Katie Ledecky Conquers Third Gold Medal in World Swimming Championships

Katie Ledecky easily won her third gold medal in the World Swimming Championships, easing her pace in the most demanding event on her agenda in Budapest.

The formidable American swimmer didn't break any records on Tuesday, something that was left to Lilly King, Kylie Masse, and Adam Peaty.

Ledecky triumphed in the 1500-meter freestyle, surpassing Spanish swimmer Mireia Belmonte. The difference was enormous: 19.07 seconds and, to put it graphically, half the distance of the pool in the Hungarian capital.

Just 49 minutes later, Ledecky jumped back into the water for the 200 freestyle semifinals, in which she set the fastest time.

Whether the distance is long or short, the 20-year-old American star.

"The difficult part is the other 364 days of the year," said Ledecky as if nothing had happened. "One sacrifices during training so that when the day of the competition arrives, I execute my race. It's routine. You get up and you know that you have the conditions to swim those times."

After already winning the 400 freestyle and the 4x100 relay on the first day, Ledecky is still on track to tie the record of six gold medals for a female swimmer.

While Ledecky took away all the suspense in her final, King went 2-0 against Yulia Efimova in what has become the most captivating rivalry in swimming.

The combative American won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Russia last year after disrespecting Efimova, proclaiming that the Russian should not compete in the event due to her doping history.

Efimova nearly broke the world record of Ruta Meilutyte, which has been in place for the past four years, in the semifinals, ensuring her spot in the center lane of the pool.

But King, swimming in her own lane, displayed her best level at the decisive moment. She started with a devastating pace and led from start to finish, clocking in at 1 minute and 4.13 seconds. She shaved 22 hundredths off the record set by the Lithuanian in the Barcelona World Championships in 2013.

King splashed the water when she saw the time and turned around to congratulate the runner-up, her compatriot Katie Meili, who beat the Russian for the silver medal.

"It's a rivalry that will continue," said King. "Of course, it's something very uncomfortable for both of us. We are competitors. We don't like each other."

Meanwhile, British swimmer Peaty broke a couple of breaststroke records and Canadian Masse broke one that had stood for eight years.

Peaty set the first record with a time of 26.10 seconds in the morning heats of the 50 meters, cutting 32 hundredths off the mark he set in the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. A few hours later, Peaty was even faster and lowered the record to 25.95 seconds in the semifinals.

When Peaty saw his time, he said in disbelief, "It can't be."

In the morning, the 22-year-old Briton expressed his satisfaction with his result. "I was pretty relaxed. I didn't go to the pool this morning looking for a world record, just to compete and make it to the semis," he said. He added that it was "pretty early in the morning for a world record. But I'm very happy with that swim."

Peaty aims to become the first man to retain the world title in the 50 breaststroke.

Masse, on the other hand, won the women's 100 backstroke with a time of 51.10 - 0.02 better than the mark set by British swimmer Gemma Spofforth in the 2009 World Championships in Rome, the last time special suits were used that allowed swimmers to break all kinds of records.

Four world records have already fallen in the Budapest event.

The day before, Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjostrom set a time of 51.71 seconds in her leg of the 4x100 freestyle relay.