Marchand and McIntosh Shine at Singapore World Championships

Leon Marchand made a sensational comeback in Singapore, recording the fastest time in the 200 meters individual medley (IM) heats at the world championships. The French Olympic hero completed the event in one minute, 57.63 seconds on Wednesday, narrowly edging out Japan's Kosuke Makino. Marchand is eyeing a third world title and potentially a new world record.

After taking a break post-Paris Games and recovering from injuries, Marchand returned to competitive swimming at the TYR Pro Series in Florida. In Singapore, he is strategically focusing on the 200 and 400 IM events, referring to this phase as his 'transition year'. Meanwhile, 18-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh is aiming to replicate Michael Phelps's achievement of five individual golds in a single championship. McIntosh registered the fastest heats time in the 200 butterfly.

The competition saw remarkable performances but also some surprises. American Regan Smith advanced to the semi-finals behind McIntosh, while China's young prodigy Yu Zidi impressed by ranking fifth fastest. In the men's events, Romania's David Popovici dominated the 100-meter heats following his 200-meter victory, with Olympic champion Pan Zhanle also in close pursuit. An unexpected turn of events occurred as the U.S. missed the final in the 4x100 mixed medley relay, with food poisoning affecting several team members. Italy, the Netherlands, and China led the qualifying rounds, with Australia also in the running for a medal in the finals.

(With inputs from agencies.)