Torri Huske, Caeleb Dressel, Alex Walsh claim more golds for U.S. at swimming worlds

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Four finals, three golds.

Torri Huske, Caeleb Dressel and Alex Walsh all won for the United States on the second day of racing at the world swimming championships on Sunday.

Only Nicolo Martinenghi prevented an American clean sweep as the 22-year-old claimed Italy's first-ever gold medal in the men's 100 breaststroke.

«My first medal, a gold medal in my first final at the world championship is something special,'' said Martinenghi, who also set a national record.

The 19-year-old Huske improved on her own American record in the women's 100 butterfly, clocking 55.64 seconds to finish ahead of French swimmer Marie Wattel and China's Zhang Yufei.

»It's kind of surreal. I feel like I haven't really processed it yet,'' said Huske, who was 0.29 seconds under the world-record pace at the 50-meter mark. «I'm just happy I went a best time more than the place. At the end of the day, I just want to see that I'm improving myself.''

Wattel's 56.14 is a French record. Canada's Maggie Mac Neil, who won in 2019, and Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom, the 2017 winner, both skipped the race.

Dressel was a half-second off the world record as he took gold in the men's 50 butterfly with 22.57, ahead of Brazilian Nicholas Santos and American teammate Michael Andrew.

»Feels good to get the first individual (gold) out of the way. It's always the most nerve-racking,'' said Dressel, who became the first American to win back-to-back world titles in the event.

Andrew posted a personal-best time to gain his first medal, and he reflected on Dressel's dominance.

«As much as he's a teammate, I always want to beat him. It's nice having a guy like him in a lot of the events I race because it pushes me to work that much harder,'' Andrew said.

Bri