logo
Swimming-Golden Summer beckons for world championships in Singapore

Swimming-Golden Summer beckons for world championships in Singapore

By Ian Ransom Swimming-Golden Summer beckons for world championships in Singapore
July 25 - It has not been a year since global swimming's finest rocked La Defense Arena at the Paris Olympics but there is already anticipation of record-breaking thrills at the world championships in Singapore.
The meet kicks off with a bang on Sunday as Canada's teen machine Summer McIntosh looks to claim a maiden 400 metres freestyle world title after obliterating Ariarne Titmus's world record at Canadian trials.
Australia's Olympic champion Titmus is skipping the action at the World Aquatics Championships Arena but American icon Katie Ledecky, the Paris bronze medallist, is entered in the 400, an event she has won four times.
With Ledecky's days of dominating the 400 retreating in the distance, the spotlight will be McIntosh's bid to improve on her recent world record of three minutes and 54.18 seconds.
At 18, it's little wonder she believes her best is ahead of her.
"I can go over with my coach and see where to make improvements and really just use this as motivation and validation for my training so far," she said of her trio of world records at Canadian trials last month.
The 400 will merely be an appetizer to the main event when McIntosh goes head-to-head with world record holder and Olympic champion Ledecky for the 800m freestyle crown.
Iron-woman Ledecky has dominated the 800 like no other swimmer, and improbably took down her nine-year-old world record from the 2016 Rio Olympics with a swim of eight minutes and 4.12 seconds in Florida in May.
But the irrepressible McIntosh is coming hard.
McIntosh swam 8:05.07 in the 800 at Canada's trials, the third fastest all-time behind Ledecky's best two efforts.
Topping Ledecky in the 800 would be a watershed in global swimming history and a major blow for the American's hopes of claiming gold at her home Olympics in LA 2028.
But Ledecky's fighting spirit can never be discounted, while McIntosh's comparatively heavy programme could also count against her.
McIntosh is entered in the 200 metres individual medley and 200 metres butterfly in the days before the 800 freestyle heats on Friday, with the 400m IM on the final day of the meet.
It would be a monumental achievement but she could claim five individual titles if she swims her full schedule.
That would see her join the great Michael Phelps, the only swimmer to claim five golds at a single world championships .
Where the battle for middle distance supremacy highlights the women's programme, sprinters dominate the men's.
China's Pan Zhanle will defend his 100 metres freestyle title from Doha, where he announced himself with a world record in the leadoff leg of the 4x100m relay.
The 20-year-old duly destroyed that mark to claim Olympic gold in 46.40 seconds in Paris, almost embarrassing the rest of the field with the 1.08-second margin of victory to Australian runner-up Kyle Chalmers.
Romanian rocket David Popovici, whose personal best of 46.71 was the world record before Pan came along, took bronze at Paris and will try to upset Pan in Singapore for a second 100m crown, three years after his first in Budapest 2022.
Popovici may be a better bet to claim his second world 200 freestyle title, having won the Olympic gold in Paris, but is up against a decent field including the British 2023 champion Matt Richards.
Leon Marchand, who lit up the Paris Olympic pool with four individual gold medals at his home Games, will swim a lighter programme, dropping the 200 breaststroke and 200 butterfly from his repertoire in Singapore.
The 23-year-old, coined the "French Phelps", will look to reclaim the 200m and 400m IM titles he relinquished by skipping last year's event in Doha.
Already the 400 IM world record holder, Marchand is expected to take a swing at Ryan Lochte's longstanding world mark of 1:54.00 in the 200 IM.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Satwik-Chirag stumped by nemeses Chia-Soh again as they falter at China Open semifinal
Satwik-Chirag stumped by nemeses Chia-Soh again as they falter at China Open semifinal

Indian Express

time19 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Satwik-Chirag stumped by nemeses Chia-Soh again as they falter at China Open semifinal

In their rivalry that stretches back to TATA Open India International Challenge in 2017, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty briefly found a window where it appeared they had found the solutions against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. After going 0-8 in their first meetings, Satwik-Chirag won three in a row in a stretch between Indonesia Open 2023 and India Open 2024. But now, with their 13-21 17-21 defeat in 42 minutes on Saturday at Changzhou Sports Center Gymnasium in the semifinal of China Open Super 1000, Satwik-Chirag have lost thrice in a row against the world No 2 from Malaysia. It appears once more that the pair that tormented them for so long, are back to being their nemeses, especially considering the heartbreak that Chia and Soh gave at the Paris Olympics last year. While the China Open reversal comes at a juncture where the Indians are still trying to rebuild their game, the caveat being that they are not at their 100% yet after all the off-court niggles they have had to deal with, the manner of the defeat should be a matter of concern. At the Olympics last August and in the Singapore Open semifinal earlier this year, SatChi took the opening game and went on to lose in three – and the contest was dead even for the most part, the margins fine. But in Changzhou, Chia-Soh outplayed the Indians for large parts, except a brief period in Game 2 where Satwik-Chirag drew level from 12-16 to 16-16. 'We had our chances, especially in the second game,' Chirag would tell BWF later, but he too was aware they didn't do enough. 'But (overall we) were not playing the right game. We were playing strokes which we shouldn't have, hitting more on Aaron and I think that's what took the game away from us. When we started playing smarter at 12-16, we came back at 16-16. A good tournament for us, but sad that we had to go out this way.' Chirag added that they were too late to realise the mistakes they were doing and in a discipline as fast and furious as men's doubles, where rallies rarely develop out of the first 3-4 shots after service-return, such lethargy can prove mighty costly. 'We should have played a little more tactically. We had planned it, but we didn't execute it as well. I think it will take some time. We are still not at 100% as yet. We still need to get these matches; we can't be as sloppy.' The reunion with Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her – the man who responsible for convincing Satwik and Chirag during their early uncertain days – hasn't quite brought silverware yet. But the Malaysian men's doubles pairs have been boosted by the arrival of new national coach Herry IP, the legendary Indonesian nicknamed Fire Dragon. The impact, especially on Chia-Soh, has been immediate and immense, as he has overseen the former world champions winning three titles already this year, including the notoriously difficult Badminton Asia Championships. Chia-Soh are already a pedigreed duo but Herry has brought about a relentlessness to their game. Their flat attacking game was always their biggest strength but in the past they have shown a tendency to ditch their Plan A and resort to defensive lifts if they were under pressure – Herry seems to have drilled that out of them, and they rarely gave Satwik-Chirag the chances to go on their attacks. And when the Indians did find the height or time to launch their smashes, Soh and especially Chia were sensational on defence, extending rallies they had no business extending, and forcing the Indians into unforced errors, of which there were many especially in the opening game when Satwik and Chirag mishit quite a few shots under drifty conditions. It isn't a cause of alarm, not yet. But at some point, Satwik-Chirag would have to find more consistent solutions to the flat game that the Malaysian pairs – not just Chia-Soh – are becoming experts at. Last week in Japan, Satwik hinted that he has been working on a spin serve in training, bringing in that variation to their game would be a good start. There is no doubting the brilliance of their Plan A, but a few variations to disrupt their opponents could well be the next step. An Se Young began China Open with a dream of achieving something incredible: winning all Super 1000s of the year to complete a Calendar Slam. But on Saturday, bothered by a knee injury, she was forced to retire hurt while 19-21 6-11 down against Han Yue. The reigning Olympic and World Champion from Korea, who had won titles at Malaysia, All England and Indonesia Opens, has been near unstoppable this year. 'I'm very disappointed (at missing the Super Slam) but it can't be helped that I got this injury. Although I really wished to accomplish this record, my body failed me,' she told BWF. A consequence of An not competing for the China Open title on Sunday is that, incredibly, four out of the five finals are all-Chinese affairs. The only final to not feature China is men's doubles, where Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik – after their win against India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty – will take on scratch Indonesian pairing of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Shohibul Fikri. Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More

'The day everything changed': Patrick Mahomes opens up about the surprising role his mom played in his NFL journey
'The day everything changed': Patrick Mahomes opens up about the surprising role his mom played in his NFL journey

Time of India

time34 minutes ago

  • Time of India

'The day everything changed': Patrick Mahomes opens up about the surprising role his mom played in his NFL journey

Patrick Mahomes opens up about the surprising role his mom played in his NFL journey (Image via Getty) Patrick Mahomes is one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the NFL, known for his wild, creative throws. But the roots of his unique style didn't come from a coach, they came from his mom, Randi Mahomes. Long before Patrick became a Kansas City Chiefs superstar, he was catching strange throws in his Texas backyard. It turns out, those playful moments helped shape the football genius we see today. Patrick Mahomes' unique football skills started long before he joined the NFL Patrick Mahomes is now one of the biggest names in American football. He plays quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs and has already won two MVP awards and two Super Bowls. But what many people don't know is that some of his wild and creative throws didn't start in football practice, they started at home, with his mom, Randi Mahomes. His mother would fling footballs to him in their Tyler, Texas, backyard when he was a tiny boy. She didn't, however, fling the ball as typical. She was often busy, so she would throw it behind her back, off to the side, or in weird directions, just so she could keep reading her book or enjoy a cup of coffee. 'I'd throw it in the strangest way,' Randi Mahomes said during a chat on the Raising Athletes podcast with Kirsten Jones in July 2024. Unintentionally, Randi Mahomes showed Patrick Mahomes how to change to weak throws, move fast, and keep calm even when conditions weren't perfect. This began to shape his present approach to playing. Fans often see Mahomes perform sidearm passes, off-balance throws, or no-look moves throughout games, all of which render him very hard to predict. Randi Mahomes shaped Patrick's style with fun backyard games and strong support Randi Mahomes was not a football coach. But by just being a caring and creative mom, she helped Patrick grow into a star. She drove him to games, cheered from the stands, and always gave him love and support. 'She was always there,' Patrick told ESPN back in 2020. 'She did everything.' Also Read: 'Until We Got Married': Kansas City Chiefs Star Patrick Mahomes Opens Up About How Brittany Supported Him Since High School Randi now lives in Texas and still shares proud moments about Patrick. In April 2025, during this year's NFL Draft week, she posted on social media remembering the 2017 night when Patrick was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs. 'The day everything changed,' she wrote. On the podcast, Randi laughed as she said, 'We didn't know we were building an NFL quarterback. We were just having fun in the backyard.' Patrick Mahomes is now starting his ninth NFL season and continues to surprise fans every year. But it all started years ago with a little boy, a backyard, and a mom just trying to enjoy her coffee. FAQs Who trained Patrick Mahomes as a child? His mom, Randi Mahomes, accidentally trained him during backyard games. How did Randi Mahomes influence Patrick's playing style? Her unusual throws helped him learn to react fast and stay creative. When did Patrick Mahomes start playing football? He started young, playing catch with his mom in their backyard in Texas. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!

WUG: Indian archers bring more glory; half-marathoners disappoint
WUG: Indian archers bring more glory; half-marathoners disappoint

News18

timean hour ago

  • News18

WUG: Indian archers bring more glory; half-marathoners disappoint

Rhine-Ruhr, Essen (Germany), Jul 26 (PTI) Sahil Jadhav produced a near-flawless performance under pressure to clinch the men's compound individual gold as Indian archers wrapped up their World University Games campaign with an impressive haul of five medals here on Saturday. With a mixed team gold, men's team silver, women's team bronze, and two individual medals — Jadhav's gold and Parneet's silver — India concluded their archery campaign at the Games on a high, showcasing depth and promise in compound events. With one more day to go, India have two gold, two silver and three bronze in the showpiece event. India can further improve their tally as young Praveen Chithravel is in contention in the triple jump final, while both the men's and women's 4x400m relay teams have also made a strong statement by qualifying for the finals. The impressive show by the compound archers made up for the flop show by the Olympic discipline recurve archers who drew a blank here. Jadhav, who shot 14 perfect 10s before dropping a single point with his final arrow, edged out Great Britain's Ajay Scott 149-148 in a thrilling gold medal match. The Indian held his nerve despite Scott opening with three Xs (10-point arrow closer to the centre), maintaining a flawless streak until the final arrow of the fifth end. Jadhav had earlier reached the final after a nail-biting all-Indian semifinal, where he got the better of Kushal Dalal in a shoot-off after both archers were tied 148-148. The deciding arrow saw Jadhav shoot a 10* (closer to centre), which edged Dalal's 10. Dalal, however, endured heartbreak in the bronze medal match, going down 148-150 to Poland's Przemysław Konecki, who shot a perfect round of 15 arrows to seal the third-place finish. In the women's compound section, reigning Asian Games team gold medallist Parneet settled for silver after a narrow 146-147 defeat against South Korea's Moon Yeeun in a high-intensity final. Parneet, who had topped the qualification round, started strong and shot flawlessly in the first two ends (three arrows each), opening up a two-point lead against her third seed rival. However, she lost momentum in the third end, dropping two points as Moon stepped up with a perfect round of 30 to draw level. There was no looking back for the Korean thereafter as Moon shot another flawless round of three 10s in the fourth end to gain a one-point lead. That meant Parneet needed a perfect score in the final end to keep her hopes alive for the gold. But despite scoring an impressive 29, Moon matched her with another 29 to seal the title 147-146. Earlier in the semifinals, Parneet edged fifth seed Kim Sooyeon of South Korea by just one point (145-144) in a tense contest. Half-marathoners disappoint =================== India's strong presence in the half-marathon came to naught as none of the 10 runners in men's and women's sections could finish on the podium, even as a couple of personal best were recorded. The Indian men's and women's 4X400m relay teams set season's best times to qualify for the finals in style. Among the five Indian distance runners in the men's section, Mohit and Mohit Choudhary, recorded personal best times of 1:04:08 seconds and 1:06:51 seconds to finish sixth and 21st respectively in the gruelling event. Three others, Arun Dhansing Rathod (26th), Shubham Baliyan (32nd) and Ankit Deswal (36th) clocked 1:07:19 sec, 1:08:32 sec and 1:09:07 sec respectively, raising a question mark on the selection of the distance runners. Shinsaku Kudo smashed the WUG record in the event, finishing the race in 1:02:29 seconds to take the gold, while Ramazan Bastug (1:02:35) of Turkey took the silver and Japan's Ryuto Uehara (1:02:39 sec) bagged the bronze. The women's half-marathon too didn't throw up any interesting results for the Indians with Jyoti clocking 1:21:22 seconds to finish 21st in a field of 27 runners. China's Ma Xiuzhen finished a good nine minutes ahead to take the gold with a personal best time of 1:12:48 seconds. Aarti Arjun Pawara (1:22.350) was 22nd, while Rinkee Pawara, Basanti Kumari and Svati Pal finished 24th, 25th and 26th respectively. Relay teams show promise ================= The men's and women's relay teams showcased their class by qualifying for the finals. The men's 4x400m relay team clocked a season's best time of 3:06.56 seconds to finish second behind Poland in Heat 2, while the women's 4x400m quartet also recorded a season's best of 3:35.12 seconds to make the title round and placed second in Heat 1. India's triple jumper Poorva Sawant's campaign ended in the preliminary round with the 22-year-old from Mumbai finishing ninth in qualification with a leap of 12.82 metres. Kiran Mhatre finished 16th and last in the 5000m event, timing 15:16.57 seconds, with the gold going to France's Arthur Gervais, who timed 15:02.00. It was a disappointing show in women's triple jump qualification with Sandra Babu finishing 11th in a 12-player preliminary round with a lunge of 11.98m. PTI TAP AM AM UNG (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 26, 2025, 22:15 IST News agency-feeds WUG: Indian archers bring more glory; half-marathoners disappoint Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store