Ledecky won the gold medal in her 800m event - Photo: AFP
On the evening of August 2, Katie Ledecky once again demonstrated her absolute dominance in her specialty, the 800m, when she won her seventh world championship title. This is a feat that no swimmer has ever achieved in an individual event.
The 28-year-old American had a great performance to finish with a time of 8:05.62, breaking the championship record. She surpassed her fierce rival Lani Pallister of Australia (8:05.98) and "wunderkind" Summer McIntosh of Canada (8:07.29).
The race was extremely dramatic, with McIntosh leading for 700m.
However, with experience, Ledecky made a lightning sprint in the last 100m to surpass everyone and reach the finish line first.
Summer McIntosh (right) could not defeat her senior Ledecky in the 800m freestyle - Photo: REUTERS
“They pushed me to the limit. It was unbelievable that all three of us swam under 8 minutes and 10 seconds,” Ledecky shared.
For Summer McIntosh, the defeat ended her bid to equal Michael Phelps' record of five individual titles in a single World Championships. Despite a successful tournament with three gold medals, beating Ledecky in the 800m was always going to be the toughest challenge.
“I think this is a huge lesson for me. I went into the competition with a lot of confidence, but I will try to forget it quickly and finish the tournament with pride,” McIntosh admitted.
Ledecky’s victory over a young opponent at the peak of his career was not only an excellent individual performance. It was also seen as a sweet response, restoring pride to American swimming in the face of the strong rise of international opponents such as Australia and Canada.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ledecky-ha-dep-mcintosh-de-niu-lai-danh-du-cho-boi-loi-my-20250802210611522.htm
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