Treble-gold Dressel stars in 90-minute wonder show

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Caeleb Dressel captured three gold medals inside 90 sensational minutes on Saturday, taking his personal haul at the world swimming championships to six with a seventh on the cards on Sunday.

Dressel capped his stunning display by helping the United States to a world record in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay having kicked off his historic night by winning the men's 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly golds in the space of half an hour.

He completed the hat-trick by swimming the opening leg of the relay before Simone Manuel touched the wall at three minutes, 19.60 seconds to seal America's win.

It's thought to be the first time a USA swimmer has won three golds medals in one day at a world championships.

"I haven't had much time to think tonight," said the 20-year-old.

"It's back-to-back events, it's physically demanding and mentally it's even more straining."

The relay time shaved more than three seconds off the previous record the US team set two years ago in Kazan.

The Netherlands took silver at 2.21 secs back while Canada claimed bronze at 3.95.

The championships close on Sunday with the USA well ahead in the medal table with 14 golds, 10 silvers and seven bronzes in the swimming events.

Dressel has now won six golds in Budapest.

He has three individuals titles, including the 100m freestyle, plus victories for the USA in the men's 4x100m freestyle, mixed 4x100m medley and mixed 4x100m freestyle relays.

He could win a seventh gold in the men's 4x100m medley relay on Sunday.

"I have 24 hours to my next swim, so I'll give myself 30 minutes tonight to let it sink in a bit and then it's time to refocus for the next event tomorrow," said Dressel.

   
- Ledecky's 14th worlds gold -

His haul overshadows even compatriot and freestyle queen Katie Ledecky, who leaves Budapest with five golds and a silver.

The 20-year-old Ledecky won her 14th world gold, spanning three championships, with victory in the women's 800m freestyle on Saturday, but was happy for Dressel to take the limelight.

"He's incredible, he's just a great athlete," said Ledecky.

"The way he goes about his racing, it's really impressive. He's really fired up Team USA with his performances in the water this week."

Dressel's relay team-mates paid tribute to his jaw-dropping performances.

"It's unbelievable man," said Nathan Adrian, who swam America's second leg on Saturday.

"It's unheard of until now -- everything is impossible until someone does it."

Manuel, the world and joint Olympic 100m freestyle champion, said Dressel deserves his success.

"He's an amazing athlete and he knows how to race," said Manuel. "He is trained for it, it that's how we all have our successes.

"Sometimes it comes out as a surprise when you work hard and you get what you achieve, but you worked hard for it."

Mallory Comerford, who swam the third leg, said Dressel's performances in the individual finals had inspired the relay team.

"It's amazing to know that he's leading us all off," said Comerford.

"It's inspiring to watch him swim and do well, it brings conference to the relay."

In Dressel's shadow, Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom won the women's 50m butterfly to complete the sprint double after her 100m earlier in the week.

It made up for some of the disappointment of missing gold in the women's 100m freestyle final on Friday by 0.04.

Sjostrom also set a new world record in the semi-finals of the 50m freestyle with a time of 23.67sec bettering the old mark of 23.73sec set by Germany's Britta Steffen in 2009.

The 23-year-old now holds world records in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly.

There were tears of joy in the women's 200m backstroke final as Emily Seebohm of Australia broke down after retaining her title.

A powerful burst in the final 50m saw Seebohm beat local favourite Katinka Hosszu, who took silver.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ledecky wins historic 12th worlds gold as records tumble

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Katie Ledecky made history on Tuesday by becoming the first woman to win 12 world swimming championship gold medals, as world records were sent tumbling four times in the Budapest pool.

Britain's Adam Peaty twice lowered his own men's 50m breaststroke record, once in the morning's heats then again in the evening's semi-finals.

Canadian Kylie Masse then broke the women's 100m backstroke record from 2009, when now-banned neoprene suits were used.

To complete the drama, Lilly King of the United States took out the women's 100m breaststroke world record to take the gold.

"It was not really on my radar to swim below 26 seconds but I felt good tonight," said Peaty who swam 26.10 secs in the morning, then 25.95 in the semi-final.

"Let's see what comes out in tomorrow's (Wednesday's) final."

Ledecky proved she is peerless in the women's 1500m freestyle as she won the final by a massive 19.07 seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Spain's Mireia Belmonte.

   
 'Another planet'

"Katie Ledecky is on another planet, so the goal of the race was to win the silver medal. For me, it is gold," quipped Belmonte.

Ledecky, 20, is now the most decorated woman in world swimming championships history as she passed compatriot Missy Franklin, who has 11 world titles.

But despite her achievement, Ledecky said winning is not as easy as she makes it look.

"It's hard the other 364 days of the year, it's about putting the work in during practice, so that then I can step up," she said.

King, also 20, claimed the United States' second gold of the night with a commanding display in the women's 100m breaststroke final.

She clocked one minute 04.13 seconds in the final, beating Ruta Meilutyte's 2013 record, to add world gold to the Olympic title she won last year in Rio de Janeiro.

Masse, 21, then proved the current depth in women's backstroke with a devastating display.

The 21-year-old clocked 58.10 seconds, breaking Gemma Spofforth's previous mark of 58.12sec from the 2009 championships.

"I was making sure I was reading the right name and the right time I was lost for words immediately after, I'm still in shock," said a stunned Masse.

Kathleen Baker of the United States took silver, at 0.48sec back, while Emily Seebohm of Australia brushed off a cold to claim bronze, just 0.49 behind.

 'Awesome record'

"It's awesome, I kinda thought she would do it," said Seebohm, the 2015 world champion, of Masse's record.

"I didn't come in saying 'I'm going to defend my title', but to rather enjoy racing these girls, they're fantastic, there's great depth in the backstroke."

Earlier, Chinese superstar Sun Yang won the men's 200m freestyle gold to add to his Olympic title in the same event.

Sun touched the wall first in one minute 44.39 seconds to set a new Asian record.

"It was a great race, especially the last 50 metres were pretty good. It is one of the hardest races for me," said Sun, who punched the water in triumph after his victory.

It was Sun's second gold of these championships after his victory in the 400m freestyle final on Sunday.

He will bid for the treble in Wednesday's 800m free –- the event he has dominated for the last three world championships since 2011 in Shanghai.

Xu Jiayu claimed a second gold for the night for China by winning the men's 100m backstroke final.

The 21-year-old Olympic silver medallist clocked 52.44 seconds with American duo Matt Grevers earning silver, at 0.04sec back, and Olympic champion Ryan Murphy taking bronze at 0.15.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ledecky gets third gold, Franklin a first in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO - Freestyle queen Katie Ledecky won her third gold medal of the Rio Olympics by anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 meters freestyle relay on Wednesday while struggling Missy Franklin opened her account without being in the water for the final.

Australia, who led until Ledecky dived in and turned the race around, took silver and Canada the bronze.

The U.S. were the defending champions but only veteran Allison Schmitt, who swam the leadoff leg in Rio, was in the race lineup from that London 2012 golden quartet that also beat Australia into second place.


Leah Smith and Maya DiRado swam second and third respectively before Ledecky, who won the 400 freestyle on Sunday and 200 free on Tuesday, brought home the gold with a typically powerful swim from behind.

Franklin, who won four golds in London four years ago but suffered a dramatic loss of form at the U.S. trials, swam in the heats and collected a gold for doing so despite being dropped for the final.

So too did Melanie Margalis and Cierra Runge.

"It's such a great honour to be a part of a USA relay team," said Ledecky, still only 19 but the outstanding female swimmer on the U.S. team.

"I think I was prepared for any circumstance, whether we were ahead or behind. I just knew that these three girls were going to put me in a good position to finish it out and I knew I could do it," she added.

"It's so easy to get up and swim fast when you're swimming for three other people."

China led at the start before Australia, with Emma McKeon swimming the second leg, handed over in the lead to Bronte Barratt.

With DiRado closing in on Barratt but still behind, Ledecky had work to do and she went about it with a vengeance to take the lead with just over 100 metres to go and then powering home in seven minutes, 43.03 seconds.

Tamsin Cook touched out for Australia in 7:44.87 and Canada's anchor Penny Oleksiak finished close behind in 7:45.39 with China fourth.

DiRado's gold completed her set, having already earned a silver and bronze in the two women's individual medleys.

"I was so excited to get the call up today to be on this relay," said DiRado.

"It was a dream to be on a U.S. relay and to win gold. I'm just so happy I didn't mess it up and I gave Katie a chance.

"We've got the rainbow now," she added. "It feels really good."

The race may have been Schmitt's last swim but she was not ready to confirm anything.

"I am grateful for where I am right now, to be able to stand up there and hear our national anthem is something I am definitely soaking in," she said.

"I think my emotions are so high right now that I just want to soak that in and figure out the rest later."

(Additional reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by Greg Stutchbury)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Gold for Phelps as records tumble in Olympic pool

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- US swimming legend Michael Phelps extended his record gold medal tally in a day of Olympic drama that saw world records, a first title for Kosovo and a heart-stopping crash.

Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, inspired the United States to victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay before he starts his personal campaign on Monday.

The Olympic swimming battle will also see Russia's Yuliya Efimova, retrieved from a drug ban, in contention for a medal.

The 31-year-old Phelps -- who has now won 19 gold medals -- roared with delight and hugged his team-mates after they came home ahead of defending champions France in silver, with Australia third.

It was a fairytale moment for Phelps, who came out of retirement for one last crack at the Olympics.

He will be in the 200m butterfly heats on Monday having seen the relay display cap a superb night of swimming with three world records broken.

Katie Ledecky obliterated her own world best in the 400m freestyle on her way to gold.

The 19-year-old touched the wall in 3min 56.46sec, taking nearly two seconds off her previous record.

Ledecky is bidding to become the first Olympian since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to win the 200m, 400m and 800m free in the same Games.

- 'It's surreal, crazy' -

Britain's Adam Peaty took more than 1.5sec off the men's 100m breaststroke world record after Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom had also broken the record in the women's race.

"It's surreal. It was crazy. It's amazing and I probably won't be able to sleep tonight," Peaty said.

The spellbinding action in the pool brought the curtain down on an intense day of sport with 14 gold medals shared out.

Among the most popular winners was the hard-as-nails judoka Majlinda Kelmendi from Kosovo, taking part in its first Games after only gaining Olympic status in 2014.

The 25-year-old sank to her knees in tears after out-grappling Italy's Odette Giuffrida to win by yuko in the women's 52kg final.

Kosovo is the 100th country to win an Olympic gold medal.

"I have always wanted to show the world that Kosovo is not just a country that has gone through war," Kelmendi beamed.

"We have survived a war. There are still kids who don’t know if their parents are alive, don't have anything to eat or books to go to school. So the fact of becoming Olympic champion is just huge for all of us."

- Tennis victims -
The day began with strong winds wreaking havoc at several Olympic venues.

The entire day of rowing was called off after gusts churned waters making it impossible to row. Strong winds also delayed the tennis, which saw a slew of upsets when action resumed.

The biggest casualty was world number one Novak Djokovic, bounced out 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2) in the opening round of the men's singles by Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.

It was an unexpected win for del Potro, who has struggled with wrist injuries in recent years.

"It was an amazing match for me. I didn't expect to win tonight as I know the situation with my wrist," said del Potro.

In the women's doubles, Venus and Serena Williams' long reign as champions came to an end when they lost to Czech duo Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova in the first round.

"It was what it was. We have a chance to compete for our country and did the best that we can. We had a blast out there," said 34-year-old Serena after the 6-3, 6-4 defeat.

The women's cycling road race was won by Anna van der Breggen, who overcame the shock of seeing team-mate Annemiek van Vleuten lying stricken on the road after a horrific crash to win gold on Copacabana beach.

Van Vleuten was taken to intensive care with cracked vertebrae.

There was more disappointment for hosts Brazil in the Olympic football. They were booed off for a second straight game after a 0-0 draw with Iraq.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com