The Americans got ailing Katie Ledecky back. They just couldn’t overcome a World record by the Australians at the World Championships.
Ledecky returned after two days out of the pool while being sick to swim in the 4x200m freestyle relay. She rallied the U.S. to the lead on her second leg, but it wasn’t enough to defend the title from 2017.
The Australian quartet of Ariarne Titmus, Madison Wilson, Brianna Throssell and Emma McKeon won in 7 minutes, 41.50 seconds to erase the old mark of 7:42.08 set by China at the 2009 Worlds.
It was still a big night for the U.S. team with with Caeleb Dressel and Olivia Smoliga winning golds.
King disqualified
Watching from the stands was Lilly King, who was disqualified from the morning heats of the 200 breaststroke and lost an appeal to be reinstated. The American was penalized for not touching the wall with both hands in a simultaneous motion in the first turn of the four-lap race.
Dressel won the glamour 100 freestyle for his third gold and fourth medal overall.
“It hurt really bad to be honest,” he said.
“You don’t always get that magical feeling every night but you’ve just got to shut the brain off and go.”
Dressel touched in 46.96 seconds, the only man to dip under 47 seconds in the final. He was only 0.05 seconds off the 10-year-old world record of 46.91 set by Brazil’s Cesar Cielo.
Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers of Australia settled for silver in 47.08. Vladislav Grinev of Russia took bronze in 47.82.
Dressel tied for quickest off the starting block and held off a challenge from Chalmers in the closing meters to defend the title he won in 2017.
The men’s 200 individual medley title went to Daiya Seto of Japan. He touched in 1-56.14.
Jeremy Desplanches of Switzerland took silver. Chase Kalisz, the 2017 champion, earned bronze, ending the Americans’ streak of winning at eight consecutive Worlds.
In women’s 200 butterfly, Boglarka Kapas of Hungary won in 2-06.78, while Smoliga won the women’s 50 backstroke, a non-Olympic event.
In the semifinals of the men’s 200 breaststroke, Matthew Wilson of Australia timed of 2:06.67 to match the World record set by Ippei Watanabe of Japan in January 2017.
Srihari’s new National mark
Meanwhile, India’s Srihari Nataraj broke his own 200m backstroke National record in the heats. The 18-year-old clocked 2:02.08s, bettering his own 2:02.37s, while finishing fourth in the heats but the time was not enough to carry him to the semifinal.
The results: Men: 100m freestyle: 1. Caeleb Dressel (USA) 46.96s, 2. Kyle Chalmers (AUS) 47.08, 3. Vladislav Grinev (Rus) 47.82.
200m IM: 1. Daiya Seto (Jpn) 1:56.14, 2. Jeremy Desplanches (Sui) 1:56.56, 3. Chase Kalisz (USA)1:56.78.
Women: 200m butterfly: 1. Boglarka Kapas (Hun) 2:06.78, 2. Hali Flickinger (USA) 2:06.95, 3. Katie Drabot (USA) 2:07.04.
50m backstroke: 1. Olivia Smoliga (USA) 27.33, 2. Etiene Medeiros (Bra) 27.44, 3. Daria Vaskina (Rus) 27.51.
4x200m freestyle relay: 1. Australia 7:41.50 (WR), 2. USA 7:41.87, 3. Canada 7:44.35.