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Tuesday, 1 August 2017 00:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
BUDAPEST (Reuters): Caeleb Dressel of the United States heralded a new era in world swimming when he equalled the great Michael Phelps’s feat of seven golds at a single world championships as the 17th edition closed on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Dressel underlined his credentials as the world’s fastest starter in breathtaking fashion at the Duna Arena when he broke away on the butterfly leg to give the US gold in the men’s 4x100 metres medley relay.
Dressel had already won three individual golds and three relay titles in Budapest and Sunday’s addition allowed him to match his compatriot Phelps’s tally from the 2007 championships in Melbourne. He also helped the US to record their best-ever world championship haul, with 38 medals.
However the enormity of the Florida student’s achievements had yet to fully sink in.
“I’ve never had it happen so I don’t really know what to say,” he told reporters. “I’m going to take a little break in Europe, go to Poland and Scotland and just enjoy myself. “It was probably the most fun I’ve had in eight days. It was an absolute blast getting to do what I love.”
Team mate Lilly King had kickstarted the evening in blistering style with a world-record time of 29.40 seconds in the women’s 50m breaststroke.
King beat Russian Yuilya Efimova to the wall by 0.17 seconds, with another American, Katie Meili taking bronze.
The atmosphere rose when Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu glided to gold in the women’s 400m individual medley, adding to her 200m medley title.
The 12,000-strong crowd roared Hosszu on to a championship record time of four minutes 29.33. Mireia Belmonte of Spain won silver, with Canadian Sydney Pickrem claiming bronze.
Chase Kalisz’s breaststroke leg in the men’s 400m individual medley also saw him land an individual medley double.
The American set a championship record of four minutes 5.90 seconds to become the third-fastest performer behind Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
David Verraszto of Hungary won silver, with Japan’s Daiya Seto securing bronze.
