Singapore, July 31 (NationPress) The World Aquatics Championship was on the verge of witnessing yet another World Record as Canada’s Summer McIntosh delivered an extraordinary performance, coming closer than anyone else to shattering the record in the Women's 200m butterfly on Thursday.

McIntosh achieved a remarkable time of 2:01.99, just shy of the World Record of 2:01.81 held by China’s Liu Zige since 2009.

Since 2010, only four swimmers have managed to go under 2:04, making McIntosh’s feat all the more impressive. At just 18 years old, she has now made the record vulnerable, securing her third World title in this event and her third overall at the championships.

At the 100 metres, McIntosh surged ahead at 58.41, exceeding Liu’s record pace. On the third 50m, her time of 31.59 placed her ahead of the mark, and she maintained her speed through the final stretch with a split of 31.99, lowering her own Americas record of 2:02.26 from June, inching closer to Liu’s historic mark.

Trained by Fred Vergnoux in France, McIntosh has emerged victorious in all three of her events this week in Singapore, preparing for a similar lineup at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Her next challenge will be the 800m freestyle, where she faces off against Katie Ledecky, followed by her final event, the 400m IM on Sunday.

In the USA, Regan Smith claimed silver with a time of 2:04.99, marking her eighth career individual medal at the World Aquatics Championships, matching her silver from Paris 2024 and improving upon her bronze from Fukuoka 2023.

Australia’s Elizabeth Dekkers took home the bronze medal with a time of 2:06.12, adding to her silver from Fukuoka 2023.

China's Yu Zidi, a mere 12 years old, finished fourth, narrowly missing the podium for the second time this week. Competing in her first international event, the primary school student recorded a time of 2:06.43, just 0.31 seconds behind bronze medalist Dekkers.

In the men's 200m Individual Medley, France’s Leon Marchand, who clocked 1:52 in the semifinals, followed up with a 1:53 in the finals, marking the second fastest time in the event’s history.

Despite being a tenth over his record pace at the 100m mark, Marchand's breaststroke split of 32.96 was the fastest in the field, albeit slower than his previous night’s 32.13. His freestyle split was just a tenth slower than the previous night. Marchand’s time of 1:53.68 earned him his third World title in this event, following victories in Budapest 2022 and Fukuoka 2023.

Marchand led a podium sweep of swimmers coached by Bob Bowman as American Shaine Casas (1:54.30) and Hungarian Hubert Kos (1:55.34) claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively.

In the men's 100m freestyle, Romania’s David Popovici captured his second gold medal of the championships, winning the 100m freestyle with a time of 46.51, the second fastest in the event’s history. Jack Alexy (46.92) from the United States and Kyle Chalmers (47.17) from Australia secured silver and bronze, reinforcing the expected podium finish.