Sarah Sjöström won her 21st career medal in individual races in the world championships, surpassing Michael Phelps’ 20 for the record with a victory in the women’s 50-meter freestyle Sunday.
The Swedish swimmer, who set the world record in the semifinals Saturday, powered home in the final 25 meters for the win, clocking 23.62 — only one-hundredth of a second away from her world-record effort the day before.
“I’m super happy with that. It was very busy yesterday, with the world record and the gold medal,” said Sjöström, who won a fifth straight world title in the 50 butterfly on Saturday.
It was another of Phelps’ longstanding records that fell on the final day of worlds. Katie Ledecky broke a tie with Phelps by winning a record 16th individual gold Saturday in the 800 freestyle, while French youngster and potential Paris Olympics star Leon Marchand set the world record in the men’s 400-meter individual medley last Sunday to break the last individual mark that Phelps had held from his illustrious swimming career.
Shayna Jack of Australia picked up the silver in the 50 free in 24.10, while Zhang Yufei of China earned the bronze in 24.15.
Summer McIntosh, the 16-year-old Canadian who also promises to be a star in Paris next year, won her second gold medal of worlds by taking the women’s 400-meter individual medley in 4:27.11.
The victory for McIntosh, the world-record holder in the event, added to her win in the 200 butterfly Friday.
McIntosh seized the lead in the opening leg and won going away, recording the third-fastest time in history. American Katie Grimes took the silver in 4:31.41, with Jenna Forrester of Australia picking up the bronze in 4:32.30.
“Going into tonight, I just wanted to see how hard I could push myself seeing as the 400 individual medley is such a hard event,” McIntosh said. “It’s very strategic, so just learning more and more each time I swim.”
McIntosh got off to a slow start at the championships, finishing fourth in the 400 freestyle and getting bronze in the 200 free before striking gold in her last two individual races.
“It was definitely motivating,” McIntosh said of her first few days. “I try to turn everything that goes wrong into motivation somehow.”
Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania set a world record on the way to winning gold in the women’s 50-meter breaststroke in 29.16. Meilutyte grabbed the early lead and was never challenged.
American Lilly King claimed the silver in 29.94, while Benedetta Pilato of Italy picked up the bronze in 30.04.
Ahmed Hafnaoui of Tunisia added the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle gold to the 800 free he won earlier in the worlds, prevailing in an epic battle with Bobby Finke of the United States that went down to the wire and was decided by 0.05 seconds.
The 20-year-old Hafnaoui captured the gold in 14:31.54, with Finke clocking 14:31.59 for silver. Sam Short of Australia rounded out the podium with the bronze in 14:37.28.
Short led from early in the race until the 950-meter mark, when Finke moved briefly in front. Shortly thereafter, Hafnaoui went ahead and retained the lead the rest of the way, narrowly touching before Finke at the finish.
“I think I deserve it,” Hafnaoui said. “Bobby is so fast in the end of the race, he pushed us. It was so close to the world record. I enjoyed the race. Thanks to Bobby for pushing me.”
Americans Hunter Armstrong and Justin Ress finished 1-2 in the men’s 50-meter backstroke. Armstrong won the gold in 24.05, with Ress taking silver in 24.24.
Xu Jiayu of China held the early lead but was overtaken by Armstrong and Ress in the final 25 meters and ended up with the bronze in 24.50.
The U.S. claimed gold in both relays Sunday. The Americans won the men’s 4×100 medley relay in 3:27.20. China landed the silver in 3:29.00, while Australia settled for the bronze in 3:29.62.
The U.S. women’s 4×100 medley relay won in 3:52.08, ahead of Australia in 3:53.37 and Canada in 3:54.12.
“This is the cherry on top,” said Regan Smith, part of the winning women’s relay. “I love racing with these girls and I love relays so much, and bringing home a gold in the last event for Team USA means so much to me and all of us.”
The top three finishers in both relays qualified for the Paris Olympics.
Australia ended the worlds with 13 golds, which tied its best showings in 2001 and 2005, and 25 overall. The U.S. ended with seven golds and 38 total. China finished with a tally of five golds and 16 overall.
The next edition of the worlds will be hosted by Doha, Qatar, in February, about five months before the Olympics.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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