In one of the most consistent non -Olympic races in years, the great swimming of all time, the great Katie Ledecky could face an unprecedented challenge on Saturday by Canadian adolescent McIntosh in an event that the American has had more than a decade.
The couple will compete in the 800 -meter free style final of the World Swimming Championship, in a race that will be broadcast live in Peacock at 8:21 pm local time in Singapore (8:21 am et)
“This will be the largest race of this century, men or women, from outside the Olympic format,” News, the three -time gold medalist and NBC swimming analyst at NBC News told NBC. “I don’t know how you can be bigger than this.”
Gaines called Ledecky the best female swimmer of all time and McIntosh the best contemporary interpreter, saying that both judgments “are not even close.”
Ledecky, 28, has 14 Olympic medals in his mantle at home, nine of them golden color. McIntosh, 18, took three golds home and a money in Paris last year.
“Katie is the greatest of all time, absolutely, and is not even close,” Gaines said. “(Mcintosh) is a world swimmer of the year at the end of the year, regardless of what happens in 800 (Saturday). She is still the world swimmer of the year with a difference, nobody is close.”
Both swimmers sailed through their qualification grades on Friday afternoon to formally qualify for the end of Saturday.
Ledecky will be in Lane 4 on Saturday, with McIntosh in 3 and Lani Pallister de Australia in 5.
The routine of this long encounter does not seem to be bothering McIntosh.
“Honestly, I felt much better than I thought I was going this morning,” he said after his heat 800. “I’ve been recovering very well. I mean, are we on day 6? So I feel really promising.”
In the line in this millennial battle vs. Gen Z is the control of Ledecky’s death in 800 free. His domination of the race is prior to the recent residence of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 24 Sussex and the second mandate of the White House Barack Obama.
The native of Maryland and niece of the co -owner of the islanders of New York, Jon Ledecky, took 800 gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, 2016 in Rio, 2021 in Tokyo and last summer near Paris.
She is the only woman to win the same individual event in Four Olympics, in any sport. The only other swimmer who achieved an American legend Michael Phelps, who took the 200 individual pot in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Ledecky also won the 800 six times consecutive in the world championships dating from 2013.
But the 800 invincibility Ledecky air was detained last year when McIntosh, after only 17 years, played the wall first in the championship of the southern section of the southern zone in Orlando, Florida, on February 8.
McIntosh opted against swimming in 800 in France to concentrate on other events, since it took gold in 200 butterflies, 200 individual potpourri and 400 individual potpourri to become one of the stars last summer.
Toronto’s native and daughter of the 1984 Canadian Olympic swimmer, Jill Horstead, undertakes to swim the 800 in Los Angeles and Saturday’s splash against Ledecky could serve as a tempting view of that potential clash of the Olympics.
Ledecky has not shown signs of deceleration. Earlier this week, he collected gold in the 1,500 for free and a bronze in the 400 free won by McIntosh.
The Canadian has already pocketed three world golds this week in that 400 free, 200 im and 200 flies.
