New Zealand swimmer Lewis Clareburt Photo: AAP / www.photosport.nz
Defending champion Lewis Clareburt of New Zealand failed to reach the final of the 400 metres individual medley at the World Swimming Championships in Singapore.
Swimming in the fourth and final heat, Clareburt finished fifth in a time that was five seconds outside his best.
Only three swimmers from what is traditionally the fastest heat qualified for the final, including French star Leon Marchand who ended up seventh fastest.
However Olympic champion Marchand was back to his best in the final, finishing well clear of Japan's Tomoyuki Matsushita, the Paris Games runner-up.
It was a stripped-back programme from Paris where Marchand won four individual titles but he made Singapore count, taking the 200 IM world record on the way to the title.
Canadian Summer McIntosh capped a brilliant world championships with the 400 IM title and a fourth individual gold medal.
World record holder McIntosh blitzed the field finishing more than seven seconds ahead of joint silver medallists Jenna Forrester of Australia and Japan's Mio Narita.
The Olympic champion's third 400 IM world title added to her 200 IM, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle golds at the Championships.
The United States set a world record in the women's 4x100 medley relay to claim the final title and ensure they topped the medals table with nine golds, one ahead of Australia.
France finished third with Canada fourth, all four of their golds won by 18-year-old McIntosh, only the third swimmer to win five individual medals at a world championships, joining Michael Phelps (2007) and Sarah Sjostrom (2019).
-Reuters / RNZ
