Sat, Jun 25, 2022 page7

• Teenager O’Callaghan claims gold

  • AFP, BUDAPEST
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  Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan on Thursday overcame “panic” to continue the surge of teenage medalists in Budapest and become the youngest women’s 100m freestyle world champion in more than 30 years.

  Two American veterans, Lilly King in the women’s 200m breaststroke and Ryan Murphy in the men’s 200m backstroke, then won breakthrough gold medals, before the US men finished the evening by winning the men’s 200m freestyle relay.

  Australian Zac Stubblety-Cook, who took the men’s 200m breaststroke title, said there were reasons this had been a youthful competition.

  

  Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan, right, celebrates with second-placed Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden after winning the women’s 100m freestyle final at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday.

  Photo: Reuters

  “The year after the Olympics is a bit of a different feel,” the 23-year-old said. “The young bloods are coming through.”

  He said that in his event “two of us from the Olympics were in the final tonight.”

  Eighteen-year-old O’Callaghan followed 17-year-olds David Popovici of Romania and Benedetta Pilato of Italy, and 15-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh in collecting individual gold medals at the championships.

  O’Callaghan edged 28-year-old world-record holder Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden by 0.13 seconds. American Torri Huske took the bronze.

  At 18 years and 82 days, O’Callaghan became the youngest winner of the 100m freestyle since 1991, when Nicole Haislett of the US won the title at 18 years and 22 days.

  O’Callaghan said she had suffered badly from pre-race nerves.

  “The worst ever,” she said. “I was panicking in my bed, having a little bit of a cramp in my leg, just feeling dizzy, feeling out of it, starting to panic, but I knew I had my teammates there... I guess that kind of uplifted me for the race.”

  King, who has dominated the 50m and 100m breaststroke, grabbed her first gold at 200m, the longest breaststroke distance.

  “It’s really nice to be able to complete the set, I guess I’m a distance swimmer now,” King said.

  Murphy ended a long streak of duller colored medals when he won the men’s 200m backstroke. Since grabbing two individual Olympic golds in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the American had collected six silvers and two bronzes in major global championships, including a silver in the 100m backstroke in Budapest.

  Murphy won in 1:54.52.064 ahead of Briton Luke Greenbank, with another American, Shaine Casas, third.

  At 26, Murphy is one of the veterans on the US team.

  “It’s a really cool feeling,” he said. “I think back to 2014 when I was the youngest member in the team, now it’s cool to think that I am in a position to mentor the young guys. In eight years from now there will be somebody else leading the team and they will probably look back at some of the things I did to help them out.”

  Stubblety-Cook, the Olympic champion and world-record holder, came from last after the first lap to win the men’s 200m breaststroke. Dutchman Caspar Corbeau started off at world-record pace, but faded and Stubblety-Cook, Yu Hanaguruma and Erik Persson, who had conserved energy at the back, came through.

  The Australian won in 2:07.07.131 ahead of the Japanese and the Swede who tied for the silver.

  “After 35 meters I thought: ‘Oh no, have I underdone this?’” Stubblety-Cook said. “I knew they would go out really fast so I just wanted to hold on and stick to them.”

  The pace was to quicken yesterday with six finals.

  Two would decide who inherits titles that Caeleb Dressel has owned.

  In the 100m butterfly, which Dressel won in the past two world championships and the Tokyo Olympics, Hungarian star Kristof Milak, who dominates the 200m fly, qualified comfortably with the fastest time.

  He was set to provoke delirium in what he calls “my pool” as he looked to upgrade from his habitual silver in the shorter distance.

  In the 50m freestyle, the picture was cloudier. Brazilian Bruno Fratus, second to Dressel in the past two world championships, tied for eighth in the semi-finals and was then eliminated in a swim-off by Frenchman Maxime Grousset.

  Briton Benjamin Proud qualified fastest.

  Katie Ledecky was poised to add to her haul of 21 world championship medals, a women’s record, in the 800m freestyle.
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