A day of surprises and confirmations at the Fukuoka Marine Messe, where the third day of the World Cup swimming finals took place this Tuesday and it was once again spectacular.
The session has started with the biggest surprise of the championships so far. The final of the men's 200 freestyle has crowned the British Matthew Richards as champion after the Romanian Popovici, who was defending the title won in Budapest and was the great favorite, blocked in the last 50 meters and was even left off the podium. Popovici will try to get even on Thursday in the 100 free.
If the outcome of the first final of the day was surprising, the opposite has happened with the second. In the 1,500 women's freestyle, the undisputed queen of the distance has once again imposed her law. Ledecky has hung the gold with a sidereal time, the third best mark of all time (15m26s27). It is Ledecky's fifth world gold in her favorite test, the 20th overall. Although her birth certificate indicates that she was born in Washington DC, if she put Mars on it she wouldn't miss anyone.
The finals of the 100 backstroke have not disappointed either, both of which are exciting. In the women's category, the duel between the Australian McKeown, who holds the world record, and the American Smith has opted for the former, who has managed to keep up the pace in the last 20 infernal meters, in which she has overtaken her great rival. McKeown has thus removed the bad taste in his mouth that her disqualification in the 200 styles had left him.
In the men's category, the race has been the same or more beautiful, with the veteran Ryan Murphy and the defending champion, the Italian Thomas Ceccon. And, at 28 years old, the Chicago swimmer has relied on a great start, a monumental turn and a majestic last 50 meters to win his first world gold in this event and the sixth of his career. He is the first men's gold for the always unstoppable US team.
The last final of the day maintained the level of the previous ones and nobody left the Marine Messe early. The honor was reserved for the women's 100 breaststroke with, a priori, another mega duel between two veterans like Ruta Meylutyte, who continues to try to recover the world record, and Lily King, an institution in breaststroke. In the end, the victory went to the Lithuanian, who recovered the world gold in the event ten years later, although she could not beat King's record. As had happened with Popovici minutes before, the Indiana swimmer was even left off the podium, surpassed in bronze by her compatriot Lydia Jacoby, a situation that puts the selector in trouble to decide the relays.
