孙杨1500米自由泳因伤退赛

Sun Yang, the double Olympic champion and current holder of the world record in the 1500m freestyle had to pull out of the final of his signature event. The shocking withdrawal came at the last minue with Sun citing a heart problem as the reason for his absence.

The 23-year-old was the favourite to win the gold, but did not show up at the starting blocks. According to Sun, he made the decision to pull out shortly before being called to the pool having felt unwell during the warm-up. Sun would appear at the closing ceremony where he receives an award for the Male Swimmer of the World Championships. Sun was upset to let his fans down, but the Chinese superstar did win two gold medals and one silver at the competition.

The men's 1500 metre freestyle final comes down to two men, with Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri leading the way to set a new European record of 14 minutes, 36.97 seconds while Conor Jaeger of the USA was just behind him to claim the silver medal. Canada's Ryan Cochrayne is a distant third, almost twelve seconds behind.

In the men's 50 metre backstroke, Camille Lacourt of France retains the title he won in Barcelona two years ago after touching in a time of 24.23 seconds, his best effort of the year. American Matt Grevers takes silver, with Australia's Ben Treffers third.

Japan's Daiya Seto retains his world title in the men's 400 metre individual medley. Seto leads all the way and wins in 4 minutes 8.50 seconds, nearly two tenths of a second faster than the time he managed in winning two years ago in Barcelona. David Verraszto of Hungary finishes second, with Chase Kalisz of the United States third.

The United States win the men's 4x100  medley relay, two years after finishing first and then being disqualified. Kevin Cordes, Ryan Murphy, Tom Shields and Nathan Adrian set a time of 3 minutes 29.93 seconds. Australia settle for the silver medal. The bronze medal goes to France.

On the women's side... The Chinese quartet of Fu Yuanhui, Shi Jinglin, Lu Ying and Shen Duo clock 3 minutes 54.41 seconds to claim victory in the women's 400 metre medley relay. Sweden's team set a new European record in taking silver in 3 minutes 55.24 seconds. Australia, despite having Bronte Campbell in their four, finish third.

Sweden's Jennie Johansson wins the first major title of her career in taking the gold medal in the women's 50 metre breaststroke final. Johansson clocks 30.05 seconds, the second fastest time in the world this year, to beat Jamaica's Alia Atkinson. Defending champion Yuliya Efimova of Russia takes the bronze.In the women's 400 metre individual medley, Hungary's Katinka Hosszu wins her fifth world championship long course gold medal. The 26 year-old has a time of 4 minutes, 30.39 seconds as she succesfully defends her 200 and 400m individual medley titles. American Maya DiRado is second, with Canada's Emily Overholt third.

Let's take a look at the medal table as the Kazan World Championships comes to an end. China claim fifteen gold medals to finish on top of the standings. United States sit in second place with 13 gold, 14 silver and 6 bronze. The host nation Russia finishes third with 9 gold medals, ahead of Australia.