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.

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.

Katie Ledecky won her seventh consecutive world title at the world championships in Singapore, on Saturday, Aug. 2, in the 800-meter freestyle. She also won gold in the 1,500m and bronze in the 400m races.