Latest news with #LeonMarchand
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Lewis Clareburt fifth, achieves personal best in 200m IM at world champs
Lewis Clareburt has swum his fastest time in the 200m IM. Photo: photosport New Zealand's Lewis Clareburt has swum his fastest 200m individual medley ever in finishing fifth at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. French sensation Leon Marchand won the gold medal though he failed to improve on a new world record in the heats just a night earlier . It was always going to be tough for Clareburt swimming against the Olympic champion Marchand, but he built his race well in lane seven, before storming home over the final 50 metres, to touch the wall in one minute 56.07 seconds, his fastest time and a fresh New Zealand record. Marchand won in 1:53.68s, the second fastest time ever. Shaine Casas from the United States was second and Hungary's Hubert Cos took bronze. Marchand finished 0.62sec ahead of Casas and said the record may have taken a bit out of him but he was hardly complaining, Reuters reported. "I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep," he said. "So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it." Clareburt will swim in his specialist event, the 400m individual medley, on Sunday. Meanwhile, Summer McIntosh came within a whisker of breaking a long-standing world record in the 200m butterfly. The record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 is the last surviving mark from the supersuit era in women's swimming - and McIntosh all but took it down. She stormed to her third individual gold medal of the meet in 2:01.99, the second-fastest swim of all time and a yawning three seconds better than American silver medallist Regan Smith. Summer McIntosh has won her third gold medal at the world champs in Singapore. Photo: FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT / AFP Having made the last turn under world record pace the Canadian 18-year-old flagged slightly coming home and shouted an expletive when she spied the clock. "I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race," she said. "Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight." China's 12-year-old marvel Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also placed fourth in the 200 IM. McIntosh might console herself in the knowledge that her bid for five individual titles remains intact, with the 400 IM and a hugely anticipated showdown with American great Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle still to come. Only Michael Phelps has won five individual golds at a world championships. Romania's David Popovici also flirted with a record on day five, the 20-year-old claiming a thrilling 100 metres freestyle gold to go with his 200m crown on day three. Popovici clocked 46.51 in the 100 to give Pan Zhanle's world record (46.40) a big scare. American runner-up Jack Alexy also broke the 47-second barrier (46.92), while Paris Games silver medallist Kyle Chalmers took the bronze for Australia. At 20, 200 Olympic champion Popovici has already completed the 100-200 sweep twice at world championships, having done the double at Budapest three years ago. The relaxed Romanian said he had reached a higher plane; no longer worried about winning or losing. "I just feel very relieved that this huge pressure of being afraid of winning or losing is off me," he said. "I don't mean it in an arrogant way, I mean it in a self-maturing way." In the finale of Thursday's programme, Australia's women clinched a second relay gold as Mollie O'Callaghan held off Ledecky in a thrilling final leg to guide her 4x200 freestyle relay team over the finish line. Australia also won the men's and women's 4x100 freestyle golds on Sunday. O'Callaghan, whose 11th gold tied her with Ian Thorpe as the most successful Australian at the world championships, will now look to add the 100 freestyle title to her 200 crown on Friday. - RNZ Sport/Reuters
Khaleej Times
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
McIntosh and Marchand dazzle for gold at world championships
Summer McIntosh came within a whisker of breaking a long-standing world record and Leon Marchand failed to improve on a new mark he set just a night earlier, but both young guns won gold medals at the world championships in Singapore on Thursday. Romania's David Popovici also flirted with a record on day five at the World Aquatics Championships Arena, the 20-year-old claiming a thrilling 100 metres freestyle gold to go with his 200 crown on day three. The 200 butterfly world record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 is the last surviving mark from the supersuit era in women's swimming -- and McIntosh all but took it down. She stormed to her third individual gold medal of the meet in 2:01.99, the second-fastest swim of all time and a yawning three seconds better than American silver medallist Regan Smith. Having made the last turn under world record pace the Canadian 18-year-old flagged slightly coming home and shouted an expletive when she spied the clock. "I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race," she said. "Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight." China's 12-year-old marvel Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also placed fourth in the 200 IM. McIntosh might console herself in the knowledge that her bid for five individual titles remains intact, with the 400 IM and a hugely anticipated showdown with American great Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle still to come. Only Michael Phelps has won five individual golds at a world championships. Marchand, dubbed the "French Phelps", celebrated a world record on Wednesday when he blitzed the long-standing 200 IM mark of Ryan Lochte with an incredible swim of 1:52.69 in the semifinals. With victory seemingly assured in the final the only suspense was whether Marchand might reset his world record from the previous night but he ended up nearly a second short, with a time of 1:53.68. It was still the second fastest swim ever and led to a dominant win by 0.62 seconds ahead of American Shaine Casas and Hungarian Hubert Kos. Marchand said the record may have taken a bit out of him but he was hardly complaining. "I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep," he said. "So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it." Popovici then emerged the winner of a sensational men's 100 freestyle final, clocking 46.51 to give Pan Zhanle's world record (46.40) a big scare. American runner-up Jack Alexy also broke the 47-second barrier (46.92), while Paris Games silver medallist Kyle Chalmers took the bronze for Australia. At 20, 200 Olympic champion Popovici has already completed the 100-200 sweep twice at world championships, having done the double at Budapest three years ago. The relaxed Romanian said he had reached a higher plain; no longer worried about winning or losing. "I just feel very relieved that this huge pressure of being afraid of winning or losing is off me," he said. "I don't mean it in an arrogant way, I mean it in a self-maturing way." The United States celebrated a fourth gold in the meet as Katharine Berkoff won the 50 backstroke in 27.08 seconds, edging compatriot Smith. In the finale of Thursday's programme, Australia's women clinched a second relay gold as Mollie O'Callaghan held off Ledecky in a thrilling final leg to guide her 4x200 freestyle relay team over the finish line. Australia also won the men's and women's 4x100 freestyle golds on Sunday. O'Callaghan, whose 11th gold tied her with Ian Thorpe as the most successful Australian at the world championships, will now look to add the 100 freestyle title to her 200 crown on Friday. Medals will also be decided in the men's 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke and 4x200 freestyle relay, as well as the women's 200 breaststroke.
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Marchand claims gold as McIntosh wins third title
French star Leon Marchand claimed the men's 200m medley title at the World Aquatics Championships, as Summer McIntosh continued her bid for history with a third who smashed the world record in the event during Wednesday's semi-finals, again went under Ryan Lochte's previous 14-year mark as he triumphed in one minute 53.68 seconds in 23-year-old finished ahead of American Shaine Casas, who took silver in 1:54.30, and Hungary's Hubert Kos (1:55.34). Britain's Duncan Scott missed out on the podium by less than a second (1:56.32)."I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep," said Marchand, who will also race in the 400m medley."So I think I lost a lot of energy last night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy." Canada's McIntosh recorded the second-fastest performance of all time in winning her third gold of the championships in the women's 200m butterflyThe 18-year-old's time of 2:01.99 took her close to the mark of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009, which is the last remaining record from swimming's supersuit finished a full three seconds clear of American Regan Smith to add to her 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley triumphs in Singapore. She remains on course to equal US great Michael Phelps' record of five individual titles at a single world championships."I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race," said McIntosh, who will aim for further golds in the 400m individual medley and 800m freestyle."Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight." Australia's Elizabeth Dekkers completed the podium, denying Chinese 12-year-old sensation Yu Zidi a place on the podium as she finished Emily Richards placed seventh (2:07.99), ahead of Ireland's Ellen Walshe (2:08.34)Another Briton Lauren Cox finished fifth in women's 50m backstroke in 27.36 secs, as American Katharine Berkoff won gold in Richards was eighth in the men's 100m freestyle (47.74), where Romania's David Popovici, 20, added to his 200m title in a championship-record time of Britain's quartet of Freya Colbert, Freya Anderson, Abbie Wood and Leah Schlosshan were fifth in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay in 7:51.87, as Australia took gold (7:39.35) ahead of the United States and China.
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand take gold at World Championships - but miss out on new world records
Summer McIntosh came within a whisker of breaking a long-standing world record and Leon Marchand failed to improve on a new mark he set just a night earlier, but both young stars won gold medals at the world championships in Singapore on Thursday. Romania's David Popovici also flirted with a record on day five at the World Aquatics Championships Arena, the 20-year-old claiming a thrilling 100m freestyle gold to go with his 200m crown on day three. The 200m butterfly world record of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009 is the last surviving mark from the supersuit era in women's swimming - and McIntosh narrowly missed out on breaking it. She stormed to her third individual gold medal of the meet in 2:01.99, the second-fastest swim of all-time and a yawning three seconds better than American silver medallist Regan Smith. Having made the last turn under world record pace the Canadian flagged slightly coming home and shouted an expletive when she spied the clock. 'I know that I messed up the last 15 metres of my race,' she said. 'Overall, happy with the time and a PB, but I didn't reach my goal tonight.' China's 12-year-old marvel Yu Zidi finished just off the podium again having also finished fourth in the 200m individual medley won by McIntosh. The 18-year-old might console herself in the knowledge that her bid for five individual titles remains intact, with the 400m individual medley and a hugely anticipated showdown with Katie Ledecky in the 800m freestyle still to come. Only Michael Phelps has won five individual golds at a world championships. Marchand, dubbed the 'French Phelps', celebrated a world record on Wednesday when he blitzed the long-standing 200m individual medley mark of Ryan Lochte with an incredible swim of 1:52.69 in the semi-finals. The 23-year-old shaved nearly a second and a half off the American's benchmark, which had stood for 14 years. With victory seemingly assured in the final the only suspense was whether Marchand might reset his world record from the previous night but he ended up nearly a second short, with a time of 1:53.68. It was still the second fastest swim ever and led to a dominant win by 0.62 seconds ahead of American Shaine Casas and Hungarian Hubert Kos. Britain's Duncan Scott was fourth, missing out on a medal by nearly a second. Marchand said the record may have taken a bit out of him but he was hardly complaining. 'I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep,' he said. 'So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it.' Popovici then emerged the winner of a sensational men's 100m freestyle final, clocking 46.51 to give Pan Zhanle's world record (46.40) a big scare. American runner-up Jack Alexy also broke the 47-second barrier (46.92), while Paris Games silver medallist Kyle Chalmers took the bronze for Australia. At 20, 200m Olympic champion Popovici has already completed the 100-200 sweep twice at world championships, having done the double at Budapest three years ago. The United States celebrated a fourth gold in the meet as Katharine Berkoff won the 50m backstroke in 27.08 seconds, edging compatriot Smith.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Leon Marchand wins 200m medley gold after breaking world record
FRENCH swimming sensation Leon Marchand secured gold in the 200m medley at the World Championships, just a day after breaking the world record. The 23-year-old, who dominated the Paris Olympics last year, clocked 1:53.68 in the final—his second-fastest time ever. Marchand admitted he struggled to sleep following his record-breaking semi-final performance. 'I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep,' he said. 'I lost a lot of energy, but breaking the record was my goal, so I was really happy.' Despite fatigue, Marchand held off a strong challenge from American Shaine Casas (1:54.30) and Hungary's Hubert Kos (1:55.34). This victory marks his sixth career world title and first in Singapore. After an extended post-Olympics break, Marchand returned to competition in May. He now shifts focus to the 400m medley, where he previously broke Michael Phelps's world record. 'I'm in good shape,' he said. 'I'm fresher than usual.' - AFP
