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The 21st World Aquatics Championships, held in Doha, Qatar, has concluded. The event, which was held from February 2nd to 18th, had 29 countries winning medals, making it the event with the deepest medal pool in the history of the swimming championships. The Chinese team maintained its winning streak with 23 gold medals, followed by the United States (9 medals) and Australia (7 medals).
Fans also witnessed swimmers breaking world records and securing first championships for their respective countries at the event. Key wins from the 2024 World Aquatics Championships include:
Pan Zanle breaks 100m freestyle world record
On February 11, Pang Zanle took first place in the People’s Republic of China’s 4x100m freestyle, shaving 0.06 seconds off Romanian swimmer David Popovicis’ previous record (46.86 seconds). The 19-year-old’s split start of 46.80 points was recorded by Ji Xinjie, Zhang Zhanshuo and Wang Haoyu, and he won the gold medal in 3:11.08.
Following this, the teenage swimming sensation also won her first individual gold medal in the 100m freestyle on February 15th. Pang, who was in third place in the final quarter, managed to outpace his rivals and reach the wall in 47.53 seconds. “I feel very happy. This is my first individual gold medal at the World Championships,” Pan Zanle told World Swimming in a post-race interview.
2016 Olympian Sarah Sjostrom wins her fourth 50-meter freestyle title and sixth consecutive world title in the 50-meter butterfly.
Despite not competing in the 100m freestyle, Swedish swimming sensation Sara Sjöström managed to make history in Doha. On the final day of her championships, the 30-year-old swimmer won her fourth title in the 50m freestyle, despite the efforts of Kate Douglas for a quick start. Sjostrom managed to beat Douglas (23.91 points) and she reached the wall with a score of 23.69. In a post-race interview, a proud Sara Sjostrom said she believed it was a grueling race with three competitors hitting the wall within 24 seconds.
The feat came for Sjostrom, who won his sixth straight title in the 50-meter butterfly. The athlete, who has medaled at every world championship since her debut in 2009, swam 24.63 seconds to retain her title. Sjostrom is now one of two swimmers to win six consecutive World Aquatics Championships, along with American sensation Katie Ledecky (800m freestyle).
Long-distance swimmer Daniel Wiffen becomes Ireland’s first world champion
On February 14, Daniel Wiffen competed in the 800m free and won his country’s first gold medal. The 22-year-old outpaced his rivals to take Ireland’s historic victory in 7:40.94. Wiffen was followed by Australian swimmers Elijah Winnington (7:42.95) and Gregorio Paltolinieri (7:42.98), who took silver and bronze respectively.
On the final day, Wiffen doubled his gold medal in the pool’s longest race, the 1500-meter freestyle. The Irish swimmer reached the wall in her 14:34.07, threatening her 14:31.02 world record set by Sun Yang at the 2012 London Olympics. Despite this, Wiffen managed to set a new Irish record with his performance. In a poolside interview, the athlete revealed that although she has been working towards breaking Yang’s world record, she believes it is unrealistic to break it in February.
Olympic silver medalist Siobhan Hoey wins first world title on long distance course
Hong Kong swimmer Siobhan Hooi won his first gold medal in the 200m freestyle at the Doha World Aquatics Championships. The 26-year-old swimmer, who brought Hong Kong its first Olympic medal in swimming at the Tokyo Olympics, won in 1 minute 54.89 seconds. He also won silver and bronze medals in the 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke, respectively. In a poolside interview, Hoey expressed optimism about improving his performance towards the Paris Olympics, which is his main goal.
U.S. women’s water polo team wins 8th world title
On February 16, the U.S. women’s water polo team won the final match against Hungary, 8-7. The victory gave the polo team its eighth world title and fifth world title in the past six World Aquatics Championships. Goals from Rachel Fattal, Maggie Steffens and Ryan Neuschl paved the way to break a 5-on-5 stalemate in the fourth quarter.
Earlier in the day, Spain defeated Greece with a score of 10-9 to win the bronze medal.
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