Britain’s Freya Colbert earns women’s 400m medley gold as World Aquatics Championships conclude – ‘So amazing’

Britain’s Freya Colbert earned a gold medal in the women’s 400m medley at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha.

The 19-year-old earned the first world title of her career after triumphing in 4:37.14.

She produced a strong final freestyle leg to move past Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko and Italy’s Sara Franceschi and take the gold medal.

Gorbenko claimed silver in 4:37.36, while Franceschi was the bronze medallist with 4:37.86.

The latter had become her country’s first female individual world champion since Rebecca Adlington in 2011.

“It’s so amazing, I’m still in a bit of disbelief,” Colbert said. “I knew I could do it, that was probably one of the first races that I’ve gone into at this level with total confidence in myself and my race plan.

“I just trusted that, not following the girls out on the butterfly, keeping true to what I know my strengths are and it really paid off at the end. I am so pleased!

“I felt strong coming off the backstroke leg, knowing I’d gone past Anastasia, but to be honest, she was the only person I could see, I didn’t even know what Sara [Franceschi] was doing on the other side of the pool.

“I got a little bit stressed on the breaststroke because I thought I’d got in front, but then she came back again, and then I just had to give the freestyle my all.

“I know it’s one of my strengths individually, it’s not necessarily always a strength at the end of the individual medley.

“I just had to really trust what my coach Dave Hemmings had told me during all those weeks at altitude, throw my head down and give it everything to the wall.”

There were more medals for Britain in the men’s 400m medley, with Max Litchfield earning silver.

He was beaten by New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt who finished in 4:09.72, with Litchfield recording a time of 4:10.40 and Japan’s Daiya Seto clinching the bronze medal with 4:12.51.

Britain’s Anna Hopkin could only place sixth in the women’s 50m freestyle as Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom won her fourth world title in the event.

Overall, Britain finished with 18 medals at the World Aquatics Championships across swimming, artistic swimming, open water swimming and diving, including four gold medals.

Attention now turns to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which run from July 26 to August 11.