Ben Proud wins Great Britain’s first gold of World Aquatics Championships

Ben Proud spoke of his “really special” moment after ending Great Britain’s wait for gold at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.

Proud claimed the 50m freestyle title in 21.32 seconds, ahead of Michael Andrew (21.41) of the United States and France’s Maxime Grousset (21.57).

“To come top of the podium, it’s really special,” said Proud, 27, who had carried the tag of race favourite following Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel’s withdrawal from the competition.