Title fights in Budapest
Romanchuk and a local hero: stars of the swimming world championships
Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk won bronze in the 800m freestyle. Photo: Petr David Josek/AP/dpa
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That’s it in the pool, let’s continue in the open water. For eight days, the spectators in the Duna Arena saw world records, well-known stars and new swimming heroes. They celebrated a local hero in particular.
The pool competitions at the swimming world championships are history. From a German point of view, Florian Wellbrock in particular shaped the event with silver and bronze on the long freestyle routes.
International highlights included Katie Ledecky, local hero Kristóf Milák and a young Canadian. The stars of the title fights in Budapest:
Mykhailo Romanchuk
The Ukrainian drew some of the most attention. The 25-year-old achieved top athletic performance while his father was a soldier against the Russian invaders on the war front. Romantschuk won bronze in the 800-meter freestyle behind world champion Bobby Finke from the USA and Florian Wellbrock. Romantschuk trains at Wellbrock in Magdeburg. The two top athletes have long been good friends. He finished fifth in the 1500m final on Saturday.
Katie Ledecky
She wins and wins and wins. Ledecky is also unstoppable at this World Cup. The 25-year-old won gold in the 400, 800 and 1500 meter freestyle. The American triumphed over the two longest distances by a huge margin. Ledecky has now won 14 individual gold medals at world championships. No swimmer has ever won that many before her.
Kristof Milák
The Hungarian lives up to his role as a local hero in Budapest. Milák secured gold in the 100 meters and 200 meters butterfly and was then extensively celebrated by the raging fans in the Duna Arena. The 22-year-old clearly enjoys the hustle and bustle around his person. In the 200 meter race, he clocked a world record of 1:50.34 minutes. It was one of a total of two individual records that were broken at the World Cup.
Summer McIntosh
15 years old and damn fast. McIntosh shines in Budapest for the first time on the big stage. The Canadian takes home four medals. Gold in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley, silver in the 400m freestyle and bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay are an impressive record. In the years to come, McIntosh could become a defining figure in swimming.
David Popovici
The Romanian is also only two years older than McIntosh and is already swimming at an extremely high level. Freestyle swimmer Popovici secured gold in the 100 and 200 meters and then answered the journalists’ questions like a veteran. “It’s about how much you work and how hungry you are for a medal, how hungry you are for success, how passionate you are and how much sacrifice you are willing to make,” he said. It has nothing to do with age.
Sarah Sjostrom
The consistency with which the Swede performs is impressive. She has won at least one gold medal at every World Championships since 2013. In Budapest, the 28-year-old won the 50-meter butterfly and 50-meter freestyle and won silver in the 100-meter freestyle.