Kieran Smith, Elijah Winnington and Carson Foster receive medals after the men’s 400m freestyle. (Getty Images: Dean Mouhtaropoulos)
In short:
Elijah Wennington returns to the top of the 400m freestyle podium after winning silver at the Olympics.
Winnington’s win was Australia’s second gold medal after Lani Pallister won the 800m the day before.
What’s next?
The World Short Course Championships continue this week at the Duna Arena in Hungary.
Elijah Winnington swam to gold with perfect timing at the World Short Course Championships in Budapest, where he first made a name for himself as a Dolphins powerhouse.
Winnington won the same distance event in Hungary two years ago. On Thursday, he led the final six laps of the 25-meter pool to win gold in the 400-meter freestyle.
It was Australia’s second title of the championships after Lani Pallister won gold in the 800m freestyle, and it was a thrilling win for 24-year-old Queenslander Winnington, who won silver at the Olympics earlier this year.
With 75 meters left, Wennington was still more than half a second behind American Kieran Smith. He didn’t catch up until the penultimate lap, and from then on, he led the way, crossing the finish line in 3 minutes 35.89 seconds, 0.42 seconds ahead of another American Carson Foster. Smith eventually finished third in 3 minutes 36.31 seconds.
“This pool holds a special place in my heart. I won my first world title in this pool and I’m delighted to do it again,” said Winnington, who told the crowd they were “amazing”.
“I didn’t see him (Smith, on the inside lane) until about 250 metres, and then I was like, ‘Oops!’
“But I knew he would be quick – he was the reigning world champion in the event in Melbourne – and my strategy was always to come back strong and fight to the end.
“I’m probably not in my best shape right now, so I just know it’s going to be a race and I have to keep up with him – and I know I’m going to go home with the most courage I can.”
Wennington’s win was the highlight of another great day for the Dolphins, after Lizzie Dirks set another world record by winning bronze in the 200m butterfly for Canada’s Summer McIntosh.
Olympic and world champion McIntosh, who was just 18 years old, won the title in 1:59.32, beating American Reagan Smith (2:01.00), while Dex finished in 2:02.91.
McIntosh broke the 10-year-old record of 1:59.61 held by Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain after she swam 3:50.25 in the women’s 400 freestyle on Tuesday. She also set a new world junior record of 2:01.96 to win the morning heat.
in the final race of the day, Dirks won another medal, Pallister won her fourth medal of the championships with a thrilling final run, and the women’s 4 x 200m relay quartet (which included Leah Neal and Mira Jensen) took bronze in a world record-breaking American quartet.
Alex Walsh, Paige Madden, Katie Grimes and Claire Weinstein set a new record of 7:30.13, with Hungary taking second place in 7:33.39, and the Australian foursome just missing out on silver in 7:33.60.
Australia currently sits third in the medal standings (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze), behind Canada (3 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze) and the surging United States, which has 18 medals in total (9 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze).
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