Ryan Lochte’s six gold medals at the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) have seen him surpass the all-time short course world championship medal record of Swedish powerhouse Therese Alshammar.
The double world record-breaking star was named best male of the championships during the closing ceremony while Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia was the best female athlete with three golds and one silver.
Lochte won gold in the 200m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 400m individual medley, 100m individual medley, 200m backstroke and 4x100m medley relay. His all-time tally now stands at 21, four ahead of Alshammar, who claimed gold and silver at the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex this week.
The US team topped the medal table, with 25 in total, 12 golds, six silver and seven bronze. One person who significantly added to the haul was Rebecca Soni who claimed three golds in three championship records, winning the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke treble in the process.
“It was a good race, I’m really excited to go home with three gold medals, it wasn’t really expected,†she said.
The other two golds came courtesy of Kathryn Hoff, who claimed the women’s 400m freestyle gold and Natalie Coughlin who finished first in the women’s 100m backstroke.
Athletes at the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) broke 61 championship records during the five-day meet and four world records.
“I am delighted that these championships have been such a huge success,†he said. “We have put on an excellent event and we look forward to a long a fruitful relationship with FINA.
“The atmosphere in the Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex on the final night was a triumph for swimming in the UAE and we hope that this week will give a significant boost to the development of the sport in the country.â€
