Summer McIntosh capped a brilliant world championships with the 400m individual medley (IM) title and a fourth individual gold medal while Leon Marchand roared to victory in the men's event in Singapore on Sunday.
The United States set a world record in the women’s 4x100m medley relay to claim the final title and ensure they topped the medals table with nine golds, one ahead of Australia.
France finished third with Canada fourth, all four of their golds won by 18-year-old McIntosh, only the third swimmer to win five individual medals at a world championships, joining Michael Phelps (2007) and Sarah Sjostrom (2019).
World record holder McIntosh blitzed the field in the 400m IM with a time of 4:25.78, more than seven seconds ahead of joint silver medallists Jenna Forrester of Australia and Japan's Mio Narita.
The Olympic champion’s third 400m IM world title added to her 200 IM, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle golds at the World Aquatics Championships Arena in Singapore, but she had to settle for bronze in the 800m freestyle, won by Katie Ledecky.
“I think it was very obvious that my goal was five golds,” she said. “Even if I were to get five golds, I would still want more. That's just my mentality.”
