NANTERRE, France (AP) — Kristóf Milák of Hungary won the men’s 100-meter butterfly at the Paris Olympics Saturday night, chasing down three swimmers in the last 50.
Milák was only fourth at the turn, but he rallied on the return lap to touch in 49.90 seconds. Canada grabbed the silver and bronze, with Josh Liendo finishingin 49.99 and Ilya Kharun next at 50.45.
Milák had failed to defend his Olympic title in the 200 butterfly, settling for a silver behind French star Léon Marchand.
Milák claimed silver in the 100 fly three years ago, but he didn’t have to worry about the guy who beat him in that race. American Caeleb Dressel stunningly failed to qualify for the final, posting only the 13th-fastest time in the semifinals Friday.
Kharun added another bronze to the one he claimed in the 200 butterfly.
Ledecky goes for four in a row
The next-to-last night at the pool featured Katie Ledecky going for her fourth straight gold medal in the women’s 800 freestyle.
Michael Phelps was the only other swimmer to win the same event at four straight games, taking gold in the 200 individual medley at Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro
Ledecky claimed her first gold with a surprise victory in the 800 free as a 15-year-old at the 2012 London Games. She has dominated the grueling race ever since.
Also on tap Saturday: 17-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada going for her third gold medal of the games in the 200 individual medley, a star-studded race that also included Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and Americans Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh.
The capper to the evening was the wild and woolly 4×100 mixed medley relay that featured teams with two men and two women. Marchand was set to swim the breaststroke leg for France, giving him a shot at another medal to go with his four individual golds.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
