Katie Ledecky has stubbornly refused to give up his 800 -meter crown swimming on Saturday at the world championships in Singapore, winning this race for a seventh consecutive time and postponing Canada’s summer McIntosh which directed a field of talented young usurpers.
The seven victories of the world placed Ledecky at the top of the graphics of most triumphs in one event, while she was spending her own record of six victories in the 1500 Free and Sarah Sjöström of Sweden Six titles in the 50 butterflies.
Ledecky said that she did not feel too much pressure in this race, satisfied with the way she trained all year round.
“It was a very good season and I think that this evening, no matter the result, I was going to be really happy with my season,” she told NBC Sports. “And I think I just deleted the pressure and allowed me to take advantage of the race and somehow appreciate this moment.”
Ledecky forced the early pace with McIntosh now at close range.
The young Canadian then took a brief advance of 0.14 seconds after 700, the domination of Ledecky seeming to switch.
But the veteran found another equipment and quickly regained his head before heading for the last 50 with an advantage of 0.25 seconds on McIntosh, an advantage that the American extended when she closed another victory.
McIntosh fell third behind Lani Pallister in Australia.
“These last 100 have been quite stressful,” said Ledecky. “Lani was and summer was there.”
Ledecky succeeded at 8: 05.62, pallister at 8: 05.98 and McIntosh 8: 07.29. It was by far the victory of the worlds closest to Ledecky’s Seven at the 800 free.
A disappointed McIntosh said that she does not swim as well as she wanted, but that he turns the page and will focus on her next race in the individual 400 medley.
“So it’s just the start and I know that I have a lot of time in my career to do better,” she told CBC.
McIntosh promised to use the disappointment on Saturday as fuel for future efforts of 800 meters.
“I really wanted to swim my own race and I did not do it,” said McIntosh, who congratulated Ledecky and called him “inspiration to me”.
“I think what I did tonight makes me want to continue to do it more, to see how much I can get better because I know that I can be much faster than this evening.”
The Ledecky, originally from the suburbs of Washington DC, said that it is now looking forward to a free time, time with relatives and a few hollows in the swimming pool in which she swam as young.
“I look forward to this,” she said. “It’s the house for me but I am with the people I love, around the swimming pool.”
The New York Icelanders niece, Jon Ledecky, also dominated the Free 800 at the Olympic Games, having won gold during this 2012 Games race in London, 2016 in Rio, 2021 in Tokyo and last summer near Paris.
She is the only woman to win the same individual event at four Olympic Games, in any sport. The only other swimmer to make such a four peat was the American legend Michael Phelps, who took the 200 swimming individuals in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
At 28, Ledecky was the oldest swimmer in the field and she exceeded her youngest and the fiercest competitor, the 18 -year -old Toronto native McIntosh.
The air of 800 from Ledecky was bumpy last year when a 17 -year -old McIntosh beat the American at the southern section championships in the southern zone in Orlando, Florida on February 8.
The Canadian prodigy has chosen to swim in the 800 in France to focus on other events. She took gold in the 200 butterflies, 200 individuals and 400 individual swimming to become one of the stars in small groups last summer.
If McIntosh faces the 800 for free in Los Angeles, the Saturday race offered an enticing overview of what could be in reserve for 2028.
