It was evident that two of the stars of this World Championships were back in the pool today, as the gold medal total of both Great Britain and the United States got a boost on day 4.
First, breaststroking powerhouse Adam Peaty was back at it in the men’s 50m race, charging to the wall first to give his Great Britain team an additional gold. He was also part of the nation’s world-record breaking mixed 4×100 medley relay, which comfortably beat the field for another tally in the gold medal column. Great Britain now leads the way with 4 total golds halfway through the competition.
The other mega-factor scoring medals and taking names was Team USA’s Katie Ledecky, who snagged the top prize in the women’s 200m freestyle. Her teammate, Missy Franklin, wrangled in a bronze to bring the country into the lead in terms of total medals, but to still render the USA tied with Australia for three total golds. Absolutely worth noting is the fact that all three gold medals have come from the same person, the one and only Ledecky.
Somewhat surprisingly, South Africa has yet to claim a gold medal as of the halfway point, with Cameron Van der Burgh falling prey to Peaty in the breaststroke races so far and Olympic champion Chad Le Clos getting clipped by Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh in the 200m butterfly.
Sun Yang added a second gold medal to China’s total of 2, having already won the men’s 400m freestyle and now coming away with the 800m win today as well.
Host country, Russia, suffered a blow to its medal hopes, as 100m freestyle threat Vladimir Morozov was dismantled via a false start disqualification in today’s semifinals. The country still has Alexander Sukhorukov in the mix for a 100m freestyle medal come the final tomorrow night.
Swimming Medal Table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Great Britain |
4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 |  United States |
3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 3 |  Australia |
3 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 |  China |
2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 |  France |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 |  Hungary |
2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 |  Russia* |
1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 |  Sweden |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 |  South Africa |
0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 |  Italy |
0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Overall Medal Table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China |
12 | 10 | 4 | 26 |
| 2 | Russia |
9 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
| 3 | United States |
7 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| 4 | Great Britain |
6 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| 5 | Australia |
3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 6 | France |
3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Italy |
2 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| 8 | Hungary |
2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | South Africa |
1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 |  Brazil |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |