North American swimmer Katie Ledecky tied Michael Phelps this Tuesday by taking the 15th gold of her career in the world swimming championships, winning the 1,500-meter freestyle and the 24th medal in the world championships of her career.
Ledecky remains unimpeded in the long range and this Tuesday he was imperial in Fukuoka, recording the third-best mark ever, 15.16.27 minutes, to reach the 15th gold that only Phelps can also boast.
In addition, the 26-year-old American has not lost at the Olympics or World Games at this distance in more than a decade, with a fifth gold medal, and on Saturday she could win six world titles in the 800-meter freestyle, which would set a record.
This Tuesday, Italy’s Simona Quadarella came in second, finishing 17 seconds behind the winner, Ledecky’s domain brand, with China’s Li Bingjie in third, at 19.
In addition, there was another important victory for the Americans that day, when Ryan Murphy beat Italian Thomas Ceccon, champion in the 50 butterfly, ahead of Diogo Ribeiro in the 100 backstroke, in which the transalpine man is the world record holder.
Murphy, also a favorite in the 200m, swam the distance in 52.22 seconds, faster than Ceccon (52.27), second, and another American, Hunter Armstrong (52.58), third.
Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte confirmed the favoritism in the 100m breaststroke by winning 1:04.62 minutes, while Australia’s Kaylee McKeown was crowned world champion in the 100m backstroke.
In the 200m freestyle, Britain’s new world champion Matthew Richards and Tom Dean, second, dominated the distance, with South Korean Hwang Sunwoo in third, leaving Romania’s David Popovici in fourth place.
The World Swimming Championships run until this Sunday in Fukuoka, Japan.
Source: DN
