Swimming

Australia's Ariarne Titmus beat Katie Ledecky in the 400-metre freestyle at the 2019 World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, on Sunday.

Ledecky was chasing a fourth straight title and led going into the final lap, but Titmus produced a strong finish to surge past the American and win in a time of three minutes and 58.76 seconds.

American Leah Smith came in third to take the bronze and the final place on the podium.

FINA shared highlights of the race, including the dramatic finish:

Legendary duel between Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky of USA in the Women’s 400m Freestyle! Titmus overtaking Ledecky with only a few meters to go, winning in 3:58.76. All the action live on 💻 https://t.co/bEozhdW5qV #FINAGwangju2019 #Swimming #FINA pic.twitter.com/xknw7yMLxH

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) July 21, 2019

The result is a shock, as Ledecky has dominated the event throughout her career:

Katie Ledecky won silver in the 400m freestyle at the World Championships today.

It's the first time she failed to win gold in that event at a major international competition (she had won the 400m freestyle in 6 straight years, including the 2016 Olympics) pic.twitter.com/QM2ceuxoI3

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 21, 2019

The American produced the slowest last lap of any of the eight swimmers in the race and spoke afterwards about why she had struggled heading towards the finish, per News.com.au:

"I just got to the last turn and felt like I just tightened up. My legs were just dead, and obviously, Ariarne took advantage of that and had a heck of a swim. Obviously, this stings a little; it's unfamiliar and different."

Titmus led for the first 200 metres but was then overtaken by Ledecky. However, the Australian produced a brilliant final lap to defeat her rival by one minute and 21 seconds.

The 18-year-old offered her thoughts on a stunning win after the race, per News.com.au:

"I knew that I properly had that in me. I feel pretty normal; it was just a swimming race. There was no pressure really coming into this race. I just wanted to fight as hard as I could—in that last 50 metres, I gave it everything."

Titmus' shock win over Ledecky drew plenty of praise:

Titmus! Goes right past! One of the greatest wins in Australian swimming history!

— Phil Lutton (@phillutton78) July 21, 2019

We have a new World Champ... and she’s ripper!!
Ariarne Titmus just smoked Legend Ledecky in 400m... gutsy fight back - hellva swim.
Can’t underestimate how big this is #Terminator

— Ben Davis (@BenDavis74) July 21, 2019

Titmus' final 50 - 29.51 to Ledecky's 31.34....total guts & determination won that race for the Aussie. Still taking that one in....#Gwangju19

— Loretta Race, MBA (@RettaRace) July 21, 2019

Ledecky will return to action next in the 200 metres, where she will once again come up against Titmus.

Nathan Adrian, a five-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming for the United States, announced Thursday he's been diagnosed with testicular cancer:

pic.twitter.com/gacGaDW14i

— Nathan Adrian (@Nathangadrian) January 24, 2019

Adrian won his first gold at the 2008 Beijing Games for swimming a successful heat for the Americans' eventual 4x100-meter freestyle relay champions. The final saw Jason Lezak chase down French superstar Alain Bernard in one of the most memorable finishes in swimming history to keep alive Michael Phelps' quest for eight gold medals, which he eventually accomplished.

The 30-year-old Washington native has since won three more relay golds (one at the 2012 London Games and two at the 2016 Rio Games) and also won the men's 100-meter freestyle race in London.

In addition, he's captured 10 gold medals at the World Championships, eight on long courses and two on short courses early in his decade-long career.

Adrian confirmed the cancer diagnosis isn't changing his outlook for the 2020 Summer Olympics, which are set to begin in Tokyo in exactly 18 months.

Although he expects a return to training in a "few short weeks," he didn't say whether his treatment will allow him to compete in July's 2019 World Championships in South Korea.

Katie Ledecky's dominance as a professional continued Saturday at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, winning the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:07.27.

Ledecky blew away the field at the Indiana University Natatorium, finishing more than 23 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Erica Sullivan (8:30.15) in second place and Ally McHugh, who took third (8:30.23).

Her time was the third-fastest in the history of the women's 800-meter freestyle, and Ledecky now owns each of the 16 fastest times ever.

According to David Woods of the Indianapolis Star, Ledecky also turned in her best performance in the 800-meter freestyle since the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The 21-year-old phenom turned pro in March, and the meet in Indianapolis marked the first in her career as a professional.

In addition to Saturday's win, Ledecky won the 200-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle and 1,500-meter freestyle, while finishing third in the 400-meter individual medley.

Ledecky is already among the most decorated athletes in the history of American swimming despite only recently going pro.

She is a six-time Olympic medalist with five golds and one silver to her credit, including five medals at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Additionally, Ledecky has won 15 medals at the FINA World Championships (14 gold and one silver) and five at the Pan Pacific Championships (all gold).

After a successful professional debut, Ledecky's next opportunity to compete in the TYR Pro Swim Series will come next month in Santa Clara, California, from June 7 through June 10.

That will set the stage for nationals in July and the Pan Pacific Championships in August.   

Former United States Olympic swimming coach Sean Hutchison has been accused of sexually abusing former Olympic swimmer Ariana Kukors when she was underage.

According to Levi Pulkkinen of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a Homeland Security Department task force searched Hutchison's home Tuesday in search of digital evidence that he sexually exploited swimming students.

Per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), Kukors told police Hutchison began abusing her when she was 16 and that he took nude photos of her when she was 17.

Now 28, Kukors explained the reasoning behind coming forward more than a decade after she says the abuse started, according to Pulkkinen:

"I never thought I would share my story because, in so many ways, just surviving was enough. I was able to leave a horrible monster and build a life I could have never imagined for myself. But in time, I've realized that stories like my own are too important to go unwritten. Not for the sake of you knowing my story, but for the little girls and boys whose lives and future hangs in the grasp of a horribly powerful and manipulative person. That they may not have to go through the same pain, trauma, horror, and abuse. That their parents, mentors, and guardians are better able to spot the signs of grooming and realize it’s tragic consequences before it's too late."

Kukors said Hutchison began grooming her for sexual purposes at a young age, and she is now concerned that he is doing something similar with other young swimmers.

The 46-year-old Hutchison resigned as a Team USA swimming coach in 2010 after rumors surfaced that he was romantically involved with one of his swimmers, per Amy Shipley of the Washington Post.

Hutchison continues to coach, however, as the CEO of King Aquatics.

Kukors said Hutchison took "hundreds or thousands" of sexually explicit pictures of her while she was a minor, and she said he sexually assaulted her both during trips and training sessions.

Now retired, Kukors competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and she won world championship gold medals in both the 100-meter medley and 200-meter medley.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Lori Haley told Pulkkinen the investigation involving Hutchison is in the "very preliminary stages."

Hutchison is suspected of possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor but has not been charged with a crime.

Former United States Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps revealed Tuesday that he has suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts. 

Per Susan Scutti of CNN.com, Phelps shared his struggle with mental health at a Kennedy Forum conference in Chicago. 

"Really, after every Olympics I think I fell into a major state of depression," he said. "I would say '04 was probably the first depression spell I went through."

Phelps noted he could also feel some patterns of emotion that weren't "right" at "a certain time during every year." 

The 32-year-old also cited the 2012 Olympics as his most difficult time: "I didn't want to be in the sport anymore ... I didn't want to be alive anymore."

Discussing the photos of him smoking from a marijuana pipe published in 2009, Phelps said drugs were his way of running from "whatever it was I wanted to run from."

After leading the U.S. men's swimming team in each of the previous four Olympics, Phelps retired following the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

He's the most decorated Olympic athlete in history, with 28 total medals and 23 gold medals. 

 

United States Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and his wife, Nicole, are expecting their second child. 

Phelps posted the couple's pregnancy announcement in an Instagram post Tuesday:

The couple's first child, Boomer Robert Phelps, was born in May 2016. The pair got engaged in 2015 and were married in a secret ceremony in June 2016. 

Phelps is the most decorated Olympic athlete in history. The 32-year-old won 28 Olympic medals in swimming from 2004 to 2016, including 23 gold medals. 

After the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, at which he won six medals, Phelps officially retired from competition. 

American swimmer Lilly King set a 50-meter world record for the breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championships as she claimed gold on Sunday.

According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.co.uk), King clocked 29.40 seconds, beating the former mark set in 2013.

It was King's second world record of the championship as she defeated Russian rival Yulia Efimova.

The previous world best was set by Ruta Meilutyte in Barcelona, but King knocked eight-tenths off the record.

King recently added the 100-meter breaststroke gold and world record to her achievements in Budapest, Hungary.

Efimova had defeated King in the 200-meter breaststroke, as King came in fourth. 

American swim superstar Katie Ledecky helped steer the United States to victory in the final of the women's 4x200-metre freestyle relay at the World Aquatics Championships on Thursday evening.

The United States finished first with a time of seven minutes, 43.39 seconds, ahead of silver medallists China, while Australia settled for third place on the podium ahead of Russia, per the official Twitter account of organisers FINA:

Women's 4x200 Freestyle Final

🥇USA 🇺🇸 7:43.39
🥈CHINA🇨🇳 7:44.96
🥉AUSTRALIA🇦🇺 7:48.98#FINABudapest2017

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) July 27, 2017

Ledecky was positioned fourth in the relay and managed to maintain her team's lead to collect her fourth gold medal of this year's championships, not to mention her fifth overall when counting her silver in the 200-metre freestyle.

Thursday's relay victory means the United States have now won the women's 4x200-metre freestyle at the last four successive World Aquatics Championships, a streak that stretches back to the 2011 edition of the tournament.

China, Australia and the United States helped ensure the competition remained close at the front, and it was only a few tenths of a second that separated the stragglers even in the second half of the race.

Swimming news website SwimSwam provided evidence to suggest precisely why it was the United States who started so promisingly, however, after No. 1 Leah Smith enjoyed one of the best swims of her career:

That was Leah Smith's personal best 200 to lead off 1:55.97. Comerford: 1:56.92, Margalis: 1:56.48, Ledecky: 1:54.02 #budapest17

— SwimSwam (@swimswamnews) July 27, 2017

The lead was exchanged several times, and it was Russia and China who accounted for second and third as the United States' third pick, Melanie Margalis, began her assault.

The Budapest audience roused to its feet as she helped strip back the lead, but it was ultimately Ledecky whom they were all waiting for, and the 20-year-old phenomenon didn't disappoint.

Zhang Yuhan, China's third choice, may have kept her team within touching distance, but any efforts the Asian representatives made to keep up with the United States were soon left in Ledecky's wake.

After having to settle for silver in the individual women's 200-metre freestyle, the prodigy worked to secure a team victory on Thursday in Budapest, and swimming writer Loretta Race could only marvel at her team-best time:

Ledecky's 1:54.02 anchor!! pic.twitter.com/Diddok9LSB

— Loretta Race, MBA (@RettaRace) July 27, 2017

By leading her team to gold ahead of China, Ledecky also boosted her record tally of World Aquatics Championships gold medals to 13, with more potential honours awaiting in the 800-metre freestyle.

The youngster has given yet another signal of the pedigree she possesses despite her age—as if she needed to—and Ledecky is looking to write her name further into swim history after a fifth gold medal in Budapest.

Michael Phelps said Tuesday he didn't have a problem with the way his race against a great white shark was hyped up since it was made clear before the event was broadcast that he wouldn't be dueling side-by-side with a live creature.

"Scott, you can believe whatever you want," Phelps said while answering questions on Facebook, per TMZ Sports. "Everything was either presented on air during multiple interviews that I did throughout Shark Week or the beginning of the show. Sorry you feel that way. For me, this is something I always wanted to do, and I was honored to be able to do it. ...

"Some people just decide not to listen to some of the things that we do, and that's not my fault that you don't do that. It's pretty easy to open up your ears and listen to either what the TV is saying, what announcers are saying or what I'm saying in interviews."

Fans' displeasure stemmed from the fact that Phelps raced a CGI shark, but as he mentioned Tuesday, it would have been impractical for things to proceed in any other fashion.

The moment of glory for #TeamShark!!! #PhelpsVsShark #SharkWeek pic.twitter.com/NWYp1CwiRa

— Shark Week (@SharkWeek) July 24, 2017

"It's hard to swim in a cage when you're next to a shark. Like, it wouldn't be able to move at the right speed. So how we did it was the best way that we could do it. And I thought it turned out incredible, again. I'm gonna say that for the rest of my life because I absolutely loved it."

So while Phelps lost the highly anticipated showdown by two seconds, the fact he was able to bring the spectacle to viewers in the first place seems to have been a big enough victory for the 23-time gold medalist this time around.

Katie Ledecky's unstoppable dominance in the pool continued as she won gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

It was the third gold medal for the 20-year-old at the latest championship, with no swimmer able to meet the standards set by the American superstar in Budapest, Hungary.

The success was Ledecky's 12th career win at the world championships, and according to the NBC broadcast, it was the fourth-fastest 1,500 of her life at 15 minutes and 31.82 seconds.

FINA confirmed the result:

Women 1500m Freestyle, Final #Swimming #FINABudapest2017

🥇K.Ledecky 🇺🇸 - 15:31.82
🥈M. Belmonte 🇪🇸 - 15:50.89
🥉S. Quadarella 🇮🇹 - 15:53.86 pic.twitter.com/Sizwod5K4m

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) July 25, 2017

Ledecky destroyed the field in the opening length, storming away in typical fashion as it soon became apparent the race for silver was the best anyone could hope for.

The American has made a habit of winning races in the opening stages, with her competition not able to challenge her rapid pace.

With 500 meters remaining, the race was over, and Ledecky's splits decreased as she cantered to gold.

NBCSN hailed the distance of victory:

Spoiler Alert: Katie Ledecky won by 19 seconds 😮 pic.twitter.com/ujsKLr1QcC

— NBC Sports Bet (@NBCSportsBet) July 25, 2017

At such a young age, the swimmer is already one of the greatest athletes in history to battle in the pool.

Mireia Belmonte of Spain took silver as Simona Quadarella of Italy claimed bronze, but neither was in the class bracket of Ledecky in the final.