Ledecky, Sjostrom extend legacies

BUDAPEST • Katie Ledecky won a record-breaking fifth straight 800m world title on Friday, just over an hour after Sarah Sjostrom surged to her fourth consecutive win in the women's 50m butterfly.

Ledecky, 25, took her tally to 22 medals, a record for a woman. She finished in 8min 8.04sec to beat Australian Kiah Melverton by 10.73sec and Italian Simona Quadarella by 10.96sec.

"Year after year it's really hard work," said the American, who won her first major title at the 2012 Olympics. "In London I won my first gold 10 years ago, back then they said I was a one-hit wonder, and here we are, 10 years later and I have another gold."

Sjostrom won her race in 24.95sec to beat Frenchwoman Melanie Henique (25.31) and China's Zhang Yufei (25.32).

"I had a lot of pressure on myself because of my past successes," said Sjostrom, who fell on ice in Sweden in February 2021 and broke her elbow but still won a silver at the Tokyo Olympics last July.

She has 19 world-level medals, three behind Ledecky and is also chasing Michael Phelps' record of 10 butterfly medals set between 2001 and 2011. She has nine.

"Yes, I can do it," she said.

"It feels unreal that I've been at this level for so long. It feels amazing to be here, to still be around and still be winning medals. It is not something I take for granted."

Local hero Kristof Milak sparked delirium in Budapest's Duna Arena when he grabbed the gold medal in the 100m butterfly, his second of the week. He won in 50.14sec, ahead of Japanese Naoki Mizunuma (50.94) and Canadian Joshua Liendo Edwards (50.97).

"I'm so proud to be Hungarian and overjoyed that 4,000 people here were cheering for me. I hope, in front of their TVs, all around the world, all 15 million Magyars gave me their support. I'm so tired, I can't wait for a rest," he said.

The Australian mixed 100m freestyle team then set a world record in an event only added to the World Championships in 2015. They clocked 3min 19.38sec to finish ahead of Canada (3:20.61) and the United States (3:21.09).

In yesterday's finals, Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte won the women's 50m breaststroke in 29.70sec, beating Italy's Benedetta Pilato (29.80) and South African Lara van Niekerk (29.90). American Hunter Armstrong won the men's 50m backstroke in 24.14sec.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE