Triple Crown: China’s Sun Yang completes sweep of freestyle distance events with 1,500 gold

BARCELONA, Spain – Sun Yang won his third gold medal of the world swimming championships and completed a sweep of the freestyle distance events with a victory in the 1,500 metres Sunday.

Sun wrapped up a stellar meet with a victory in the longest race on the program. After dueling with Canada’s Ryan Cochrane most of the way, the Chinese star turned it on the last two laps and won going away in 14 minutes, 41.15 seconds.

Cochrane took the silver in 14:42.48, while Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri earned bronze with a time of 14:45.37. Americans Connor Jaeger and Michael McBroom finished off the podium in fourth and fifth.

Yang added to his Barcelona victories in 400 and 800. Plus, he turned in the fastest leg by far on the 800 free relay to almost singlehandedly give China a bronze medal.

Also on the final night of the championships at the Palau Sant Jordi, Japan’s Daiya Seto held off American Chase Kalisz to end U.S. domination of the 400 individual medley, while Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands won the women’s 50 freestyle, edging Australia’s Cate Campbell.

Seto touched in 4:08.69 to take gold in a race that had been by U.S. stars Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte at every major meet since the 2005 worlds in Montreal, when Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh won the title.

Phelps is retired — for now — and Lochte has dropped the grueling race, at least for this season.

The 19-year-old Kalisz, who trains at Phelps’ club in Baltimore, was far back after the butterfly and backstroke legs. But he began to close on the breaststroke and nearly caught Seto on a freestyle dash to the finish. He settled for silver in 4:09.22, while the bronze went to Brazil’s Thiago Pereira in 4:09.48.

“I’m very excited about that,” Kalisz said. “The front half isn’t really my strong part, so it’s just staying right there and keeping myself mentally in check, knowing that these guys are better backstroke and butterflyers than me. Breaststroke is my strong point. So it’s just staying in there until that and coming home as hard as I can on freestyle.”

American Tyler Clary was fourth after taking the silver behind Lochte at the 2011 worlds.

Kromowidjojo’s victory was a reversal of the 100 free, which was won by Campbell with the Dutch sprinter taking the bronze. The winner’s time was 24.05. Campbell was just 0.09 behind, while Britain’s Francesca Halsall grabbed the bronze in 24.30, her country’s first medal of a hugely disappointing championships.

Simone Manuel of the U.S. finished seventh.

Yuliya Efimova won the 50 breaststroke, getting back at the swimmer who took her world record in the semifinals. The Russian claimed gold in the non-Olympic event in 29.52, while record holder Ruta Meilutyte settled for the silver in 29.59. Jessica Hardy of the United States took the bronze in 29.80.

Camille Lacourt of France won the first race of the night, the men’s 50 backstroke, another event not part of the Olympic program. The time was 24.42. American Matt Grevers tied for the silver with another Frenchman, Jeremy Stravius, in 24.54.

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