Roundup: Qin Haiyang completes breaststroke golden double while Ibarra ends China's golden run in 3m springboard at Worlds

SINGAPORE, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's Qin Haiyang powered to his second gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships on Friday, storming from lane eight to win the men's 200m breaststroke, while Mexico's Osmar Olvera Ibarra stunned the field in diving to capture the men's 3-meter springboard crown.

Qin, the 2023 world champion in Fukuoka, had scraped into the final in eighth after clocking 2:09.32 in Thursday's semifinal. But Qin surged in the final 50 meters of Friday's race to touch first in 2:07.41, edging Japan's Watanabe Ippei by 0.29 seconds. Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands took bronze.

It marked Qin's third medal in breaststroke at the Singapore Worlds, following gold in the 100m and bronze in the 50m.

"This is my best time of the year. Though it's just 0.03 seconds faster than what I swam at the Chinese Nationals, I'm really proud of it," Qin said. "If I had to rate myself, I would give a perfect 100 this time."

The night also saw China's men's 4x200m freestyle relay team - Ji Xinjie, Pan Zhanle, Wang Shun and Zhang Zhanshuo clock 7:00.91 to break the Asian record and clinch silver in a thrilling finish. Britain won gold, with Australia settling for bronze.

"Breaking the Asian record is very meaningful. It's a strong start to the new Olympic cycle," said Ji, who led off the relay. "We'll review this race carefully and aim for an even better result in Los Angeles."

Pan, who had earlier missed the 100m freestyle final, regained confidence through the relay. "The Chinese swimming team will only keep getting stronger," he said.

Wang, swimming the third leg, briefly gave China the lead during his split. "After the first two swimmers gave everything, I just wanted to do my part and give Zhang a strong position," he added. "This medal shows the power of our unity."

Zhang, the youngest member of the quartet, swam the anchor leg and held off his challengers in the final meters. "I cleared my mind and gave it everything I had," he said.

Elsewhere, Dutch swimmer Marrit Steenbergen won the women's 100m freestyle title, with China's Cheng Yujie finishing seventh. Hungary's Hubert Kos took gold in the men's 200m backstroke, and Kate Douglass of the United States claimed the women's 200m breaststroke title in a championship record time.

In the diving competition, Mexico's Ibarra delivered a historic win in the men's 3m springboard final, scoring 529.55 to defeat China's Cao Yuan and Wang Zongyuan. It was the first time since 2005 that a non-Chinese athlete won gold in the event.

With one gold, three silvers and one bronze, Ibarra has now medaled in every event he entered at the Singapore Worlds. ■