Swimming: World Championships End With a Golden Key
The final day of the World Swimming Championships in Singapore was marked by the brilliance of two of the sport's biggest stars: Frenchman Léon Marchand and Canadian Summer McIntosh. Both won gold in the 400-meter medley, capping the World Championships with displays of absolute dominance and new milestones in their already remarkable careers.
To top it all off, the championships concluded with a fabulous world record, broken by the USA, in the women's 4x100m medley relay. As expected, Marchand and McIntosh received the awards for the best swimmers at these World Swimming Championships.
The Final Tests
Women's Events
In the women's 400-meter medley final, Summer McIntosh confirmed her favoritism and won in a commanding fashion with a time of 4.25,78:18 minutes—a new championship record. The 4.33,26-year-old Canadian, Olympic champion at the distance, finished ahead of Australian Jenna Forrester and Japanese Mio Narita, who shared silver in XNUMX:XNUMX minutes.
It was the fourth gold medal won by McIntosh in this edition of the World Championships, after triumphs in the 400 freestyle, 200 butterfly and 200 medley, not only having won in the 800 freestyle, an event where she was beaten by the American Katie Ledecky.
Among the highlights of the final day was also the young Chinese phenomenon Yu Zidi, just 12 years old, who surprised again by finishing fourth in the women's 400-meter medley final, her third individual fourth place in these championships.
The pre-teen also won a bronze medal in one of the women's relays, becoming one of the unlikely protagonists of these World Championships.
In the women's 50-meter breaststroke, Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte won her fourth consecutive world title with a time of 29,55 seconds—the only athlete to swim under 30 seconds. China's Tang Qianting took silver (30,03), followed by Italy's Benedetta Pilato (30,14). This was the only women's podium finish at these championships in which the United States did not appear.
Australian Meg Harris won the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 24,02 seconds, beating China's Wu Qingfeng (24,26) and Cheng Yujie (24,28). American Gretchen Walsh was just off the podium, finishing in fourth place.
In the final women's event of the championships, the 4x100 medley relay, the world record fell: Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Tori Huske set the new mark at 3.49,34:3.52,67 minutes. Australia (3.54,77:XNUMX) and China (XNUMX:XNUMX) took the remaining podium places.
The Men's Tests
In the men's 400-meter medley, Frenchman Léon Marchand, the Paris 2024 Olympic champion, once again demonstrated his superiority. He swam the distance in 4.04,73:4.08,32 minutes, one of the fastest times in history, trailing only himself and Michael Phelps. Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita (4.09,16:XNUMX) and Russia's Ilia Borodin (XNUMX:XNUMX) completed the podium.
With this result, Marchand reaffirms his position as the great dominator of the medley events, winning titles in the 200 and 400 meters in the 2022, 2023 and 2025 editions, as well as at the Paris Olympic Games.
In the men's 50-meter backstroke, Russia's Kliment Kolesnikov set a new championship record, completing the distance in 23,68 seconds. South African Pieter Coetze and Russia's Pavel Samusenko tied for second place with 24,17 seconds, sharing the silver medal.
In the men's 1500-meter freestyle final, Tunisian Ahmed Jaouadi shone again. Having already won the 800-meter, he confirmed his dominance of the long course with a time of 14.34,41:14.35,69 minutes, ahead of Germany's Sven Schwarz (14.36,60:XNUMX) and America's Bobby Finke (XNUMX:XNUMX).
In the men's 4x100m medley relay, the neutral athletes (Russians) broke the European and championship records with a time of 3.26,93:XNUMX minutes, thanks to the performances of Miron Lifintsev, Kirill Prigoda, Andrei Minakov, and Egor Kornev. France and the USA completed the podium.
And Africa?
The great individual African standout was Tunisian Ahmed Jaouadi, who won two gold medals in the long-distance events — the 800 and 1500 meters freestyle — establishing himself as the new ruler of men's endurance.
With solid performances and a devastating pace in the final meters, Jaouadi followed the tradition of Tunisian champions like Oussama Mellouli, once again bringing Tunisia's name to the top of world swimming.
South Africa, in turn, was represented very effectively by Pieter Coetze, who was one of the stars of the championship, winning three medals in the backstroke events, breaking the respective African records in all of them.
Coetze won the 100-meter backstroke, becoming world champion, and also took silver in the 50-meter and 200-meter backstrokes, always with consistent performances and elite times, positioning himself among the best backstrokers in the world.
At just 20 years old, the South African swimmer demonstrates impressive competitive and technical maturity, and is already considered a potential medal contender at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
In the women's event, Kaylene Corbett also contributed to the African team's performance, winning the bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. The South African swimmer, who had already shone at the Commonwealth Games, once again demonstrated solidity in one of the most demanding events in technical swimming.
With a total of six medals — two gold (Tunisia), one gold, two silver and one bronze (South Africa) — the African continent ends the World Championships with an honorable and promising performance, consolidating its presence on the international swimming scene.
Conclusion
With three world records broken — in the USA's 4x100m freestyle mixed relay, Léon Marchand's 200m medley, and the women's 4x100m medley relay — the 2025 World Swimming Championships ended with a highly competitive finale.
In the overall World Aquatics Championships, which also included water polo, open water, diving, and artistic swimming, China topped the medal table. In pure swimming, the USA secured first place with its ninth gold medal in the final event of the championship, relegating Australia to second place with eight gold medals.
Regarding Africa, despite the structural and logistical challenges faced by many countries on the continent, Singapore's results reveal talent and a growing capacity to compete at the highest level. These achievements reinforce the need for greater investment in aquatic sports in Africa, with a focus on training, infrastructure, and technical support for new generations of swimmers.
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Picture: © 2025 Maddie Meyer via Getty Images
