SINGAPORE (AP) — Katie Ledecky leads the Americans on Tuesday at the swimming world championships, where the United States is the gold-medal favorite in four of the five finals on Day 3.
The Americans have one gold from the first two days of the meet, clearly slowed by what team officials call “acute gastroenteritis” picked up at a training camp in Thailand. But symptoms have faded and results seem sure to follow in Singapore.
Ledecky goes in the 1,500-meter freestyle where she is virtually unbeatable. She holds the world record — 15 minutes, 20.48 seconds — and swam the second-fastest time in history earlier this year — 15:24.51.
She’s the most decorated female swimmer in history — 14 medals in the Olympics and 27 in the worlds and counting. Of those 41, 30 are gold.
But there’s more than Ledecky.
Luke Hobson has the top qualifying time in the 200 freestyle. He was the bronze medalist a year ago in Paris. The field is bunched including Paris Olympic champion David Popovici of Romania.
Pan Zhanle of China, who set a world record a year ago in Paris in the 100, missed qualifying for the 200. He was 22nd in qualifying, almost three seconds behind the top qualifiers.
Another American, Regan Smith, faces off with Kaylee McKeown of Australia in one of swimming’s best rivalries. Smith holds the world record (57.13). McKeown took gold in Paris, pushing Smith to silver.
The fourth gold-medal shot is with Kate Douglass in the 100 breaststroke. The gold medalist in the 200 in Paris, Douglass goes for gold in the shorter distance. Lilly King, who holds the world record (1:04.13) failed to qualify. Anita Bottazzo of Italy and Tang Qianting of China are in the chase.
The fifth final is fast and close in the men’s 100 backstroke with Hubert Kós of Hungary — he trains at the University of Texas at Austin — the top qualifier.
Summer McIntosh, the 18-year-old Canadian swimmer who is aiming for five individual gold medals in Singapore, won the 200-meter individual medley on Monday after winning the 400 freestyle title on Sunday. She’s not competing for gold on Day 3.
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