the championships. Before this, her toughest challenge came in 2019, when she beat Italy's Simona Quadarella by 1:41, while her largest margin of victory came at the 2022 edition in Budapest, where she triumphed over Australia's Kiah Melverton by 10:73.
Katie Ledecky of the USA after winning the World Aquatics Championship women's 800m freestyle final, held at the WCH Arena on Aug 2.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
She said: 'It's just really cool that the distance events can be that big at a World Championships. With that kind of result, they're only going to get bigger from here, and that's really exciting to be a part of.'
Despite getting on the podium, McIntosh looked downcast as she answered questions in the media mixed zone. The bronze was a blip in her quest for five gold medals in Singapore.
'I hate losing more than I like winning, and I think that's a mentality that I carried with myself through my entire career and that's my hand on the wall first most of the time,' said the 18-year-old, who had won the 200m individual medley, 200m butterfly and 400m free titles earlier in the week.
'I'll warm down, talk to my coach and all I'm thinking about is the 400 IM. I know I'm the favourite going in so it's a bit of a different set-up. I'm excited to finish off this meet with a really strong swim and I have full confidence for the IM.'
It was a good day for the United States as they picked up another two golds, with the quartet of Jack Alexy, Patrick Sammon, Kate Douglass and Torri Huske bagging the mixed 4x100m free title in a world record time of 3:18.48sec.
Their winning effort eclipsed the previous mark of 3:18.83 set by Australia at the 2023 championships in Fukuoka, with the team handed a cheque of US$30,000 (S$38,700) for their feat as they finished ahead of Russia (3:19.68) and France (3:21.35).
It was the second world record clocked in Singapore. On July 30, France's four-gold Olympic champion Leon Marchand shattered a 14-year-old record in the 200m individual medley semi-finals with a time of 1:52.69, before going on to win the event a day later.
American Gretchen Walsh also took her second title of the meet on Aug 2 in the 50m butterfly in 24.83 seconds, with Australian Alexandria Perkins (25.31sec) and Belgian Roos Vanotterdijk (25.43) finishing second and third respectively.
In the evening's other events, Australia's reigning Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy reclaimed his 50m freestyle world title ahead of Britain's Benjamin Proud (21.26) and Alexy (21.46).
(From left) Benjamin Proud of Britain, gold medallist Cameron McEvoy of Australia and American Jack Alexy on the men's 50m freestyle podium on Aug 2, 2025.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Australian Kaylee McKeown won her fourth 200m backstroke world title in a championship record time of 2:03.33, while Americans Regan Smith (2:04.29) and Claire Curzan (2:06.04) took silver and bronze respectively.
In the men's 100m fly, Frenchman Maxime Grousset snagged gold in 49.62, with Switzerland's Noe Ponti (49.83) and Canada's Ilya Kharun (50.07) behind him.