Americans Kate Douglass and Nic Fink won individual gold on the second day of the world swimming championships in Doha on Monday.
Douglass repeated as world champion in the 200m individual medley in a personal best 2 minutes, 7.05 seconds, adding to a remarkable last 11 months.
She distanced Canadian Sydney Pickrem by 1.51 seconds.
Since last March, Douglass has won two individual world titles, seven world championships medals, seven titles at the 2023 NCAA Championships (including relays), plus broke the American record in the 200m breaststroke last month.
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Douglass, 22, has three more individual events left at these worlds — 50m and 100m freestyles and the 200m breast.
Then come June’s U.S. Olympic Trials, where the top two per event (top six in the 100m and 200m frees for relays) are expected to make the team for Paris.
In the 200m IM, Douglass’ gold-medal chances going into the summer will be impacted by 17-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh’s decision whether to swim it. McIntosh is among the global stars not competing at these worlds, the first to be held in an Olympic year.
McIntosh has never swum the 200m IM at worlds but last March became the fourth-fastest woman in history at 2:06.89. In Paris, the women’s 800m free and 200m IM finals are in the same session, and McIntosh is second-fastest in history behind Katie Ledecky in the 800m free, an event that the Canadian has also never swum at worlds.
McIntosh’s primary events are the 400m free, 200m butterfly and 400m IM.
Earlier Monday, the 30-year-old Fink became the second-oldest American to win an individual swimming world title after Ryan Lochte in 2015, according to Bill Mallon of the OlyMADMen.
Fink won the 100m breast in 58.57 seconds, relegating 2022 World champion Nicolò Martinenghi of Italy to silver and Rio and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Adam Peaty of Great Britain to bronze.
Peaty is competing at his first global championship since the Tokyo Games.
The 29-year-old missed worlds in 2022 (fractured bone in his foot) and 2023 (didn’t enter trials, citing mental health).
In Peaty’s absence last July, China’s Qin Haiyang won the world title in 57.69 to become the second-fastest man in history. Fink was part of a three-way tie for silver in that race. Qin is not competing at these worlds.
American Claire Curzan took silver in the 100m butterfly, 33 hundredths behind German Angelina Kohler. Curzan, 19, now has world championship medals in the backstroke, butterfly and on freestyle and medley relays.
American Michael Andrew took silver in the men’s 50m fly, which is not an Olympic event, behind 19-year-old Diogo Ribeiro of Portugal.
Worlds continue Tuesday with finals live on Peacock at 11 a.m. ET. Americans Curzan and Hunter Armstrong were the top qualifiers into the women’s and men’s 100m back finals.