Katie Ledecky led the US to the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle title at the world championships on Thursday with a powerful anchor leg to win her fourth gold medal in Budapest.
Ledecky touched the wall at seven minutes, 43.39 seconds while Li Bingjie, who took silver for China, finished at 1.57 seconds back and Adriane Titmus earned bronze for Australia at 5.12.
Victory marked a great night for the US after Chase Kalisz earlier won the men’s 200-meter individual medley gold.
Then Caeleb Dressel and Nathan Adrian came first and second respectively in the men’s 100-meter freestyle final.
Ledecky swung the relay for the US quartet when she dived in for the final leg.
She was on Li’s shoulder for the first 50 meters but made her move at the first turn and ended up finishing a full length ahead of the Chinese.
Having been beaten into joint second by Federica Pellegrini in Wednesday’s 200-meter freestyle — Ledecky’s first defeat in 13 finals at world championships — the 20-year-old freestyle queen bounced back in style.
Ledecky has now won five medals at these championships after gold in the 400-meter freestyle, 1500-meter freestyle, the 4x100-meter, plus that 200-meter silver.
Another gold beckons for her on Saturday night when she defends her 800-meter freestyle crown as the reigning world and Olympic champion.
Elsewhere, Spain’s Mireia Belmonte won the women’s 200-meter butterfly title at to add to her Olympic gold medal.
Belmonte touched the wall in two minutes, 05.26 seconds with Germany’s Franziska Hentke taking silver at 0.13 back and Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu earning bronze at 0.63.
Having won world silver at home in Barcelona four years ago, Belmonte has gone one better a year after being crowned Olympic champion in Rio.
“This is one of the best moments of my life,” said the Spaniard. “This golden medal was the last which was missing from my collection.
“Rio is the best moment in my life, but this is an important moment. The key to win this final was the first 100 meters.”
This was Belmonte’s second medal of these championships after she took silver in the 1500-meter freestyle on Tuesday — finishing 19 seconds behind gold-medallist and long-distance queen Ledecky.
Hentke, 28, the European champion in 2016, was stunned by her silver, the first major medal of her career.
“I don’t know what to say, I am absolutely speechless and I am so happy,” said Hentke, who claimed Germany’s first swimming medal in Budapest.
“When I saw the lineup for the final I was sure that only Mireia Belmonte, Katinka Hosszu and me can take a medal, but I still can’t believe it that I got the silver