French star Marchand breaks 200m medley world record
Singapore
Swimming star Leon Marchand didn't fight for gold on Wednesday, but stole the show as he broke the 200 metre medley world record with his performance in the men's semi-finals at the World Aquatics championships.
The French swimmer clocked 1 minute 52.69 seconds, smashing the previous mark of 1:54.00 minutes set by American Ryan Lochte in 2011.
'I can't believe it right now. I knew I would get close because I felt really good today, the preparation was good,' he said.
Marchand, who won four individual gold medals at his home Games last summer, is only competing in the medley events in Singapore.
'Probably the right decision, so happy to be here,' he said.
In Marchand's absence, American Luca Urlando claimed his maiden world title in the men's 200m butterfly in 1:51.87 minutes.
'It was a great race, tough race. (After many injuries) I believed that I could get back to a moment like this,' he said.
Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland got silver as he did in 2023, .77 of a second off the pace. Harrison Turner of Australia took bronze.
Jaouadi beats Germans for gold Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi made his move shortly after the halfway mark to run away with gold in the men's 800 metre freestyle.
Jaouadi clocked 7 minutes 38.88 seconds to claim his first long course world title with the third fastest time ever in the distance.
'It means a lot. I tried to control the race and see what happened,' he said.
Germany took the other two positions on the podium with Sven Schwarz in second and Lukas Maertens in third. Maertens already had gold from the 400m freestyle.
Olympic and defending champion Daniel Wiffen of Ireland finished last.
O'Callaghan remains on top In the women's 200m freestyle, Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan confirmed her top billing.
The Olympic champion clocked 1:53.48 minutes to beat Li Bingjie of China for gold. American Claire Weinstein completed the podium.
Earlier this year, O'Callaghan had spoken about having tough months in her return to full-time training following a five-month break to recharge mentally after the Paris Olympics last summer.
'I'm very grateful to have a good support team behind me,' she said.
In Paris, she won three gold and five total medals, including the first individual Olympic title of her career in the women's 200 freestyle.
First gold for Italy Simone Cerasuolo claimed a first gold medal for Italy in the pool, in the men's 50m breaststroke in 26.54 seconds. Neutral athlete Kirill Prigoda took silver eight-hundredths back, and China's Qin Haiyang earned bronze.
Several major swimmers were missing in this event, including world record holder Adam Peaty, three-time World Championship medallist Nic Fink, and Doha 2024 champion Sam Williamson.
There was an upset in the men's 100m freestyle semi-finals as Olympic champion Pan Zhanle of China missed a spot in the final.
Neutral athletes win mixed 4x100m medley relay Prigoda later helped the neutral athletes team winning gold in the mixed 4x100m medley relay alongside Daria Klepikova, Daria Trofimova and Miron Lifintsev.
World record holders and Olympic champions United States were not competing for the title after being eliminated in the heats and failing to reach the final.
China claimed silver, while Canada took bronze.
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