FINA World Championships 2013: Treble for Franklin, Phelps inheritance for Le Clos

AKUATIK, Missy Franklin (USA) bagged her third Barcelona gold and Chad le Clos (RSA) claimed one more global title that had belonged to Michael Phelps on Day 4 of swimming at the FINA World Championships. Yang Sun (CHN), furthering his quest for a distance freestyle treble, added the 800m crown to the 400m title he won on Day 1, while Cameron van der Burgh made it double gold on the day for South Africa with victory in the men's 50m breaststroke. 

Franklin, golds in the 100m backstroke and 4x100m freestyle relay already in her possession, beat defending champion Federica Pellegrini (ITA) in the 200m freestyle. She seized the lead from Olympic 400m freestyle champion Camille Muffat (FRA) on the second length and won in 1:54.81, with Pellegrini charging through the field to claim silver in 1:55.14 and Muffat taking the bronze in 1:55.72. World record holder Pellegrini, Olympic champion in 2008, said she had had a difficult year and the result was very encouraging for the future. "I'm really surprised with the silver medal," she said.   

Le Clos (RSA), who beat Phelps in the 200m butterfly at the 2012 London Olympics, inherited the great man's world crown in the same event, the American having won it at five of the last six World Championships before retiring after the London Games with a record 18 Olympic gold medals to his name. Le Clos swung past Pawel Korzeniowski (POL) on the last length to win in 1:54.32. Korzeniowski, who won the title when Phelps did not defend it in 2005, took the silver in 1:55.01 and Peng Wu (CHN) the bronze (1:55.09) for his fourth World Championship medal in the event, following a silver and two bronzes.