Canadian McIntosh, 16, secures 2nd swimming worlds gold with win in women’s 400m individual medley
FUKUOKA, Japan — Summer McIntosh, the 16-year-old Canadian who promises to be a star at next year’s Paris Olympics, won her second gold medal of the World Aquatics Championships on Sunday, taking the women’s 400-meter individual medley in 4 minutes, 27.11 seconds.
The victory for McIntosh, the world-record holder in the event, was the second of the worlds after winning the 200 butterfly on 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.
McIntosh got off to a slow start at the championships, finishing fourth in the 400 free and getting bronze in the 200 free, before striking gold in her last two individual races.
Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden made history with her victory in the women’s 50-meter freestyle. The gold gave Sjostrom 21 medals in individual races in the world championships, surpassing Michael Phelps who had 20.
Sjostrom, who set the world record in the semifinals on Saturday, powered home in the final 25 meters for the win, clocking 23.62. Shayna Jack of Australia picked up the silver in 24.10, while Zhang Yufei of China earned the bronze in 24.15.
Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania set a new 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 free 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.
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.
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 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 Americans also grabbed the gold in the women’s 4×100 medley relay, winning in 3:52.08. Australia took the silver in 3:53.37, with Canada picking up the bronze in 3:54.12.
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.
