Katie Ledecky of the United States made history on Tuesday by becoming the first woman to win 12 world swimming championship gold medals with victory in the 1500m freestyle.
Ledecky, 20, clocked 15 minutes, 31.82 seconds with Spain’s Mireia Belmonte taking silver at a huge 19.07secs back, while Italy’s Simona Quadarella earned bronze at 22.04.
Ledecky now has 12 gold medals from world championships making her the most decorated female as she passed Missy Franklin of the USA, who has 11 worlds gold medals.
This was Ledecky’s third gold of these championships – from a possible six she could finish with – and she led from the start.
Meanwhile, Britain’s Adam Peaty broke the men’s 50m breaststroke world record for the second time in just a few hours on Tuesday by clocking 25.95 seconds in the semi-finals.
The 22-year-old had broken his own record, set at the 2015 world championships in Kazan, when he swam 26.10secs in the morning’s heats, with the final to come on Wednesday.