Sun wins 200m free title at Budapest worlds

Xinhua

Chinese superstar Sun Yang won the men's 200-meter freestyle gold at the FINA world championships on Tuesday to add to his Olympic title in the same event.

Sun touched the wall first in 1 minute 44.39 seconds with Townley Haas of the United States taking silver, at 0.65 seconds back, while Russia's Aleksandr Krasnykh earned bronze at 0.84.

"I paid attention to detail and followed the instructions of my coach," said Sun, who punched the water in triumph after his victory.

This was Sun’s second gold of the Budapest championships after his victory in the 400 freestyle final on Sunday.

He will bid for the treble in today’s 800 freestyle final –- the event he has dominated for the last three world championships since 2011 in Shanghai.

Sun timed his 200 race to perfection.

He was fourth at the halfway point, but had caught leader and defending champion James Guy of Great Britain, who finished fifth, by the final turn and powered home to victory.

His win means the 25-year-old Sun is now the 200 freestyle champion at both the worlds and Olympics, after his victory at the Rio de Janeiro Games last year.

The freestyle expert now has nine gold medals to his name spanning four world championships.

He holds a world title in each of the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle events.  

Haas said he pushed through the pain barrier to grab silver.

"Last 50 meters hurt," said the 20-year-old, a gold medalist in the 4x100 relay in Budapest.

"I couldn't see Sun Yang, but I could see James Guy's arms so in my head I thought 'I've got to stay ahead of him', then I put my head down and kept kicking."

Guy, the 2015 world champion, was disappointed, especially after Britain's double golds on Monday when Adam Peaty won the 100 breaststroke and Ben Proud took the 50 butterfly title.

"It was very disappointing, yesterday I did it exactly the same way, I felt like I had more left to give on the last leg, especially towards the finish," said Guy.

"With my roommate (Peaty) winning gold and Ben Proud winning gold, I want to get there too, but everything happens for a reason and I have a four-year plan," he added, with an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Ledecky makes history

Katie Ledecky of the United States made history later in the day by becoming the first woman to win 12 world championship gold medals with victory in the 1,500 freestyle.

Ledecky, 20, clocked 15:31.82 with Spain's Mireia Belmonte taking silver at a huge 19.07 seconds back, while Italy's Simona Quadarella earned bronze at 22.04.

Ledecky now has 12 gold medals from world championships making her the most decorated female as she passed compatriot Missy Franklin, who has 11 worlds gold medals.

This was Ledecky's third gold of these championships — from a possible six she could finish with — and she led from the start.

China's Hou Yawen finished fifth in 16:08.10