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                 Wednesday 26 July 2017






















            Ledecky breezes to 3rd worlds gold, brash King wins again



            By PAUL NEWBERRY                                                                                                    Hosszu  heading into the fi-
            AP National Writer                                                                                                  nal Wednesday night.
            BUDAPEST,  Hungary  (AP)                                                                                            Peaty,   Britain’s   breast-
            —  Katie  Ledecky  breezed                                                                                          stroke  lion  with  the  tattoo
            to  her  third  gold  medal  of                                                                                     to  match,  broke  a  pair
            the  world  championships,                                                                                          of  50-meter  breaststroke
            backing  off  a  bit  on  her                                                                                       marks  —  one  in  the  morn-
            most  grueling  night  of  the                                                                                      ing preliminaries, another in
            meet. It was left to Lilly King,                                                                                    the evening semifinals.
            Kylie  Masse  and  Adam                                                                                             Peaty’s initial time of 26.10
            Peaty  to  take  down  the                                                                                          shaved 0.32 seconds off the
            swimming  record  book  —                                                                                           standard he set at the 2015
            and King to claim another                                                                                           worlds  in  Kazan.  He  went
            impressive  triumph  over                                                                                           even  faster  a  few  hours
            her  Russian  rival.  Ledecky                                                                                       later  in  the  non-Olympic
            captured  the  1,500-meter                                                                                          event, touching in 25.95.
            freestyle by more than half                                                                                         When Peaty saw the time,
            the  length  of  the  pool  on                                                                                      he  mouthed  in  disbelief,
            Tuesday,  and  returned  just                                                                                       “No way.”
            49 minutes later to post the                                                                                        Masse  took  down  anoth-
            fastest time in the semifinals                                                                                      er  record  from  the  rub-
            of the 200 free.                                                                                                    ber-suit  era.  She  won  the
            Long  or  short,  it  doesn’t                                                                                       women’s  100  backstroke
            seem  to  matter  to  the    United States’ gold medal winner Katie Ledecky is flanked by Italy’s bronze medal winner Simona   in 51.10 — 0.02 better than
            American star.               Quadarella, right, and Spain’s silver medal winner Mireia Belmonte during the ceremony after   the  mark  set  by  Britain’s
            “It’s hard the other 364 days   the women’s 1500-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions of the World Aquatics   Gemma  Spofforth’s  at  the
                                         Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, July 25, 2017.
            of the year,” Ledecky said,                                                                        Associated Press   2009  worlds  in  Rome,  the
            barely breathing hard. “It’s                                                                                        last  hurrah  for  the  perfor-
            putting the work in for prac-  side her, was the one who  usually staid world of swim-  gold  medals  by  a  female  mance-enhancing     attire
            tice,  so  when  I  get  to  this  came through again when  ming.  “Her  confidence  is  swimmer  at  a  single  world  that  allowed  swimmers  to
            day of the meet, I can just  it  really  counted.  She  got  so  impressive,”  Ledecky  championships .             essentially  rewrite  the  re-
            do it. It’s routine. Just get up  off to a blistering start and  said.  “I  think  it’s  infectious  She  already  became  the  cord book.
            and  know  that  I  have  the  led  all  the  way,  touching  for  the  whole  team.”  Efi-  winningest  female  ever  at  “I knew I was close,” Masse
            work in the bank to get up  in  1  minute,  4.13  seconds  mova  hung  on  the  lane  the  worlds  with  her  12th  said.  “I  was  aiming  to  do
            and swim those times.”       to shave 0.22 off the Lithu-  rope,  all  alone  and  man-  career  gold,  breaking  a  it  here.”  In  all,  five  world
            While  Ledecky  sucked  all  anian’s mark from the 2013  aging  a  weak  smile,  as  if  tie  with  Missy  Franklin  and  records  have  been  set  in
            the suspense out of her final  worlds in Barcelona.       she couldn’t believe the In-  trailing only Michael Phelps  Budapest.  Masse  was  fol-
            —  she  was  more  than  19  King defiantly pounded the  diana college student had  and  Ryan  Lochte  among  lowed by Kathleen Baker of
            seconds ahead of the run-    water  when  she  saw  the  beaten her again.             all swimmers.                the U.S. and Australia’s Em-
            ner-up — King made it 2-0  time,  then  turned  to  con-  Still, this didn’t hurt as bad  “I  couldn’t  really  get  my  ily Seebohm.
            over Yulia Efimova in what  gratulate  the  runner-up  —  as the defeat in Rio.        kick  going  into  it  that  The  Chinese  team  had  a
            has  become  one  of  swim-  American teammate Katie  “There’s  still  pressure  from  much,” said Ledecky, who  big night, as well.
            ming’s  most  compelling  ri-  Meili,  who  edged  out  the  the  media,  but  it’s  more  waited  19.07  seconds  for  Sun  Yang  captured  his
            valries. The finger-wagging  Russian for the silver.      fun,” Efimova insisted. “The  silver  medalist  Mireia  Bel-  second gold of the cham-
            American  won  gold  at  King  was  especially  giddy  Olympic  Games  were  the  monte  of  Spain  to  finish,  pionships,  adding  the  200
            the  Rio  Olympics  last  sum-  that the U.S. went 1-2, with  worst.”  Ledecky  covered  with  the  bronze  going  to  free  gold  to  his  victory  in
            mer after spurning Efimova  Efimova  relegated  to  a  the  metric  mile  in  15:31.82  Italy’s  Simona  Quadarella.  the  400  free.  He  finished
            and  brazenly  proclaiming  bronze.                       —  more  than  6  seconds  “I just kind of stayed steady  more  than  a  half-second
            the  Russian  star  had  no  “The  rivalry  is  definitely  off  her  world-record  pace  there.”                   ahead  of  American  Town-
            business  being  allowed  to  there. I don’t think it’s going  from  the  world  champion-  Ledecky  had  to  expend  ley Haas, while the bronze
            compete because of dop-      away  anytime  soon,”  King  ships  in  Kazan,  Russia,  two  more effort in the 200 free,  went  to  Russia’s  Aleksandr
            ing violations.              said.  “Obviously,  it’s  very  years ago.                posting  a  time  of  1:54.69  Krasnykh. Xu Jiayu touched
            Efimova  nearly  broke  Ruta  awkward between the two  But  she  didn’t  really  have  that  put  her  ahead  of  first  in  the  100  backstroke,
            Meilutyte’s  4-year-old  re-  of  us.  We’re  competitors.  to  push  it,  especially  with  such  stalwarts  as  Austra-  beating  Americans  Matt
            cord  in  the  semifinals,  giv-  We  don’t  really  like  each  another  race  to  go  in  an  lia’s Emma McKeon, Italian  Grevers and reigning Olym-
            ing  her  the  prime  lane  in  other too much.”          event that will likely be the  world-record  holder  Fed-  pic  champion  Ryan  Mur-
            the middle of the pool.      King’s  bravado  makes  her  stiffest  challenge  of  her  erica  Pellegrini  and  home-  phy,  who  settled  for  silver
            But  King,  racing  right  be-  stand out even more in the  bid  for  a  record-tying  six  country  favorite  Katinka  and bronze.q
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