Katie Ledecky conquers her greatest challenge yet in 800m World title #7

Women’s 800m freestyle - Katie Ledecky ends the McIntosh run to win #7 in thriller over Pallister

For swimming fans, there’s been one constant the last 13 years - Katie Ledecky winning the 800m freestyle final. Despite every challenge thrown at her, she’s won everything - four straight Olympic golds, six World titles. She’s held the world record since 2013, taking it from 8:13 as a 16-year-old to 8:04 as a 28-year-old in 2025.

Enter 18-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada. In June, she got closer than anyone had before to Ledecky’s world record, swimming 8:05 at her Trials and pushing Ledecky’s pace the entire way. This set up a showdown at the World Championships as swimming fans circled August 1 on their calendars as the can’t miss race of the year. In Ledecky’s long run in the 800m freestyle, her only head to head loss came at the hands of McIntosh at a low key meet in Florida in February 2024 when McIntosh swam 8:11 to Ledecky’s 8:17.

McIntosh was going for an unprecedented five gold medals this week in Singapore in a trial run for Los Angeles 2028, picking the 800m as a fifth option with the intent to take on Ledecky at her best. Having already won three, taking down Ledecky in the 400m freestyle and swimming the fastest 200m butterfly in 16 years, she looked like the frontrunner for this race in another “race of the century.”

“I think I’ve been a part of a ‘race of the century’ maybe six times in the last decade,” Ledecky said, referring to her battles in the 400m freestyle in Tokyo 2020 and Fukuoka 2023. “I think 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.”

It was hard to fathom Ledecky losing a major 800m final, but with acute gastroenteritis affecting the American team this week and McIntosh swimming as well as she had, it was definitely becoming a reality for a Canadian gold.

Enter Australia’s Lani Pallister. After a fourth place finish in the 400m freestyle in a lifetime best, Pallister went toe to toe with Ledecky in the 1500m final for 400 meters, before letting the pace overwhelm her as she faded to the bronze medal, 14 seconds behind Ledecky. Pallister was confident in her speed this year and knew if she could manage her speed better in the 800m final, then she could hang with Ledecky and McIntosh.

It was the most anticipated race of the night and perhaps the entire championships and it certainly lived up to it.

For 650 meters, Ledecky led with McIntosh and Pallister right on her. Every step of the way, nobody moved. The crowd, aware of the history of these three, held their collective breath with each turn. At every meter, these three stayed with each other, with the margin being no greater than 0.57 at any wall. At 700m, McIntosh pulled into the lead. At 750m, Ledecky took it back.

On the final 50m, the entire venue in Singapore rose to their feet, Pallister’s coach Dean Boxall ran through the media tribune, the noise deafening as almost everyone was in disbelief at how the race was unfolding.

Ledecky turned on the legs. With 15 meters to go, it was clear the win was hers.

The scoreboard read: Ledecky gold at 8:05.62 in a new championship record. Pallister, silver at 8:05.98, and McIntosh, bronze at 8:07.29. Ledecky’s coach Anthony Nesty threw a fist in the air when he got to embrace her poolside.

“I think the whole last 200, I just kept telling myself to trust my legs,” Ledecky said. “Believe it or not, I’ve actually gotten a little better at kicking, which, you know, I kind of got tired of everyone saying I don’t kick, so finally got a little better at that. And just at the end, I kind of just kept telling myself ‘trust, trust, trust’. I had to go the whole way. The last 100, it’s like you don’t want to push it too early, because then you get a little afraid that you're going to die at the end. So it was definitely just trying to build into each 100 and yeah, just keep going.”

McIntosh won her fourth medal of the week but her first bronze.

“I think I was thinking too much about Katie being beside me and trying to keep up with her and not let her take over too much, rather than just swimming my own race,” McIntosh said. “I went 8:05 in trials but I’m a lot more tired here. I think that was a big learning lesson for me, this feels like a big flashback from Fukuoka 400 free. It’ll definitely take some time, this is a new event for me and I have lots to learn in it and we’ll see where it takes me in the next few years heading into LA.”

It’s the third fastest swim of Ledecky’s career and it is Pallister’s first swim inside 8:10.

“It’s actually really interesting, this is probably the first major meet that I’ve made it through the week without getting sick or having to pull from any event,” Pallister said. “So, that’s a huge win. I didn’t think I’d crack 8:08 this week, my goal was just to be under 8:10, so being in 8:05 is insane. I think I got confidence from the 1500 race, going out in 4:02.

“In my mind, if I could do 4:02 on the 1500 metres, then I can hold that pace for the 800 metres. I’m just really thrilled, it was a lot of fun and when I was almost at 400 metres, I wondered who was going to make it between Summer and Katie. It was just a really wicked back-end and I’m stoked about how I put it all together.”

Lost in the shuffle a bit, Italy’s Simona Quadarella broke the European record at 8:12.81, the second of the week for the 27-year-old coached by Gianluca Belfiore to move to fifth all-time.

China’s Li Bingjie (8:15.59), Germany’s Isabel Gose (8:18.23), New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather (8:20.79) and Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto (8:26.85) also swam in the championship  final.

Women’s 50m butterfly - Gretchen Walsh becomes first American champion in 50m butterfly

Following her monstrous nine world record performance in December’s World Short Course Championships, American Gretchen Walsh was set for a big season in long course meters in 2025. Before the meet, she had yet to win an individual title at either the Worlds or Olympics. On Saturday night, following her win in Monday’s 100m butterfly, Walsh doubled up with a gold in the 50m at 24.83.

“I’m very proud,” Walsh said. “That was a great swim, feels great to feel like myself again in the water after a rough week. Two-time world champion, can’t complain about that.”

Walsh, age 22, became the first American to win the 50m butterfly at Worlds since the event debuted in Fukuoka 2001. Walsh is also the first gold medalist not named Sarah Sjostrom since Barcelona 2013, as the 6-time defending champ is pregnant with her first child.

Sjostrom’s record of 24.43 will last another day as Walsh is the second fastest performer in history and the only other woman to swim inside 25 seconds for this event. Walsh, the world record holder in the 100m, could be cracking that world record in the future as she swam her second fastest time in history in winning gold tonight.

“To have the title in the 100 and the 50 butterfly is everything to me,” Walsh said. “I love these two races, and I feel like I've been really working towards being a world champion, executing when it mattered most. And I'm just really happy with the results I got tonight, and going under that 25 barrier again is always huge.”

Australia’s Alexandria Perkins (25.31) tied the Oceania record to win silver and sit just outside the all-time top ten. Perkins upgraded her bronze from Monday’s 100m butterfly as she finished ahead of Belgium’s Roos Van Otterdijk (25.43), who won silver in the 100m, as the podium looked identical tonight to the 100m.

“I’m really happy with that, it’s a bit of a relief to be honest because finals are always so nerve-wracking,” Perkins said. “But I’m really happy with the PB. I’m really glad I controlled my nerves and was able to put the race together better than last night.”

After Van Otterdijk, coached by Mark Faber, won Belgium’s first swimming medal at the World Aquatics Championships since Perth 1998, she has won a second medal at just 20 years of age.

“It's just been amazing,” Van Otterdijk said. “I think it's the best week of my life. I've really, really enjoyed racing here, just the whole competition. I really enjoyed the whole year, the training, competitions, and this was just an amazing end to the whole year. So I'm really, really happy with this.”

Germany’s Angelina Kohler (25.50) finished fourth, lowering her own national record, ahead of Arina Surkova (25.59) and Australia’s Lily Price (25.61).

Italy’s Silvia di Pietro (25.64) and South Africa’s Erin Gallagher (25.66) also swam in the championship final.

Men’s 50m freestyle - Cameron McEvoy wins gold as new dad

Just a few weeks after the birth of his son, 31-year-old Cameron McEvoy was crowned fastest man in the world, winning his second World title in the 50m freestyle at 21.14. It’s the third fastest of McEvoy’s career and the tenth fastest for anyone in history as McEvoy has become the master in traveling one length of the pool.

McEvoy followed up his World title from 2023 and his Olympic gold from 2024 as he dedicated the win to his son Hartley, who was born July 14 just before McEvoy left for training camp.

“First, I want to shout out to Maddi at home,” McEvoy said. “I couldn’t be here without her. Shoutout to Hartley, my three-week-old son. It’s unreal. It’s been a pretty hectic preparation. I’m just glad that I got my hand on the wall first in a great time. Enjoy it while it lasts here, but I’m so excited to get home.”

“That was my mindset before this. It sounds cliché, but in or lose, I’m going home a winner. It’s given me a new light on the sport, on life, something new to navigate, and I’ll see where it takes me in the future.”

Great Britain’s Ben Proud matched his silver from Paris last year as he finished second here at 21.26. Proud, age 31, won his fourth straight medal in this event, adding to his gold from Budapest 2022 and upgrading his bronze from Fukuoka 2023 and Doha 2024. Proud also won bronze back in Budapest 2017 as he is the first man to win five medals in this event at the World Championships.

"I was still suffering from the viral bug that was going around,” Proud said. “All expectations just went out the window. The only important thing was getting through the rounds, making it to the final, and enjoying that process. The less-than-ideal run-up almost took the pressure off. I just aimed to get through the rounds, hoping to sneak a podium spot. My analogy is I always want to be among the best, so when opportunities arise, I’m there to reap the rewards.

"I owe a lot to the team doctor and coaches who managed my energy and got me through the symptoms to be ready for the final. Even an hour before the race, I just wanted to get a swim done, but we were planning my energy to peak at the final."

Jack Alexy (21.46) of the United States won the bronze medal, adding to his silver from Fukuoka 2023 and his silver in the 100m freestyle earlier in the week.

"I knew that it was going to be definitely just a long session for me tonight, having two swims, and I welcomed that challenge, and I'm really excited,” Alexy said. “I think the 50 just set me up kind of as a warm-up for the 100 today, and it was a lot of fun preparing for the relay. I told Patrick on the way to the ready room it was a lot less pressure than the other 100 free final that we were in a couple of nights ago. So just with our teammates having fun and being confident in ourselves, I think we did the job well."

Alexy, age 22, out-touched Italy’s Leonardo Deplano (21.52) and Egor Kornev (21.53) for the bronze.

Serbia’s Andrej Barna (21.60) finished sixth ahead of Korea’s Ji Yu-chan (21.71), who won a swim-off to get into this final, becoming the first Korean to final in this event at the Worlds.

American Santo Condorelli (21.73), who won a swim-off to get into the semi-finals yesterday, finished eighth, just off his lifetime best at age 30. This was the first major final for him since he was fourth ten years ago in the 100m freestyle while representing Canada.

Women’s 200m backstroke - Kaylee McKeown stays winning, secures three-peat

In a race that featured the last three World champions, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown once again conquered the world in a major backstroke final, taking the 200m backstroke final for the third time at a World Aquatics Championships, swimming the third fastest time in history at 2:03.33. The time broke the championship record that American Regan Smith set back in Gwangju 2019 as the 23-year-old coached by Bob Bowman won her fourth silver medal of these championships at 2:04.29.

“I thought it was as good as it could go for me this year at this meet,” Smith said. “I was about a second off my PB in my 200 fly so I thought if I could put together a good race tonight, I’d be about a second off my last 200 backstroke and I was. Good execution and honestly a really great time. My fastest time the season before that was 2:05.8, so the bar was low but still a good swim for me.”

Smith took the race out hard, under McKeown’s world record pace at 100 meters at 1:00.61 with McKeown in third at 1:01.34. Swimming in lane two and McKeown in six, the two rivals couldn’t see each other, but they swam the exact races they always tend to do - Smith pushing the front half and McKeown running the field down at the end.

For the third straight year, McKeown beat Smith head to head in the exact same way, this time splitting 30.83 on the final 50m to Smith’s 31.82. McKeown just missed her own world record of 2:03.14 from 2023.

“I wasn’t feeling too great heading in, a bit of illness and stuff going around, dealing with a bit of a shoulder,” McKeown said. “I had to put my best foot forward tonight, I dug really deep, and I’m really happy with the time that I posted.

“Something I’ve been really working on is focusing on my own race. I think it really helped me on the outside lane, not seeing the other girls around me, and just really focusing on what I’ve been working on. I don’t see a whole lot when I’m racing. I had to ask for my time at the end.”

Much has been said already about these two and their place in the history of the 200m backstroke. McKeown, age 24, and Smith, age 23, made their debuts in the final back in Budapest 2017 when they were teenagers - McKeown was fourth and Smith was eighth. Together, they share the ten fastest times in history - McKeown has seven of them and Smith has the other three.

McKeown has won the last two Olympic golds and has a resume to be considered the greatest backstroker in history. Both of them have risen this event to another level and don’t appear to be stopping anytime soon, despite hindered preparations for this event, with reports of McKeown dislocating her shoulder recently, and Smith overcoming acute gastroenteritis. McKeown, coached by Michael Sage, became the first woman to win three World titles in this event, backing up her wins from Budapest 2022 and Fukuoka 2023.

American Claire Curzan, the champion from Doha 2024, won the bronze at 2:06.04 after being in the mix with Smith on the first 100 meters. Curzan is coached by Todd DeSorbo at the University of Virginia.

“It was a pretty good race,” Curzan said. “I felt pretty strong through prelims and semi-finals and was hoping for a best time, but I'm proud of how it was executed, all things considered, with this being a big national stage and the first time racing this event in prelims, semi-finals and final format at an international meet. So, just really pleased with how it went and always happy for a medal.”

China’s Peng Xuwei (2:07.22) finished fourth after coming in as the top seed. Anastasiya Shkurdai (2:08.09) finished fifth ahead of China’s Liu Yaxin (2:09.71), Hungary’s Dora Molnar (2:09.74) and Germany’s Lise Seidel (2:10.01).

Men’s 100m butterfly - Maxime Grousset erases Paris disappointment with first journey inside 50 seconds

There was talk over the possibility of someone breaking Caeleb Dressel’s vaunted world record of 49.45 from Tokyo 2020 in tonight’s final. After Switzerland’s Noe Ponti broke the world record in short course meters last year, and Canada’s Josh Liendo split 49.6 on the mixed relay three nights ago, and France’s Maxime Grousset won the 50m butterfly, it was expected to be a tight one.

In fact, in Friday’s semi-finals, it took 50.88 to even get into this final as a sub-51 had never not made the final at a major meet. The guys were ready to race and it showed on Saturday night with Grousset claiming the gold at 49.62 in a new European record with Ponti winning silver at 49.83. Those two became the sixth and seventh people to swim 49 seconds in the 100m butterfly.

The swim is a big one for Grousset, who entered last year’s home Olympics as the gold medal favorite in the 100m butterfly before he fell to fifth in the final and off the podium.

Tonight, Grousset, coached by Michel Chrétien and Matthieu Neuillet, moved to second all-time. Ponti, coached by Massimo Meloni and Andrea Mercuri, matched his silver from the 50m as he moved to fifth all-time.

“I don't know what to say, but thank you,” Grousset said. “I heard you during the race, thank you all.”

“I did a great race and swam fast,” Ponti said. “49.8, pretty good. I missed gold again against Maxime, but it is what it is and that’s the sport. I’m happy for him and he went faster. Congrats to him.”

Canada’s Ilya Kharun (50.07) had a bit of a redemption arc himself in this event, winning bronze to upgrade his fourth place finish from the 200m. Kharun, coached by Herbie Behm, was the Olympic bronze medalist from last year and swam his lifetime best in moving to eighth all-time, just out-touching teammate Liendo (50.09) for third.

“I didn’t really doubt myself because I know myself and I know my speed,” Kharun said. “It’s kind of like in chess, how you have to make the right moves to get there. Probably needed more training for the 200 metres… But during the 50 metres, it felt like there was nothing I could do because one little mistake led me to not make it. I can only just learn from it, and keep going.”

Australia’s Matthew Temple (50.57) finished fifth overall ahead of Andrei Minakov (50.90), Austria’s Simon Bucher (50.92) and Italy’s Thomas Ceccon (51.12).

Mixed 4x100m freestyle

Fresh off of the hype of watching Ledecky win the 800m final, the American team of Jack Alexy (46.91), Patrick Sammon (46.70), Kate Douglass (52.43), and Torri Huske (52.44) set the world record to close the penultimate night of the championships at 3:18.48. The swim lowers Australia’s mark from Fukuoka 2023 at 3:18.83 as the Aussies didn’t even qualify for this final after finishing tenth in the heats.

"I thought it was a great race,” Sammon said. “We'd come up short just a few times earlier in this week, and it just felt good to get back on top of the podium.”

The team that swept the 4x100m freestyle relays on night one not qualifying for this final certainly opened the door for the American team to win its first relay of the championships.

“I think we all came out here tonight really wanting to get that first win for team USA,” Douglass said. “And to do it in a world record, I think we all knew in the back of our minds we had that ability. And I'm really happy with how that turned out.”

The Neutral Athletes B team won silver at 3:19.68 with the team of Egor Kornev (47.69), Ivan Girev (47.08), Daria Trofimova (52.42), and Daria Klepikova (52.49) to lower the European record.

France won its first Worlds relay medal since Gwangju 2019 with the team of Maxime Grousset  (47.62), Yann Le Goff (47.77), Marie Wattel (52.74) and Beryl Gastaldello (53.22) winning bronze at 3:21.35 in just holding off Italy (3:21.48) and the Netherlands (3:21.71).

Canada (3:23.16), Spain (3:24.87), and Germany (3:25.29) also swam in the championship final.

Semis wrap

Men’s 1500m freestyle

Germany’s Florian Wellbrock, fresh off cleaning house in the open water swimming programme two weeks ago on Sentosa Island, cruised through the 1500m heats on Saturday morning in Singapore. Wellbrock, who will turn 28 in 17 days, swam 14:44.81 to take the top seed as he is looking to win his first major 1500m final since he won a thriller in Gwangju 2019.

Wellbrock is ahead of Wednesday’s 800m champ Ahmed Jaouadi (14:44.95) and 17-year-old Kuzey Tuncelli (14:45.28) of Turkiye.

“That was great,” Tuncelli said. “I didn’t give my full power. We will see in the final.”

Tuncelli was the World Junior champion back in 2023 and is a rising star in swimming as Turkiye has never won a medal in any sport at the World Aquatics Championships.

Germany’s Sven Schwarz (14:45.31), the silver medalist from the 800m, is seeded fourth ahead of world record holder and two-time Olympic champ Bobby Finke (14:45.70) of the United States. The top five separated by less than a second, leaving the gold medal tomorrow night up for grabs.

“It should be fun,” Finke said. “Endurance is feeling better so I’m just looking forward to racing those guys and seeing what we can go.”

Australia’s Sam Short (14:46.24), who was the top seed in the 800m out of the heats but scratched due to illness, rebounded to advance to the final in sixth. Short was the silver medalist in the 400m freestyle and was the bronze medalist from Fukuoka 2023 in the 1500m.

“I was really down in the dumps, I was so excited for that 800m,” Short said. “I really thought I could have been challenging Ahmed (Jaouadi) for sure - it’s my favorite race. I’m just stoked to get in the final. I was fully prepared to go straight from here to the pub and have lunch with my parents. But it turns out I’ve got to get prepared for tomorrow night. I’ll be even better, 36 more hours to recover a bit more, so I might be able to stomach a bit more food. I was running this morning off a gel and a banana.”

Hungary’s Zalan Sarkany (14:47.89), the World short course champ from the 800m in December, is seeded seventh ahead of France’s Damien Joly (14:51.06).

Women’s 50m breaststroke

Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte (29.54) was the lone swimmer inside 30 seconds in the 50m breaststroke semi-finals as the three-time defending champion is looking for a fourth tomorrow night at age 28.

The top challenger will be China’s Tang Qianting (30.04), who is seeded second and the silver medalist from Doha 2024. Tang was leading the 100m breaststroke final for 50 meters before fading to third as she has as much speed as anyone in the world at age 21.

Italy’s Benedetta Pilato (30.20), winner of four straight medals in this event, is seeded third ahead of the last to win before Meilutyte in American Lilly King (30.22), swimming in the final individual race of her career.

Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova (30.25), the World Junior champ from 2023, is seeded fifth ahead of Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko (30.30), Italy’s Anita Bottazzo (30.31) and Finland’s Veera Kivirinta (30.37).

Notably, 100m champion Anna Elendt (30.40) of Germany, finished 10th and did not advance to the final for tomorrow.

Women’s 50m freestyle

In another race that is without Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, Poland’s Kasia Wasick (24.19) is in line to win her first career World title in long course as the top seed ahead of tomorrow’s final ahead of Milou Van Wijk (24.29) of the Netherlands.

Wasick, age 33, won silver in Budapest 2022 and bronze in Doha 2024, as she will have her hands full with the likes of Van Wijk and American Gretchen Walsh (24.31), who won the 50m butterfly already tonight. Walsh holds the number one ranked time in the world this year, swimming 23.91 in June.

Walsh tied for third seed alongside Australia’s Meg Harris (24.31), who won bronze in Budapest 2022.

China advanced two to the final with Cheng Yujie (24.36) and Wu Qingfeng (24.36) tying for fifth ahead of American Torri Huske (24.41), the bronze medalist from last night’s 100m freestyle.

Belgium’s Florine Gaspard (24.45) advanced to the final in eighth as the Belgians have quietly had a strong showing in Singapore this week, winning two medals.

Notably, 100m champion Marrit Steenbergen (24.61) of the Netherlands, finished 12th and did not advance.

Men’s 50m backstroke

Kliment Kolesnikov (24.16) and Pavel Samusenko (24.31) swam the top times in the semis of the 50m backstroke ahead of the 100m champion Pieter Coetze (24.32) of South Africa, who broke the African record to qualify third.

Kolesnikov had a bit of a disappointing finish in the 100m final in placing sixth, but he led at 50 meters of that race as that speed was on full display in the semis.

Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk (24.41), the World Junior champion from 2022, qualified fourth ahead of Greece’s Apostolos Christou (24.50) and 200m champion Hubert Kos (24.50) of Hungary.

Quintin McCarty (24.52) advanced in seventh for the United States ahead of Australia’s Isaac Cooper (24.53).