UNSTOPPABLE AMERICANS: Walsh, Smith, Hobson lead U.S. world domination  

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — Gretchen Walsh set two more world records on the final evening of competition to take her tally to 10  at the short-course swimming World Championships in Budapest.

She opened the evening with a world record in the 50-meter freestyle and ended it as part of the American 4x100m medley team alongside two more swimmers who set multiple records during the week: Regan Smith, who also set an individual world record leading off in the backstroke leg, and Kate Douglass.  

Smith had earlier set another world record as she won the 200m backstroke. 

Luke Hobson set his second world record of the week in the men’s 200m freestyle.

Four Russians, swimming as “neutral athletes,” closed the competition by breaking the men’s 100m medley relay record.

Walsh, a 21-year-old American collected her sixth gold of the week when she won 50m freestyle in 22.83 seconds to shave 0.04sec off the record she set in Saturday’s semifinals.

“I’m just happy to prove to myself that I’m capable of doing stuff like this. I’ve just had a really great week,” Walsh said after the race.

She won her seventh gold when the American women, with Lilly King swimming breaststroke, won their relay in three minutes and 40.41 seconds, almost four seconds inside the world record of 3:44.35 set by an American quartet that included King and Douglass in Melbourne in 2022. 

The six records took the tally in six days of competition to 30. Each record brings a 25,000 dollar (23,800 euro) bonus check from World Aquatics. Walsh has been cleaning up, although two records were in relay teams.

Smith, who broke the 50m backstroke record on Friday, edged Canadian Summer McIntosh, who has set three world records in Budapest, in the women’s 200m backstroke. 

Smith won in 1:58.04, to break the record she set in November by 0.80. She completed the sweep of backstroke events in Budapest by finishing 1.91 ahead of McIntosh, racing backstroke for the first time at a major competition.

“I was aiming for that world record tonight,” Smith said. 

“If I need to pick my favorite event, I’d choose this one.” 

Home swimmer Hubert Kos won the men’s 200m backstroke.

Hobson took 0.30 off the record he set on Friday leading off the American 4 x 200m freestyle relay when he won the individual event in 1:38.61. 

The Russian quartet won the men’s medley relay in 3:18.68 to beat the old mark of 3:18.98 set by Australia in 2022.

Jordan Crooks was unable to improve on the 50m free record he set twice on Saturday, in the heats and then, with a time of 19.90, in the semis, but the Cayman Islander still collected gold in 20.19.