2025 World Championships: Day 7 Finals Live Recap

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
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• LCM (50m)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

Day 7 Finals Heat Sheet

Folks, it’s time. It’s Day 7 of the 2025 World Aquatic Championships and that means the 800 freestyle showdown between Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh, the two fastest performers in history with less than a second between them, is finally here. But before Ledecky tries to become the first swimmer to win seven world titles in the same event and McIntosh aims for her fourth gold in Singapore, there’s a full slate of action.

Event Schedule: 

• Women’s 50 butterfly final
• Men’s 50 freestyle final
• Women’s 200 backstroke final
• Women’s 50 breaststroke semifinals
• Men’s 100 butterfly final
• Women’s 50 freestyle semifinals
• Men’s 50 backstroke semifinals
• Women’s 800 freestyle final
• Mixed 4×100 freestyle relay final

The session begins with the women’s 50 butterfly final, where Gretchen Walsh has positioned herself to claim her second individual world title of the meet. We’ll also see Walsh in the women’s 50 freestyle semifinals tonight, but her butterfly looks much stronger than her freestyle and she’s the clear favorite in the 50, though Roos Vanotterdijk sits second and could pull a big surprise after the fantastic meet she’s had.

The sprinting continues with the men’s 50 freestyle final. Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy is in lane four after swimming 21.30 in the semifinals. 100 freestyle silver medalist Jack Alexy was right behind him with a 21.32. They’re the top two seeds, but Paris silver medalist Ben Proud is in lane seven and up in lane one, Santo Condorelli has proven himself a wildcard.

The women’s 200 backstroke will be another showdown between Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith. They’ll be on opposite sides of the pool in lanes six and two, respectively. In the middle of the pool, top seed Peng Xuwei and third-seed Claire Curzan hope to disrupt the two favorites.

After a brief interlude with a stroke 200 final, it’s right back to the medal rounds for sprints with the men’s 100 butterfly final. It took a sub-50.90 swim to earn a spot in the top eight, setting up for a thrilling final. Short-course world record holder Noe Ponti leads the way and looks to earn his first long-course World Championship gold in the event he finished 4th last summer at the Olympics. Josh Liendo and Ilya Kharun, the Paris silver and bronze medalists, are in the field next to each other in lanes five and six. On the other side of Ponti, is 2023 world champion Maxime Grousset and the Italian record holder Thomas Ceccon. Matt Temple, Andrei Minakov, and Simon Bucher round out the final.

The women’s 800 freestyle final directly after the men’s 100 butterfly is rightfully the most anticipated race of the session but the men’s 100 butterfly final should also be an excellent race–one where the win could come from anywhere.

The last event of the session is the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay final. The U.S. didn’t mess around in prelims, fielding both Simone Manuel and Kate Douglass. They are the clear favorites, especially as world record holders Australia failed to qualify for the final.

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – Final

• World Record: 24.43 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2014)
• World Junior Record: 25.46 — Rikako Ikee, Japan (2017)
• Championship Record: 24.60 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2017)
• 2023 World Champion: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden — 24.77

Final: 

1. Gretchen Walsh (United States) — 24.83
2. Alexandria Perkins (Australia) — 25.31
3. Roos Vanotterdijk (Belgium) — 25.43
4. Angelina Kohler (Germany) — 25.50
5. Arina Surkova (NAB) — 25.59
6. Lily Price (Australia) — 25.61
7. Silvia Di Pietro (Italy) — 25.64
8. Erin Gallagher (South Africa) — 25.66

Gretchen Walsh, the heavy favorite coming into this race, did her thing in the women’s 50 butterfly final. She got back under the 25 second mark once again, firing off a 24.83 to confirm her golden double in the sprint butterfly events this week.

Walsh was the only swimmer in the field to break the vaunted 25-second barrier. Almost half a second behind her, Australia’s Alexandria Perkins picked up the silver medal, the second individual long-course Worlds medal of her career (and this meet, as she took bronze in the 100 butterfly). Perkins tied the Oceanian record Holly Barratt swam in 2019 to earn the medal, touching in 25.31.

Roos Vanotterdijk got back on the podium for the second time this week after a busy schedule. Vanotterdijk began her excellent meet in the 100 butterfly with three Belgian records in three round and a silver medal. Now, her 25.43 has put her back on the Worlds podium.

Though Perkins and Vanotterdijk switched steps, these are the same three swimmers that made the women’s 100 butterfly podium earlier this week.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – Final

• World Record: 20.91 — Cesar Cielo, Brazil  (2009)
• World Junior Record: 21.75 — Michael Andrew, United States (2017)
• Championship Record: 21.04 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
• 2023 World Champion: Cameron McEvoy, Australia — 21.06
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Cameron McEvoy, Australia — 21.25

Final: 

1. Cameron McEvoy (Australia) — 21.14
2. Ben Proud (Great Britain) — 21.26
3. Jack Alexy (United States) — 21.46
4. Leonardo Deplano (Italy) — 21.52
5. Egor Kornev (NAB) — 21.53
6. Andrej Barna (Serbia) — 21.60
7. Ji Yuchan (South Korea) — 21.71
8. Santo Condorelli (United States) — 21.73

The top two steps of the men’s 50 freestyle podium are the same from the Paris Olympics last summer, but both Cameron McEvoy and Ben Proud went faster this evening in Singapore.

McEvoy, the reigning Olympic champion and the 2023 world champion, blazed the third-fastest performance of his career to dominate the men’s splash and dash. He stopped the clock at 21.14, the fastest time in the world this season and the 11th fastest performance in history. The only times that McEvoy himself has been faster is his 21.06 from 2023 and the 21.13 he swam in semifinals of the 2024 World Championships.

Proud took silver in 21.26, four-hundredths faster than he went to earn silver in Paris, the first Olympic medal of his career. This is the fourth-fastest swim of Proud’s decorated career and just .01 seconds off the time he posted last year at the British Trials (which was his fastest swim in six years).

Alexy fought through the waves to earn bronze and put himself on his second podium of the week. He swam a 21.32 in the semifinals to qualify second, but his 21.46 tonight was fast enough for bronze. Alexy earned silver in the 100 freestyle in Singapore; he also medaled in both the 50/100 freestyle at the 2023 World Championships.

WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – Final

• World Record: 2:03.14 — Kaylee McKeown, Australia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)
• Championship Record: 2:03.35 — Regan Smith, United States (2019)
• 2023 World Champion: Kaylee McKeown, Australia — 2:03.85
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Kaylee McKeown, Australia — 2:03.73

Final: 

1. Kaylee McKeown (Australia) — 2:03.33 *Championship Record
2. Regan Smith (United States) — 2:04.29
3. Claire Curzan (United States) — 2:06.04
4. Peng Xuwei (China) — 2:07.22
5. Anastasiya Shkurdai (NAA) — 2:08.09
6. Liu Yaxin (China) — 2:09.71
7. Dora Molnar (Hungary) — 2:09.74
8. Lise Seidel (Germany) — 2:10.01

She may have been feeling too sick for a post-race interview, but Kaylee McKeown kept the good times rolling for Australia in the women’s 200 backstroke. That’s two gold medals in two events for the country, as McKeown followed up McEvoy’s 50 freestyle gold by winning the 200 backstroke.

She defended her Olympic gold with a championship record of 2:03.33, stopping the clock .19 seconds from her world record. The championship record was formerly a 2:03.35 by Regan Smith, which was a world record when she swam it.

Smith took the race out hard, flipping in 28.95 at the 50 and 1:00.61 at the 100. The Americans were running 1-2 at the halfway point, with Claire Curzan flipping second in 1:01.07 and McKeown third at 1:01.34. McKeown closed the gap on the third 50, moving into second place just three-hundredths behind Smith. She surged on the final 50 meters with a 30.83 closing split to secure the win.

McKeown has now won both the 100 and 200 backstroke at her last three major long-course meets: 2025 Worlds, 2024 Olympics, and 2023 Worlds. Of course, she is also the two-time defending Olympic champion in both.

Smith swam a season-best 2:04.29 to win her third individual silver medal of the meet, getting back under the 2:04 barrier. Though she wasn’t able to hold off McKeown, she was almost two seconds ahead of the bronze medalist, her teammate Curzan. Curzan swept the women’s backstrokes at the 2024 World Championships but missed qualifying for the Paris Olympics. This bronze medal (2:06.04) marks her return to the podium at a fully loaded senior long-course international meet.

Women’s 50 Breaststroke — Semifinals

• World Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• World Junior Record: 29.30 — Benedetta Pilato, Italy (2021)
• Championship Record: 29.16 — Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania (2023)
• 2023 World Champion: Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania — 29.16

Finalists: 

1. Ruta Meilutyte (Lithuania) — 29.54
2. Tang Qianting (China) — 30.04
3. Benedetta Pilato (Italy) — 30.20
4. Lilly King (United States) — 30.22
5. Eneli Jefimova (Estonia) — 30.25
6. Anastasia Gorbenko (Israel) — 30.30
7. Anita Bottazzo (Italy) — 30.31
8. Veera Kivirinta (Finland) — 30.37

Ruta Meilutyte maintained her hold on the women’s 50 breaststroke during tonight’s semifinals. The world record holder will swim out of lane four tomorrow night as she defended her top seed from prelims with a 29.54. Meilutyte put together a big drop from prelims to semifinals, going from 29.82 to 29.54.

She’s also still the only woman to break 30-seconds in the event at this meet. Tang Qianting, the 2024 world champion, got close with a 30.04 for 2nd place in the second semifinal behind Meilutyte, but just missed the barrier. She’s been well under the mark before though, swimming a 29.51 in Doha.

Look for the third and fourth place qualifiers, Benedetta Pilato and Lilly King, to get back under that barrier tomorrow night as well. Pilato, the world junior record holder, won the first semifinal in 30.20, two-hundredths ahead of King. King missed the women’s 100 breaststroke final but will have the chance to end her professional swimming career with a medal on the last day of the World Championships.

Estonia’s Eneli Jefimova was right with Pilato and King in the first heat, touching third (and fifth overall) in 30.25. The Italians put two women through to the final as Anita Bottazzo will join Pilato after a 30.31 for 7th place.

MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY – Final

• World Record: 49.45 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2021)
• World Junior Record: 50.62 — Kristof Milak, Hungary (2017)
• Championship Record: 49.50 — Caeleb Dressel, United States (2019)
• 2023 World Champion: Maxime Grousset, France — 50.14
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Kristof Milak, Hungary — 49.90

Final: 

1. Maxime Grousset (France) — 49.62
2. Noe Ponti (Switzerland) — 49.83
3. Ilya Kharun (Canada) — 50.07
4. Josh Liendo (Canada) — 50.09
5. Matt Temple (Australia) — 50.57
6. Andrei Minakov (NAB) — 50.90
7. Simon Bucher (Austria) — 50.92
8. Thomas Ceccon (Italy) — 51.12

And now it’s Maxime Grousset‘s turn to complete the sprint butterfly world title double. The 2023 world champion in this event, Grousset missed the Paris Olympic medals. Now, he’s on top of the world in record-breaking fashion.

Grousset attacked the race, relying on his 50 butterfly speed. He made the turn in a blazing 22.80, out under the world record pace. He was the only man to get out under 23 seconds, as Thomas Ceccon turned second in 23.11, with Noe Ponti behind in 23.15. The top three swimmers were the medalists in the men’s 50 butterfly.

Grousset split 26.82 coming home, holding off the competition to claim gold in 49.62. It’s a European record for Grousset, taking down Kristof Milak‘s 49.68 from the Tokyo Games. This was his first time breaking the 50 second barrier as his previous best was 50.11 from earlier this year.

He wasn’t alone in smashing through the 50-second mark. Ponti split 26.68 on the second 50 to move into second, swimming 49.83. He earned his second silver medal of the week with that time, a huge personal best that is well under his former mark of 51.16.

Both Grousset and Ponti finished off the Olympic podium in this event last summer. Now, they’ve exacted their revene and both moved up the all-time performers list into the top five.

All-Time Performers, Men’s 100 Butterfly (LCM) 

1. Caeleb Dressel (United States) — 49.45 (2021)
2. Maxime Grousset (France) — 49.62 (2025) *NEW*
3. Kristof Milak (Hungary) — 49.68 (2021)
4. Michael Phelps (United States) — 49.82 (2009)
5. Noe Ponti (Switzerland) — 49.83 *NEW*

After a turbulent meet, Ilya Kharun matched his Olympic bronze in the men’s 100 butterfly. He swam a lifetime best 50.07 to get the job done, pipping his teammate Josh Liendo by two-hundredths for the final step of the podium. Liendo, the Paris Olympic silver medalist, swam a 50.09 for fourth place. He owns the Canadian record in 49.99 from his medal-worthy performance last summer and is one of (now) seven men to break 50 seconds in this race.

Women’s 50 Freestyle — Semifinals

• World Record: 23.61 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
• World Junior Record: 24.17 — Claire Curzan, United States (2021)
• Championship Record: 23.61 — Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
• 2023 World Champion: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden — 23.62
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden — 23.71

Finalists: 

1. Kasia Wasick (Poland) — 24.19
2. Milou van Wijk (Netherlands) — 24.29
3. Gretchen Walsh (United States)/Meg Harris (Australia) — 24.31
4. —
5. Cheng Yujie (China)/Wu Qingfeng (China) — 24.36
6. —
7. Torri Huske (United States) — 24.41
8. Florine Gaspard (Belgium) — 24.45

Kasia Wasick claimed the lane four for tomorrow night’s 50 freestyle final. With Sarah Sjostrom absent this year, this race is wide open tomorrow evening. Wasick is a two-time World Championship medalist in the long-course pool, having won silver in 2022 and bronze in 2024.

She leads the field into the final by a tenth, with 100 freestyle 4th place finisher Milou van Wijk qualifying second in 24.29. Those two swimmers were the top two in the first semifinal, with Gretchen Walsh touching third on the back half of her double in 24.31.

Walsh had company at 24.31. Meg Harris won the second semifinal in 24.31, tying Walsh as the third-fastest qualifier for the final. Behind her, Chinese teammates Cheng Yujie and Wu Qingfeng tied at 24.36 and will move through fifth.

After Walsh and Huske qualified 13th and 14th for the semifinal, both made it through to the top eight. Huske qualified 7th in 24.41 and will swim out of lane one tomorrow. After being one of the most publicly sick swimmers on Team USA, forcing her to withdraw from the 100 butterfly at the beginning of the meet, Huske rallied for 100 freestyle bronze yesterday.

Men’s 50 Backstroke — Semifinals

• World Record: 23.55 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2023)
• World Junior Record: 24.00 — Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia (2018)
• Championship Record: 24.04 — Liam Tancock, Great Britain (2009)
• 2023 World Champion: Hunter Armstrong, United States — 24.05

Finalists: 

1. Kliment Kolesnikov (NAB) — 24.16
2. Pavel Samusenko (NAB) — 24.31
3. Pieter Coetze (South Africa) — 24.32
4. Ksawery Masiuk (Poland) — 24.41
5. Apostolos Christou (Greece)/Hubert Kos (Hungary) — 24.50
6. —
7. Quintin McCarty (United States) — 24.52
8. Isaac Cooper (Australia) — 24.53

Kliment Kolesnikov was slower than the 24.08 he fired off in the heats, but 24.16 was more than enough to take the top seed for tomorrow’s men’s 50 backstroke final. He’s the heavy favorite heading into the race; he’s the world record holder and has a .15 second edge on the field even with the 24.16.

The Neutral Athletes – B flexed their sprint backstroke skill, as Kolesnikov’s teammate Pavel Samusenko qualified second overall, giving the team the two middle lanes tomorrow night. Samusenko swam 24.31, stopping the clock a hundredth ahead of Pieter Coetze, the first semifinal winner.

Coetze continued his excellent meet by winning the first semifinal in 24.32, taking down the super-suited African and South African records. He now owns all three long-course backstroke records after swimming 51.85/1:53.36 in Singapore. After winning gold in the 100 and silver in the 200 backstroke, Coetze is in position to medal in all three backstroke events at 2025 Worlds.

Ksawery Masiuk, a Worlds medalist in this event, qualified fourth in 24.41, lowering his Polish record. Meanwhile, Hubert Kos seems to have recovered after vomiting yesterday. He popped a Hungarian record 24.50 to qualify for the final. He lowered his own record, bettering the 24.62 he swam in April.

Women’s 800 Freestyle — Final

• World Record: 8:04.12 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2025)
• World Junior Record: 8:11.00 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2014)
• Championship Record: 8:07.39 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2015)
• 2023 World Champion: Katie Ledecky, United States — 8:08.87
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Katie Ledecky, United States — 8:11.04

Final: 

1. Katie Ledecky (United States) — 8:05.62 *Championship Record
2. Lani Pallister (Australia) — 8:05.98
3. Summer McIntosh (Canada) — 8:07.29
4. Simona Quadarella (Italy) — 8:12.81
5. Li Bingjie (China) — 8:15.59
6. Isabel Gose (Germany) — 8:18.23
7. Erika Fairweather (New Zealand) — 8:20.79
8. Ichika Kajimoto (Japan) — 8:26.85

The race of the meet certainly lived up to the hype.

As expected, Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh marked each other closely. But they were not alone. Australia’s Lani Pallister went out with the two swimmers. After her bronze-medal performance in the 1500 freestyle, Pallister said her goal in that race was to hang with Ledecky for as long as she could, which she did for about 500 meters. Here, it seemed like she was aiming to do the same.

The three swimmers were tracking each other carefully, all flipping in 57s at the 100, 1:58s at the 200. At the halfway mark, Ledecky flipped in 4:01.15, with McIntosh and Pallister tied for second at 4:01.33. This continued through the back half of the race, with Ledecky continuing to hit the wall first, slightly ahead of McIntosh and then Pallister.

McIntosh turned first at the 700-meter mark, .14 seconds ahead of Ledecky. It seemed like a later surge might be coming for McIntosh, but Ledecky’s 30.24 on the next 50 meters put her back in charge. She split 29.53 on the final 50 meters and getting her hand on the wall first.

Her gold-medal winning time of 8:05.62 takes over a second off her championship record from 2015 as she becomes the first swimmer to win seven world titles in one event.

It wasn’t a sure thing until she hit the wall though. There was a late surge by one of her competitors. But it wasn’t McIntosh. Instead, Pallister charged, splitting 29.11 on her final 50 meters to move into silver and hit the wall in 8:05.98, .36 seconds behind Ledecky.

Pallister’s time broke her own Oceanian record from the Australian Trials where she swam 8:10.64. She becomes just the third woman in history to crack the 8:10 barrier and with one swim, dropped 4.66 seconds and launched herself into the LA 2028 gold medal conversation.

All-Time Top Performers, Women’s 800 Free (LCM) 

1. Katie Ledecky (United States) — 8:04.12 (2025)
2. Summer McIntosh (Canada) — 8:05.07 (2025)
3. Lani Pallister (Australia) — 8:05.98 (2025)
4. Ariarne Titmus (Australia) — 8:12.29
5. Simona Quadarella (Italy) — 8:12.81

McIntosh finished with a 8:07.29 for bronze. It’s her fourth medal at these World Championships but clearly a disappointment for her as it ends her goal to win five individual gold medals at a single World Championship.

Behind Ledecky, Pallister, and McIntosh’s fight for the medals, Simona Quadarella swam her second European record of the meet. After taking down the long-standing 1500 freestyle record with her first lifetime best in the event in six years, Quadarella fired off an 8:12.81. Her swim breaks Rebecca Adlington‘s super-suited 8:14.10 record from 2008. She’s now the fifth-fastest performer in history, just behind Ariarne Titmus.

Mixed 4×100 Freestyle Relay — Final

• World Record: 3:18.83 — Australia (J. Cartwright, K. Chalmers, S. Jack, M. O’Callaghan) (2023)
• World Junior Record: 3:24.29 — Australia (F. Southam, E. Sommerville, O. Wunsch, M. Jansen) (2023)
• Championship Record: 3:18.83 — Australia (J. Cartwright, K. Chalmers, S. Jack, M. O’Callaghan) (2023)
• 2023 World Champion: Australia (J. Cartwright, K. Chalmers, S. Jack, M. O’Callaghan) — 3:18.83

Final: 

1. United States (Alexy, Sammon, Douglass, Huske) — 3:18.48 *World Record*
2. Neutral Athletes B (Kornev, Girev, Trofimova, Klepikova) — 3:19.68
3. France (Grousset, le Goff, Wattel, Gastaldello) — 3:21.35
4. Italy — 3:21.48
5. Netherlands — 3:21.71
6. Canada — 3:23.16
7. Spain — 3:24.87
8. Germany — 3:25.29

The United States showed with its prelims relay that it wasn’t taking any chances in the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay after a disaster in the mixed medley. That tone was set and continued into the final, where Jack Alexy (46.91), Patrick Sammon (46.70), Kate Douglass (52.43), and Torri Huske (52.44) set a world record of 3:18.48.

Alexy’s swim marks his third sub-47 second 100 freestyle of the meet, while Sammon’s 46.70 ties him as the 13th fastest performer in a 100 freestyle relay split. Douglass and Huske were both excellent on the end; Douglass has been rock solid for the U.S the entire meet, while Huske is clearly rounding into form after illness derailed the start of the championships for her.

This is the United States’ first relay gold medal of the meet.

The Neutral Athletes B team of Egor Kornev (47.69), Ivan Girev (47.08), Daria Trofimova (52.42), and Daria Klepikova (52.49) moved into second place during Girev’s leg and that’s where they stayed for the rest of the race. They took silver in a 3:19.68, breaking the European record the British swam in 2023 (3:21.68) by exactly two seconds.

While the top two teams were locked into their positions quickly, the French squad edged out Italy in a close race for bronze. The Italians were running third with 100 meters to go, but a 53.22 split from Beryl Gastaldello put the team of her, Grousset (47.62), Yann le Goff (47.77), and Marie Wattel (52.74) onto the podium by .13 seconds over Italy.

Italy’s Manuel Frigo (48.18), Carlos D’Ambrosio (47.34), Sara Curtis (52.40), and Emma Menicucci (53.56) took fourth in 3:21.48. Though France passed them, the quartet held off the Netherlands, which finished 5th in 3:21.71.