Curzan's 4th Gold in Doha; Croatia Triumphs in Water Polo

U.S. swimmer Curzan secures 4th gold at worlds Claire Curzan clinched her fourth gold medal at the world championships in Doha, Qatar. The standout swimmer dominated the 200-meter backstroke final, finishing 1.26 seconds ahead of Australian Jaclyn Barclay. Curzan completed her backstroke gold medal collection after earlier triumphs in the 50 and 100 backstroke races, as well as the 4x100 mixed medley relay. Reflecting on her performance, Curzan expressed relief and excitement for the future. Anastasiya Shkurdai of Belarus claimed the bronze in the event. Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle also shined, winning his fourth gold in the 4x100 mixed freestyle relay. Pan's exceptional lead-off swim contributed to China's victory over Australia and the U.S. Pan had previously set the fastest 100 meters record in the men's freestyle relay and secured his third gold in relays. In a surprising turn of events, Ukraine's Vladyslav Bukhov seized the gold in the 50 freestyle, narrowly beating last year's winner Cameron McEvoy. The competition saw Ben Proud of Britain claiming the bronze. Katie Ledecky's reign in the 800 free was halted as Simona Quadarella of Italy claimed the gold. Despite Ledecky's absence from the meet, Quadarella triumphed in a tight race against Germany's Isabel Gose. Erika Fairweather of New Zealand secured third place. Meanwhile, Portugal's Diogo Matos Ribeiro added another gold to his tally by winning the 100 butterfly, following his earlier victory in the 50 fly. Sarah Sjöström of Sweden continued her dominance in the 50 butterfly, claiming her sixth consecutive win in the event at the worlds. In water polo, Croatia emerged victorious in a thrilling shootout against Italy to clinch the men's gold medal, marking their first world title since 2017. Croatia's Rino Buric's late goal forced the shootout after an 11-11 tie in regulation, ultimately securing the victory for his team.