Ledecky 'beautifully defeated' McIntosh to save honor for American swimming

Katie Ledecky (USA) defeated current world number 1 swimmer Summer McIntosh (Canada) in the 800m freestyle at the 2025 World Swimming Championships.

Ledecky won the gold medal in his favorite event, the 800m - Photo: AFP

On the evening of August 2, Katie Ledecky once again demonstrated her absolute dominance in her specialty, the 800m, winning her seventh world championship title. This is a feat that no swimmer has ever achieved in an individual event.

The 28-year-old American had a great performance to finish with a time of 8:05.62 seconds, breaking the championship record. She surpassed her strong rival Lani Pallister of Australia (8:05.98 seconds) and "wunderkind" Summer McIntosh of Canada (8:07.29 seconds).

The race was extremely dramatic, with McIntosh leading for 700m.

However, with experience, Ledecky made a lightning sprint in the last 100m to surpass everyone and reach the finish line first.

Summer McIntosh (right) could not defeat her senior Ledecky in the 800m freestyle - Photo: REUTERS

“They pushed me to the very end. It was unbelievable that all three of us swam under 8 minutes and 10 seconds,” Ledecky shared.

For Summer McIntosh, the defeat ended her bid to equal Michael Phelps' record of five individual titles in a single World Championships. Despite a successful tournament with three gold medals, beating Ledecky in the 800m was always going to be the toughest challenge.

“I think this is a huge lesson for me. I went into the competition with a lot of confidence, but I will try to forget it quickly and finish the tournament with pride,” McIntosh admitted.

Ledecky’s victory over a young opponent at the peak of his career was not only an excellent individual performance. It was also seen as a sweet response, bringing back pride for American swimming in the face of the strong rise of international opponents such as Australia and Canada.

THANH DINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ledecky-ha-dep-mcintosh-de-niu-lai-danh-du-cho-boi-loi-my-20250802210611522.htm