BARCELONA, Spain -- Missy Franklin got the Americans rolling. Then Katie Ledecky really fired 'em up.
By the end of the night, the U.S. team was awash in medals at the world swimming championships.
Franklin and Ledecky each won her second gold medal of the meet, Matt
Grevers led a 1-2 American finish in the backstroke, and there was
plenty of reason to celebrate for the red, white and blue on Tuesday.
"We've had an absolutely incredible evening," Franklin said. "I'm so proud of all my teammates."
In all, the Americans claimed three golds, two silvers and a bronze –
a strong meet for most nations, certainly quite a haul in a mere two
hours.
"A big night for us," said Bob Bowman, head coach of the U.S. men's team.
Everyone was raving about Ledecky, only 16 but already well on her
way to becoming one of the country's great distance swimmers. She
obliterated the world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle, which may be a
non-Olympic event for the women but did nothing to diminish the
magnitude of her accomplishment.
After going stroke for stroke with Denmark's Lotte Friis most of the
race, with both well under world-record pace, Ledecky really turned it
on over the final 200 and beat the mark by more than 6 seconds. Friis
also went under the old record, and all it got her was silver.
It was motivating watching Katie destroy the world record from the ready room," Grevers said. "That really got us psyched."
Franklin cruised through a demanding double, easily winning the 100
backstroke before returning about an hour later to post the
second-fastest time in the semifinals of the 200 free.
"It's tough, but it's fun," the 18-year-old said. "I'm super happy
with my 100 back. It really got me pumped up for the 200 free."
Grevers touched ahead of teammate David Plummer in the 100
backstroke, and there were Americans on the podium in all five finals.
Conor Dwyer picked up a silver behind France's Yannick Agnel in the 200
free, and Jessica Hardy chipped in with a bronze in the 100 breaststroke
won by Lithuania's Ruta Meilutyte.
The only disappointment for the U.S. was Ryan Lochte, who labored to a fourth-place finish in the 200 free.
"It wasn't my night," the three-time Olympian said. "But I have to put it behind me because I still have many races to swim."
He hopes to compete in seven events in Barcelona, despite not being
able to train as much as usual this year while taking part in his
reality television show, "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?"
"It was kind of a tough swim for him," Bowman said. "He has obviously
not had a season with his characteristic preparation. But he's racing
tough. He'll be back tomorrow. He'll be fine."
Ledecky is clearly in top form. She nearly broke the world record in
winning the 400 free before leaving no doubt about the 1,500, touching
in a time 15 minutes, 36.53 seconds – nearly a half-lap ahead of the
line superimposed on the video screen marking the pace of Kate Ziegler's
mark from six years ago, 15:42.54.
"She's probably made in the same factory as Michael Phelps," marveled Mereia Belmonte of Spain, who finished far back in fourth.
Friis took silver in 15:38.88, with New Zealand's Lauren Boyle grabbing the bronze.
"I knew that world record was going down tonight, but 6 seconds!" Franklin said. "All of us were totally in awe."
Ledecky looks even stronger than she did last year while winning
Olympic gold in the 800 free, a stunning breakthrough for someone barely
known on the international stage.
Naturally, after that performance, she arrived in Barcelona dealing
with the weight of hefty expectations. Plus, she decided to take on an
exhausting program that also includes the 800 free.
No problem.
"I knew we were going pretty fast, and I figured that whoever was
going to come out on top was probably going to get the world record,"
said Ledecky, who's going into her junior year of high school. "So I
just had to be careful not to push it too early or push it too late and
just touch the wall first."
Franklin breezed to victory in the 100 back in 58.42 seconds. After
capturing four golds and a bronze at the London Olympics, the recent
high school graduate is trying to join Phelps as the only swimmers to
win eight events at a major championship. She is now 2 for 2 at the
Palau Sant Jordi, adding to her gold in the 4x100 free relay.
Australia's Emily Seebohm won silver and Japan's Aya Terakawa bronze.
After the medal ceremony, Franklin hustled off to get ready for the
200 free semifinals. She barely qualified for the final of that event in
London and was edged out for a bronze medal by one-hundredth of a
second.
Franklin has spent much of the past year working to improve her
freestyle, and the results showed. Franklin easily qualified for the
final in 1:56.05, trailing only world-record holder Federica Pellegrini
of Italy.
"Hopefully, I will keep the momentum going," Franklin said. "Hopefully, Team USA will, too."
Agnel pushed the pace right from the start and never let up. He
touched in 1:44.20, a full body length ahead of the field, setting off
another wild celebration from the large French contingent in the crowd.
Instead of Lochte, the American winning a medal was Dwyer, a friend
and former training partner of Phelps. Danila Izotov of Russia took
bronze. Lochte missed a spot on the podium by 0.05.
Agnel is now a training partner of Dwyer's, having moved recently to
the North Baltimore Aquatic Club to work with Bowman, who was Phelps'
longtime coach.
"I am so surprised," said Agnel, the reigning Olympic champion. "I did not expect such a result."
Grevers showed he's still the man to beat in the 100 back after
winning gold at London. The American was second at the turn but overtook
France's Jeremy Stravius to win in 52.93. Plummer also got past
Stravius for the silver, while the Frenchman settled for bronze.
Meilutyte just missed the world record she set the previous night in
the semifinals of the 100 breast, winning in 1:04.42. Russia's Yuliya
Efimova was next, while Hardy – the former world-record holder – pulled
out a bronze.
"Maybe the excitement and wanting to win altered my stroke,"
Meilutyte said. "I was dying toward the end of it. There's still things
to improve, which is great."
It certainly would've been hard for the American team to improve on this night.
FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013
- Venue: Barcelona, Spain
- Date: 19 July - 4 August
Coverage: Selected live
coverage and highlights on BBC One, BBC Two, Red Button, BBC Radio 5
live sports extra & online (UK only); reports on BBC Radio 5 live
and BBC Sport website
The World Championships in Barcelona mark the start of the
post-Michael Phelps era, with swimming's greatest-ever Olympic
performer, who won 22 medals across three Games, having retired after
London.
In his place fellow US swimmers Ryan Lochte and Missy
Franklin will hope to fill the void, whilst South African Chad Le Clos
and China's Ye Shiwen and Sun Yang will all be expected to star over the
eight-day competition.
For British Swimming the event marks something of a new
beginning as well, with Rebecca Adlington - a constant source of medals
since the 2008 Beijing Games - following Phelps's lead by hanging up
her goggles.
Here BBC Sport picks out some of the potential highlights for each day of the swimming at the 2013 World Championships.
Day 1 - Sunday, 28 July:
Finals:
1700-1905 [BST]: Women's 100m butterfly SF; men's 400m freestyle F;
women's 200m individual medley [IM] SF; men's 50m butterfly SF; women's
400m freestyle F; men's 100m breaststroke SF; women's 4x100m freestyle
relay F; men's 4x100m freestyle relay F.
Great Britain are looking for the 'new Adlington' and Jazz Carlin, 22, put herself into contention for that title
after she dazzled at last month's British Championships.
The Welsh swimmer missed London 2012 after suffering
from glandular fever, but is returning to form and will make her bow at
these Championships in the 400m on Sunday - although she is a stronger
medal prospect in the 1500m and 800m events later in the week.
Welsh swimmer Jazz Carlin will take part in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m events
Her biggest international rivals in the 400m, an event
no GB swimmer has ever won at the Worlds, are likely to come from French
world number one Camille Muffat and Spain's double London Olympic
silver medallist Mireia Belmonte.
The 200m breaststroke
Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson
will make his first appearance at the Worlds in the 100m heats and
potentially semi-finals. He will be joined by newcomer Ross Murdoch, who
beat his Scottish counterpart at the trials.
And 200m freestyle Commonwealth champion Robbie Renwick
will hope to contest the 400m freestyle final, an event which will mark
the start of double Olympic gold medallist Sun Yang's attempt to secure
victories in each of the 400m, 800m and 1500m events.
The USA and Australia will be expected to challenge for
both the men's and women's 4x100m relay titles, whilst Russia, France
and the Netherlands could also be in contention.
Day 2 - Monday, 29 July
Finals:
1700-1910 [BST]: Men's 100m breaststroke, F; women's 100m
Butterfly, F; men's 100m backstroke, SF; women's 100m breaststroke, SF;
men's 50m butterfly, F; women's 100m backstroke, SF; men's 200m
freestyle, SF; women's 200m individual medley [IM], F.
London Olympic silver medallist Christian Sprenger of
Australia has swum the quickest time in the world this year (59.05 secs)
for the 100m breaststroke, but Great Britain's Ross Murdoch is another
of the four swimmers to have dipped under one minute this season.
Jamieson, the 200m Olympic breaststroke silver medallist, will not want to finish second-best to a fellow GB athlete.
Britain's two-time Olympian Jemma Lowe competes in her
second choice event, 100m butterfly, but will face a strong test with
world number one Alicia Coutts of Australia and US Olympic champion Dana
Vollmer both looking strong this year.
Britain's Jemma Lowe will face strong competition in the 100m butterfly event on day two
GB's Plymouth-based Ben Proud is a new name on the team
for this campaign but he is not there just to make up the numbers. His
time of 23.10 at the trials ranks him third in the world at present and
could be an outside medal prospect.
The women's 200m individual medley
will see China's Olympic champion Ye Shiwen,
17, look to defend the world title she won as a 15-year-old in
Shanghai, but Hungary's Katinka Hosszu is also a contender in an event
featuring GB's Sophie Allen and
rising star Siobhan-Marie O'Connor.
Day 3 - Tuesday, 30 July
Finals:
1700-1850: Men's 200m freestyle, F; women's 100m backstroke, F;
men's 50m breaststroke, SF; women's 1500m freestyle, F; men's 100m
backstroke, F; women's 200m freestyle, SF; men's 200m butterfly, SF;
women's 100m breaststroke, F.
Britain's Jazz Carlin is expected to compete in her
second event of the competition - the 1500m - where her strongest
opponent is likely to be US teenager Katie Ledecky, who won 800m gold
last year.
Another of Adlington's old rivals, Lotte Friis of Denmark, could also be a contender.
Five-time
US Olympic champion Ryan Lochte
will challenge for his first individual gold of the 2013 Worlds in
the 200m freestyle, but Russia's Danila Izotov is the world number one.
Five-time US Olympic champion Ryan Lochte will be in action on day three
The 200m Commonwealth champion Robbie Renwick competes
in his first-choice event, a race in which he is currently ranked sixth
in the world.
There is no British interest in the women's 100m
breaststroke event but Lithuania's Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte is
based in Plymouth.
The 16-year-old's season-best of one minute 5.20
seconds is just marginally ahead of Russia's Yuliya Efimova - 1.05.48 -
in what could be one of the battles of the tournament.
Missy Franklin, the 100m backstroke Olympic champion
Australia's Emily Seebohm and Aya Terakawa of Japan will be expected to
challenge for the medals in that event, but for GB's Lauren Quigley and
Georgia Davies reaching the final would be a good result.
The men's 100m backstroke final could see a fascinating
battle between US Olympic champion Matt Grevers and French duo Jeremy
Stravius and Camille Lacourt.
But do not rule out the challenge of GB's Chris
Walker-Hebborn, who produced a lifetime best of 53.38 seconds at the
trials and could come into contention.
Day 4 - Wednesday, 31 July
Finals:
1700 -1900: Men's 100m freestyle, SF; women's 50m backstroke, SF;
men's 200m butterfly, F; women's 200m freestyle, F; men's 50m
breaststroke, F; women's 200m butterfly, SF; men's 800m freestyle, F.
China's Sun Yang will continue his bid for three gold
medals with victory in that 800m final, an event which could also
feature GB's Daniel Fogg - in what will otherwise be a quiet day for
British swimmers.
Olympic champion Missy Franklin will compete in the women's 200m freestyle on day four
The women's 200m freestyle promises to be a fascinating
battle between former Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini of Italy,
French swimmer Camille Muffat and US teen-sensation Missy Franklin.
South African Chad Le Clos became an overnight star
after defeating the legendary Michael Phelps at last summer's Olympics
and will expect to land world gold in the 200m butterfly.
Day 5 - Thursday, 1 August
Finals:
1700 -1910: women's 100m freestyle, SF; men's 200m IM, F; women's
200m breaststroke, SF; men's 100m freestyle, F; women's 200m butterfly,
F; men's 200m breaststroke, SF; women's 50m backstroke, F; men's 200m
backstroke, SF; women's 4x200m freestyle relay.
Welsh record-holder Georgia Davies could feature in the
final of her favoured event - 50m backstroke, and two-time Olympian
Jemma Lowe is an outside contender for a medal in the 200m butterfly.
Welsh swimmer Georgia Davies is set to take part in the 50m backstroke event on day five
US swimmer Ryan Lochte [1.55.44] and Japan's Kosuke
Hagino [1.55.74] are the world-leaders in this event in 2013 for the
200m IM, whilst Great Britain's challenge comes in the form of Ieuan
Lloyd and Roberto Pavoni.
Australia's pre-Olympic favourite for gold James
Magnussen endured a torrid event last summer and it was revealed that
along with several team-mates he had taken sedative Stilnox during a
team-bonding session.
He is back to form in 2013 though with a season's best
of 47.53 but Russian duo Vladimir Morozov and Andrey Grechin will not
give him an easy ride.
Day 6 - Friday, 2 August
Finals:
1700-1930: women's 100m freestyle, F; men's 200m backstroke, F;
Women's 200m backstroke, SF; men's 50m freestyle, SF; women's 200m
breaststroke, F; men's 100m butterfly, SF; women's 50m butterfly, F;
men's 200m breaststroke, F; men's 4x200m freestyle, F.
Can Britain's Michael Jamieson better the Olympic
silver he won in the 200m breaststroke last summer? He is currently
ranked world number one in the event, ahead of London 2012 champion
Daniel Gyurta of Hungary, but do not rule out the challenge of GB
team-mate Andrew Willis.
Britain's Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson will compete in the 200m breaststroke on day six
Traditionally one of Ryan Lochte's favoured events, the
200m backstroke should be an interesting final as the American has
taken time away from the sport since last summer's Games and Japan's
Ryosuke Irie is currently ranked as world number one.
GB's Craig McNally, who trains with two-time open water
world champion Keri-Anne Payne at Warrender Swimming Club in Edinburgh,
could also reach the final with his time of 1.56.37 putting him seventh
in the current global standings.
With
Francesca Halsall opting to only contest the 50m sprint events
the women's blue-riband event - 100m freestyle - will feature no
British swimmers, but in their absence Cate Campbell of Australia and
American Missy Franklin will be expected to contest for the major
medals.
GB have not entered many of the relay events, but
Britain's Robbie Renwick, Ieuan Lloyd, James Guy and Joshua Walsh could
sneak their way into the 4x200m freestyle final where France, Russia, US
and Australia are the main contenders for success.
Day 7 - Saturday, 3 August
Finals:
1700-1910: women's 50m butterfly, F; men's 50 freestyle, F;
women's 200m backstroke, F; women's 50m breaststroke, SF; men's 100m
butterfly, F; women's 50m freestyle, SF; men's 50m backstroke, SF;
women's 800m freestyle, F.
GB's Jazz Carlin competes her final individual event of
the World Championships and the 800m freestyle arguably offers her the
greatest chance of success.
She leads the standings in Adlington's former favoured
race, having swum a stunning 18 minutes 18.58 seconds in the British
trials, just three seconds off Adlington's world record, but US Olympic
champion Katie Ledecky is likely to be a strong challenger.
Francesca Halsall has not won a major international
medal since the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi after agonising
near-misses at both the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics, but has a chance
of ending her barren-run in the 50m butterfly.
Francesca Halsall will hope to add to her 2010 Commonwealth Games medal success on day seven
Her biggest opponent in the splash-and-dash fly final is likely to be Canadian Jeanette Ottesen.
Le Clos will return for the 100m butterfly, in which he
won silver at last year's Olympics, where he will also do battle with
Lochte and German world number one Steffen Deibler.
Missy Franklin will bid for another medal in the 200m
backstroke event and French swimmer Florent Manaudou will look to add
the world title to the 50m freestyle Olympic crown he claimed in 2012.
Day 8 - Sunday, 4 August
Finals:
1700-1925: men's 50m backstroke, F; women's 50m breaststroke, F;
men's 400m IM, F; women's 50m freestyle, F; men's 1500m freestyle, F;
women's 400m IM, F; men's 4x100m medley relay, F; women's 4x100m medley
relay, F.
Hannah Miley won silver in the 400m individual medley
at the 2011 Worlds in Shanghai but was fifth at the London Olympics last
summer.
The Scottish Commonwealth champion has shown improved
form since then though, winning world short course gold in December and
her impressive time of four mintues 34.21 seconds at the trials was
achieved with a broken hand.
Her greatest rival will be Olympic champion of China
whilst home-favourite Mireia Belmonte and Hungary's Katinka Hosszu are
other potential medal contenders.
Britain's Daniel Fogg will participate in the 1500m event on the final day
Halsall will have another chance to end her medal
drought in the 50m freestyle final, which she finished fifth in at last
year's Olympics, but Campbell sisters Cate and Bronte will rival her.
Daniel Fogg will contest his favoured event - the 1500m
freestyle - where Jordan Harrison is hoping to follow the proud
tradition of Australian success in the event and follow the likes of
Grant Hackett, Kieren Perkins and Daniel Kowalski for success.
Japan's Kosuke Hagino is the world-leader in the 400m
IM this year with a time of 4:07.61, but look out for Dan Wallace - a
new name on the GB squad and with plenty of potential.
Lithuania's Meilutyte will return for the 50m
breaststroke on the final day of competition where she will be expected
to renew her rivalry with Russian Efimova, whilst world record holder
Jessica Hardy of the US is ranked third in the world over this distance.
The Australian and Japanese teams will be strong
contenders in the women's 4x200m medley relay event, whilst Russia and
the US are the favourites in the men's event.
