Ledecky clinches her 22nd world championship, while Popovici cherishes his nerve-wracking first gold medal victory.
In the recently concluded World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, American swimming sensation Katie Ledecky continued her dominance in the pool.
Ledecky added another gold medal to her impressive collection, winning the 1,500m freestyle with a time of 15min 26.44sec. This victory marked her sixth world title in the 1,500m freestyle and extended her record of owning the top 24 times in the event's history.
The 25-year-old's win moved her four short of Michael Phelps's career tally of 26 world gold medals. Ledecky's qualification for the final of the 1,500m freestyle was over 10 seconds faster than nearest challenger Lani Pallister of Australia.
Meanwhile, Ledecky's rival Simona Quadarella of Italy finished second in the same event.
In the women's 100m backstroke, McKeown, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, clinched the gold medal with a championship record of 57.16sec. Regan Smith of the USA finished second, 0.19sec behind McKeown, while Katharine Berkoff took the bronze. McKeown's victory underlined her status as the undisputed force in women's backstroke.
The men's 100m backstroke was won by Pieter Coetze of South Africa with a time of 51.85sec. Thomas Ceccon of Italy and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard of France finished second and third, respectively.
In the women's 100m breaststroke, Germany's Anna Elendt took the top spot with a time of 1:05.19. Kate Douglass of the USA finished second, just 0.08sec behind Elendt, while Tang Qianting of China finished third.
Despite Popovici, the defending champion in the 1,500m freestyle, considering withdrawing from the competition due to mental concerns, he managed to compete and finished fourth.
These performances cemented Ledecky's position as one of the greatest swimmers of all time, with her 22 world gold medals placing her second on the all-time most decorated list behind Michael Phelps. As of 2025, Ledecky has earned a total of 28 medals at the World Championships.
France and Africa were represented on the podium in the men's 100m backstroke, as Pieter Coetze of South Africa, a country in Africa, won the event, and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard of France finished third. In the women's 100m breaststroke, both the United States and France had representatives on the podium, with Kate Douglass of the United States finishing second, just behind the gold medalist Anna Elendt of Germany, and Tang Qianting of China finishing third.
