Backstroke ace Lacourt claims worlds hat-trick

BUDAPEST, Hungary: Camille Lacourt of France won the men’s 50m backstroke gold for the third straight world championships on Sunday in Budapest.

The 32-year-old Lacourt clocked 24.35 seconds with Junya Koga of Japan taking silver at 0.16 back and Matt Grevers of the USA earning bronze at 0.21.

The backstroke ace said he was delighted to complete the hat-trick after also taking the title at the Barcelona 2013 and Kazan 2015 championships.“I did what I needed to win the gold, I was really quick and finished really well,” said the Frenchman.“I’m really satisfied, I feel lots of joy.”

Meanwhile, Chase Kalisz of the United States won the men’s 400m individual medley gold to complete the IM double in Budapest.Kalisz, won also won the 200m IM title on Thursday, clocked a new championships record time of four minutes, 05.90 seconds with Hungary’s David Verraszto taking silver at 2.48 back and Daiya Seto of Japan earning bronze at 3.24.

“It’s a huge step for me,” said the 23-year-old Kalisz, the first American to win the title since Ryan Lochte in 2011.“This is what I came here for, I am really excited about this race.”

Verraszto was delighted with his second straight world silver in the event after finishing second to Seto two years ago in Kazan.

“I’m really happy to win a world medal, and with my second best ever time, that was my main goal to be honest, as I knew I couldn’t win,” said the 28-year-old.

Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden won the women’s 50m freestyle gold for her third sprint title.Sjostrom clocked 23.69 with Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands silver at 0.16 back and Simone Manuel of the United States earning bronze at 0.28 to set a new Americas record of 23.97.

Sjostrom was just 0.02 secs off her own world record which she set on Saturday night in qualifying for the final as she produced another storming display.The Swedish sprinter now has three individual golds in Budapest after her wins in the 50m and 100m butterfly finals.

However, she had to settle for a disappointing silver in the 100m freestyle on Friday when she lost by just 0.04 to Manuel.“I didn’t think my first freestyle gold would be in the 50m, but there you go,” she said, referring to Friday’s defeat on the wall.

“I’ve been chasing the freestyle, so it’s good that I won this. That was not a perfect race, so I was surprised when I saw the time.“It was a very fast first 25, although the finish was very bad, but finals are all about winning the gold.” —AFP