Ledecky, trailing McIntosh at the 700-meter mark, surged ahead on the final lap, fending off a hard-charging Pallister as McIntosh faded in the closing meters. With the win, Ledecky remained undefeated in the 800-meter freestyle finals event on the world stage dating back to 2012.

Katie Ledecky remains a dominant force in competitive swimming. The Olympic swimmer, 28, won her seventh consecutive world title at the world championships in Singapore on Saturday, Aug. 2, in the 800-meter freestyle, besting other top swimmers including Australia’s Lani Pallister and Canada’s Summer McIntosh, 18.

In other events, Gretchen Walsh became the first American woman to win gold at the world championships in the 50m butterfly. Regan Smith and Claire Curzan took silver and bronze, respectively, in the women's 200m backstroke. Alexy's bronze in the men's 50 freestyle was his third medal of the 2025 world championships.