The World Championships came alive on Tuesday as Lilly King of the United States won the women’s 100 metres breaststroke title in one of three world record swims at the end of a breathtaking evening session.
Canada’s Kylie Masse produced a world-best time to win the women’s 100m backstroke gold medal while Adam Peaty of Britain continued his breaststroke trail-blazing with his second world mark of the day to reach the 50m final.
There was more history too for Katie Ledecky following a routine gold in the women’s 1500m freestyle. The American claimed the 12th world title of her short career.
The evening will be long remembered by Olympic champion King, who posted one minute 4.13 seconds to overhaul the world-record mark set by Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte in 2013.
King held off the threat of Russian rival Yuliya Efimova, in a race billed as a grudge rematch of their acrimonious Olympic final, and the U.S. secured a memorable one-two as Katie Meili touched for silver in one minute 5.03 seconds.
A disbelieving Peaty became the first man to dip below 26 seconds in the 50m breaststroke a day after winning the 100m title.
By touching in 25.95 seconds, he lowered his record mark from the morning’s heats by a massive 0.15 seconds.
Masse produced an outstanding world-record swim of 58.10 seconds as Australia’s quiet worlds continued with Emily Seebohm failing to defend her title.
The dominant force in women’s distance swimming is Ledecky who clocked 15 minutes 31.82 seconds to win the 1500 by 19 seconds from Spain’s Mireia Belmonte.
Earlier, Sun Yang of China came back from sixth position at the 100m mark to win his first men’s 200m freestyle title at a world championships in dominant fashion.
The Chinese, who has now won two of his four individual freestyle tilts this week, powered to gold in an Asian record time of one minute 44.39 seconds.
China’s Xu Jiayu held on to win the men’s 100m backstroke gold.
The results: Men: 200m freestyle: 1. Sun Yang (Chn) 1:44.39s, 2. Townley Haas (USA) 1:45.04, 3. Aleksandr Krasnykh (Rus) 1:45.23.
100m backstroke: 1. Xu Jiayu (Chn) 52.44, 2. Matt Grevers (USA) 52.48, 3. Ryan Murphy (USA) 52.59.
Women: 1500m freestyle: 1. Katie Ledecky (USA) 15:31.82s, 2. Mireia Belmonte (Esp) 15:50.89, 3. Simona Quadarella (Ita) 15:53.86.
100m backstroke: 1. Kylie Masse (Can) 58.10 (WR), 2. Kathleen Baker (USA) 58.58, 3. Emily Seebohm (Aus) 58.59.
100m breaststroke: 1. Lilly King (USA) 1:04.13 (WR), 2. Katie Meili (USA) 1:05.03, 3. Yuliya Efimova (Rus) .
