Ledecky extends her reign in the 800 freestyle

From the Editorial Staff

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 3, 2025, p. a11

There was no stopping the queen at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore. American legend Katie Ledecky remains the reigning champion of long-distance swimming, winning an epic 800-meter freestyle final to claim her seventh world title in this event.

With a time of 8:05.62 minutes, Ledecky, 28, beat Australian Lani Pallister (8:05.98) and the other big star of the championships, 18-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh (8:07.27), in one of the best races in history, with all three swimmers below the world record during the first 600 meters.

"I don't think I have anything to lose at this point in my career, I just enjoy the crowd and swimming against the best ," Katie said.

Although Ledecky was unable to beat the world record she set in May at the U.S. trials (8:04.12), she achieved the third-best time in history, behind McIntosh, who swam that distance in 8:05.07 at her country's qualifying trials in June.

Ledecky has won 23 gold medals at world championships and 30 in her career; she has nine Olympic titles and 14 medals in total.

I just told myself I had to keep believing in myself. Tonight I just wanted to enjoy the moment , the American added.

World record

Americans Jack Alexy, Patrick Sammon, Kate Douglass, and Torri Huske set the world record in the 4x100-meter freestyle medley relay, clocking 3 minutes, 18.48 seconds.

The Neutral Team took silver with a time of 3:19.68, a new European record. The French quartet rounded out the podium, with a time of 3:21.35, edging the bronze medal from Italy by 0.001 of a second.

The previous record was 3:18.83, achieved in 2023 by Australia.

In other results, Australian Cameron McEvoy confirmed his status as the fastest swimmer on the planet after winning the 50m freestyle final with a time of 21.14 seconds, ahead of Britain's Benjamin Proud (21.26) and American Jack Alexy (21.46). McEvoy has a total of 11 world titles, three of them in this distance.

Gretchen Walsh of the United States won the 50m butterfly in 24.83 seconds, earning her second individual gold medal at the World Championships. Alexandria Perkins of Australia took silver (23.51) and Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium took bronze (25.43).

Australia's Kaylee McKeown, the defending champion and world record holder, won gold again with a time of 2:03.33 in the 200m backstroke. American Regan Smith claimed her fourth silver medal in Singapore (2:04.29), and the bronze went to her compatriot Claire Curzan (2:06.04).

Maxime Grousset of France took his second gold medal, winning the 100-meter butterfly in 49.62 seconds, just shy of the world record of 49.45 held by American Caeleb Dressel.

Vázquez and García, far from the medals

Mexican divers Aranza Vázquez and María Fernanda García fell short of the world podium in the three-meter springboard event, finishing in 9th and 12th place, respectively.

Vázquez, a two-time Olympian and multiple medalist at the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National Championships, fell short of her bid for her third world medal after earning 297.45 points. García, meanwhile, totaled 270.55.

The competition was dominated by China. Yiwen Chen won gold with 389.70 points, and his compatriot Jia Chen took silver (356.40). The bronze went to Italy's Chiara Pellacani with 323.20.

To date, Mexico has won one gold, four silver, and two bronze medals, surpassing its 2024 performance in Doha, when it earned six medals: one gold, one silver, and four bronze.

With information from AP and AFP

Juan Manuel Vázquez

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 3, 2025, p. a11

Cycling is a sport with an unparalleled logic. Rivals can support each other as if they were on the same team, and those who dominate a race don't always win.

That's what happened yesterday to Isaac del Toro, the Mexican who is steadily rising in the cycling elite. After holding the lead for almost the entire race in the San Sebastián Classic, on the final infamous climb just a few kilometers from the finish, his legs gave out, allowing him to stay in contention for victory, and he finished in a respectable fifth place in this one-day race.

Giulio Ciccone, an Italian vertical climber, took advantage of his improved ability to defend a position earned through experience and hard work to win the race in San Sebastian. For much of the 211 kilometers, he alternated with the Mexican from the UAE Team as if they were teammates, and they managed to gain up to a minute on the peloton.

On a one-day route, you attack from the start. The tactic is to be aggressive and try to position yourself at the top from the start. Del Toro performed this superbly in combination with his rival Ciccone. Both knew that only in this way could they build a scenario that would ultimately lead to a possible outcome in which they would embody two outlaws dueling.

But the plot offered an unexpected twist. The fearless duo of Del Toro and Ciccone faced the imposing Murgil-Tontorra, a wall designed to determine who is a mere mortal and who can approach, or at least touch, the category of heroism. Ten kilometers from the finish line in the city of San Sebastián, this mountain pass rises, with a slope of about 100 meters that could shatter your legs.

Ciccone set off with the ease of someone who knows how to dance on the pedals with a view to the precipice. Del Toro, also adept at climbing, lost steam and began to fall behind. Shortly before reaching the flat, eight kilometers from the finish, he fell out of the position he had held alongside the Italian. Then Swiss Jan Christen came out in pursuit, a kamikaze sent by the UAE Team to defeat Ciccone and help the Mexican regain his position.

Christen nervously looked around to see if Del Toro was approaching, but he couldn't catch them. Ciccone cruised across the finish line with a nine-second lead over the Swiss, with Belgian Maxim van Gils finishing third, 19 seconds behind the winner. Del Toro finished fifth, but put in a thrilling race.