Canada’s Summer McIntosh wins 200IM for second gold at swimming worlds

SINGAPORE – Canada’s Summer McIntosh has gained her second gold medal on the world swimming championships, taking the ladies’s 200-metre particular person medley on Monday.

The 18-year-old Toronto native touched the wall in two minutes 6.69 seconds — practically two seconds forward of American Alex Walsh, who claimed silver in 2:08.58.

Fellow Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey, of Laval, Que., gained bronze in 2:09.15.

The profitable time trailed McIntosh’s world document of two:05.70. And she was not content material.

“Going in tonight, my goal was to get my hand on the wall first,” McIntosh stated. “So to get that done is good. I’m not super happy with my time. But honestly, at a world championships, my goal is just to go as fast as I can against my competitors. Still happy with the gold and hoping to keep up my streak next time.”

Yu Zidi, a Chinese 12-year-old phenom, completed fourth in 2:09.21, simply lacking a medal as she astounded the swim world along with her occasions. She can also be attributable to compete within the 400 IM and 200 butterfly, most likely her strongest occasions.

McIntosh is focusing on 5 particular person golds over the eight-day meet.

Monday’s win provides to the 400 freestyle gold she earned on the opening day of competitors.

She can also be chasing particular person titles within the 400 particular person medley, 800 freestyle and the 200 butterfly over the subsequent six days in Singapore.

Famed Olympian Michael Phelps is the one swimmer to have gained 5 particular person gold medals at a world championships.

Canada now has 4 medals on the world aquatics championships, together with a silver within the ladies’s 20-metre excessive diving by Montreal’s Simone Leathead, which was the nation’s first medal of the competitors.

WALSH BREAKS THROUGH

Gretchen Walsh broke via on Monday with the primary gold in Singapore for the United States, taking the 100 butterfly in 54.73.

The silver medalist a yr in the past in Paris, Walsh was simply off her world-record time of 54.60 set earlier this yr. Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium took silver in 55.84 and Alexandria Perkins of Australia claimed bronze in 56.33.

Walsh acknowledged in a post-race interview at poolside that the American crew had been hit with a bout of what crew officers referred to as “acute gastroenteritis.”

It was picked up at a coaching camp in Thailand earlier than arrival in Singapore. U.S. officers have confirmed the outbreak however have given few particulars and didn’t identify the swimmer nor say what number of had been affected.

“With the illness that’s been going on — I faced it back the last couple days — my body has just been fragile, and I think that I’ve needed to give myself grace,” Walsh stated. “Luckily, I had the morning to get well and relaxation, and I used that, and that helped me enormously going into tonight, so I attempted to profit from it.

“It was not easy, and I’m just really proud of myself,” Walsh added, thrilled to be beneath 55 seconds. “It took a lot of guts. I just wanted to go out there and do it for my team, just represent the flag well. It came out of somewhere, but I’m really, really happy.”

Walsh’s older sister Alex was nearly even with McIntosh after 150 meters, swimming a powerful breaststroke leg to make it a race.

“I was really excited on the breaststroke leg,” she stated. “I could see her and I knew I was kind of gaining on her because breaststroke is my best stroke. I was really excited and, obviously coming home on the freestyle, that’s definitely where my biggest weakness (is).”

Two different finals wrapped up Monday’s schedule.

Qin Haiyang, the world champion in 2023, defeated Paris Olympic winner Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy within the 100 breaststroke. Qin clocked 58.23 to offer China its first gold in Singapore with the Italian swimmer ending in 58.58. Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan took bronze in 58.88.

“I’ve been injured and it’s not been easy to get back to my best,” Haiyang stated. “I’m at best at 70 per cent. I’m probably lucky. This definitely helps with my confidence.”

In the lads’s 50 butterfly, Maxime Grousset of France edged Noe Ponti of Switzerland. Grousset clocked 22.48 with Ponti ending in 22.51. Thomas Ceccon of Italy took bronze in 22.67.

In the 4 semifinals, Paris Olympics bronze medalist Luke Hobson of the United States led 200 free qualifying (1:44.80), with Paris champion David Popovici of Romania in fourth (1:45.02).

Hubert Kós of Hungary headed a really quick males’s 100 backstroke in 52.21. American Regan Smith led the ladies’s 100 backstroke (58.21) forward of two-time Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown (58.44).

Kate Douglass of the United States swam a private finest within the 100 breaststroke (1:05.49) and would be the prime seed in Tuesday’s closing.