Hosszu is first woman to win four straight titles

Adam Peaty of Britain started day two of swimming at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships with a gold in the men’s 100 meter breaststroke at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center on Monday.

With a reaction time of 0.62 seconds, Peaty once again got off to a quick start by taking the lead at the halfway point of the race, at 50 meters, at 26.60 seconds. He then continued to hold his lead until the end to take gold in the event.

Adam Peaty, Margaret MacNeil, ,Caeleb Dressel, Katinka Hosszu

With the win, Peaty continued his dominance in the men’s 100 meter breaststroke, as he defended his title for a third straight World Championships. This win allowed Peaty to become the first swimmer ever to win the men’s 100 meter breaststroke for three straight World Championships.

During the semifinals on Sunday, Peaty set a new world record in 100 meter breaststroke, at 56.88 seconds.

James Wilby of Britain won silver by finishing his race at 58.46 seconds followed by Yan Zibei of China with bronze, clocking a time of 58.63.

Following Peaty’s victory, Margaret MacNeil won an upset victory in the women’s 100 meter butterfly.

Racing in the fifth lane, MacNeil had the second-fastest reaction time of 0.64 seconds, but it wasn’t enough to keep her in the lead at the halfway point at 50 meters, as she was fifth in the race at 26.77 seconds. At the time, MacNeil was 0.81 seconds behind Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden.

Yet MacNeil made an upset in the second half. MacNeil picked up her pace to quickly make a thrilling come-from-behind victory, finishing her race in 55.83 seconds, 0.39 seconds ahead of world and championships record Sjostrom.

With a win, MacNeil picked up her first gold and her second medal at the World Championships. On Sunday, MacNeil picked up her first medal by winning a bronze in women’s 4X100 meter freestyle.

Sjostrom finished second by clocking 56.22 seconds followed by Emma McKeon of Australia finishing third, clocking 56.61 seconds.

In the men’s 50 meter butterfly, Caeleb Dressel picked up gold by finishing his race at 22.35 seconds, a new championships record.

Racing in the fourth lane, Dressel had the quickest reaction time at 0.62 seconds. Continuing this, Dressel excelled in the remaining race to pick up his second gold in Gwangju. On Sunday, Dressel picked up his first gold in Gwangju in the men’s 4X100 meter freestyle relay.

Despite winning seven golds during the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, this is the first time Dressel won the men’s 50 meter butterfly.

Oleg Kostin of Russia finished second by finishing the race in 22.70 seconds, followed by Nicholas Santos of Brazil in third, as he finished in 22.79 seconds.

Finishing day two of swimming in Gwangju, Katinka Hosszu of Hungary continued her dominance in the women’s 200 meter individual medley.

Starting the race with butterfly, Hosszu didn’t get off to the best start, as she reached the first 50-meter point at 27.78 seconds, ranking fourth. But she slowly made her way up to third in the next 50 meters, with the backstroke, before finally taking the lead by the 150 meter point, with her third stroke as breaststroke. In the final 50 meters of the race, where the swimmers race in freestyle, Hosszu continued her lead and finished in two minutes and 7.53 seconds.

By winning the event, Hosszu successfully defended her title in the women’s 200 meter individual medley for the fourth straight World Championships. Hosszu is the first woman ever to win four straight world titles in one event.

Ye Shiwen finished second by finishing her race at two minutes and 8.60 seconds followed by Sydney Pickrem of Canada in third, clocking in two minutes and 8.70 seconds.

Korea hoped Kim Seo-yeong could win a second medal in Gwangju, but she failed to do so as she finished sixth, clocking in at two minutes and 10.12 seconds.

BY KANG YOO-RIM [kang.yoorim@joongang.co.kr]