Sweden’s Sjöström wins the 4th straight 50m butterfly title
• The local hero Kristof Milak starts delirium in Duna Arena by winning the title of 100 m butterfly at Budapest Worlds
Swedish veteran Sarah Sjöström reached her fourth straight world title in the ladies’ 50 m butterfly in Budapest yesterday.
The local hero Kristof Milak triggered delirium in Duna Arena when he took the title of 100 m butterfly, his second for the week.
Ben Proud took Britain’s first gold in the championships when he took the victory in the 50 m freestyle.
Australian Kaylee McKeown won the women’s 200m backstroke for a first world title with three Olympic gold medals.
Sjöström won her race in 24.95 seconds to take over the Frenchwoman Melanie Henique by 0.36 seconds with China’s Zhang Yufei third in 0.37.
“It is fantastic to win this race, to keep me at the top is very difficult,” said Sjöström.
– It was a tough race. I had a lot of pressure on myself because of my past successes. ”
Milak, who had already won the 200m butterfly title, provoked delirium in what he calls “my pool” when he finally won gold in the 100m.
Caeleb Dressel, the reigning world and Olympic champion, withdrew from the competition on Wednesday.
Milak won in 50.14 sec, a comfortable 0.80 sec ahead of Naoki Mizunuma from Japan, with Canadian Joshua Liendo another three hundredths in third place.
“Of course I’m not happy with the time when I swam exactly the same time as in the semis. But I won the gold and that is the most important thing now “, said Milak.
“I’m so proud to be Hungarian and I’m overjoyed that 4,000 people here in the arena cheered on me. I hope all 15 million Magyars gave me their support in front of the TV and around the world.”
In another event where Dressel had been the reigning champion, Proud exploded from the blocks to take an early lead and held on to the victory in the time of 21.32.
American Michael Andrew finished second in 21.41. Frenchman Maxime Grousset knocks three.
“Good race, good fields, fantastic fans and good jobs! This is a strong result,” said Proud. “Before I came here, if someone said I would go home as world champion, I would have laughed out loud.”
McKeown chased American Phoebe Bacon in the last lap to win the touch with only 0.04 sec.
Another American, Rhyan White, was 1.88 seconds back in third place. Sjöström had a quick turnaround when the semifinals in the 50m freestyle began 25 minutes after the butterfly final.
The Swede, the world record holder, won the second heat and qualified for the last second for Poland Katarzyna Wasick.
Sjöström then climbed out of the water and onto the podium for the butterfly victory ceremony and her 19th overall world championship medal, which dates back to 2009.
At the same time, the American artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez, who was dramatically rescued from the bottom of the pool after fainting in her solo routine, was excluded from the team event yesterday at the request of the governing body FINA. “It was a decision that FINA had made,” said Selina Shah, a team doctor for American artistic swimming, who made it clear that she did not agree.
“In my opinion, she could have competed, I’m very sure,” Shah said.
FINA said in a statement that they had organized a medical examination yesterday morning which included three representatives of its medical committee, its chief executive, Dr. Shah and US team officials.
“The meeting lasted one hour,” the statement said. “After these discussions, FINA decided that Anita Alvarez would not compete today.
“Athletes’ health and safety must always come first. Although FINA understands why this decision will have been a disappointment for the athlete, it was a decision made with her best in mind. FINA is very pleased that Anita Alvarez has already recovered so strong and looking forward to seeing her in competition again soon. “
Shah said she did not know how FINA had come to the conclusion that Alvarez would not compete.
“I’m not aware of their decision – making process.”
Alvarez fainted and fell to the bottom at the end of his individual routine on Wednesday and was saved by his fast-thinking coach, Andrea Fuentes.
Alvarez had signed up for the team event yesterday and was on all official starting lists until just before the event would begin when she was replaced in the eight-women team by Yujin Chang. As she stood in the warm-up area before the competition, as the American swimmers made their final preparations behind her, Shah said she was confident Alvarez would cheer on the team.
“I think she is very excited about the team competing and she is a fantastic athlete and she will be there to support them.”
The American team finished ninth out of 12 teams in a competition that won China. On Wednesday, AFP’s underwater robot camera took astonishing pictures when Alvarez sank and her coach, Andrea Fuentes, dived to the bottom of the pool and dragged the swimmer to the surface.
“I think she was out of breath for at least two minutes because her lungs were full of water,” said Fuentes, a four-time Olympic swimming medalist, adding that the swimmer’s heart was beating.
The US artistic team released a statement on Thursday in which they said that Alvarez had fainted due to his effort during the routine.
“This happened to her once last year at the Olympic qualifiers when she competed in her duet,” added an American spokeswoman.
On Friday, Shah said doctors were still looking for a definitive explanation.
“We will investigate what happened and make some additional comprehensive programs with consultants and make a new decision on an actual cause,” Shah said.