Dressel outpaces Phelps with record 8th medal to continue U.S. dominance at worlds
Americans finish atop swimming table with 27 podiums, Canada lands 9th with 8
This time, Caeleb Dressel stands alone in world championships history.
The American won his eighth medal Sunday, helping the U.S. to silver in the 4x100-metre medley relay after anchor Nathan Adrian got overtaken in the closing metres.
One night after becoming the first swimmer to win three golds in one night at worlds for the second time, Dressel set a record with eight medals, including six golds, at the biggest meet after the Olympics.
Two years ago in Hungary, Dressel tied Michael Phelps' record of seven golds at a single worlds, including three in one night.
Dressel hauled the U.S. from fourth to first on his butterfly leg with a split of 49.28 seconds. Adrian found himself in a three-way fight with Britain and Russia coming down the stretch.
WATCH | Dressel surpasses Michael Phelps' record:
Brit Duncan Scott surged ahead approaching the wall and got there first with a split of 46.14 to Adrian's 47.60.
Luke Greenbank, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Scott took gold in three minutes, 28.10 seconds.
Ryan Murphy, Andrew Wilson, Dressel and Adrian finished in 3:28.45.
Russia earned bronze.
'Phenomenal talent'
Dressel's golds came in the 50 and 100 free, 50 and 100 butterfly, mixed 4x100 free relay and 4x100 free relay. His other silver was in the mixed 4x100 medley relay.
"He's a phenomenal talent," South Africa's Chad le Clos said. "He seems to get better throughout the days."
The U.S. team finished atop the medals table with 27, including a leading 14 golds.
Australia was second with 19 and five golds. While Canada hauled in eight (two gold, six bronze) to claim ninth.
Manuel completes freestyle sweep
Simone Manuel completed a sweep of the 50 and 100 freestyles, the first American woman to achieve the feat.
Manuel raced one length of the pool in 24.05 to earn her third gold and fifth medal overall on the last night of the eight-day competition.
WATCH | Manuel holds off tough competition to win another freestyle gold:
She held off Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who took silver in 24.07, and Australian Cate Campbell, who earned bronze in 24.11.
In the 100 free, Manuel topped Campbell and Sjostrom finished third.
Manuel's other medals came in relays: gold in the mixed 4x100 free and silvers in the 4x100 free and 4x200 free.
King rises
Lilly King won the 50 breaststroke, giving the American two victories over Russian rival Yuliya Efimova.
They were denied a third meeting when King was disqualified in the heats of the 200 breast for not putting both her hands on the wall at the same time in a turn.
King touched in 29.84, the only swimmer under 30 seconds in the final.
WATCH | King ousts rival Efimova again:
Benedetta Pilato, a 14-year-old Italian, earned a surprise silver in 30 seconds flat and reacted by crying.
"I didn't know if it was happy tears or sad tears," King said. "She's 14, it doesn't really matter what kind of tears they were, but I was like, `It's OK, you did fine."'
Efimova, who won the 200 and finished second to King in the 100, settled for bronze in 30.15.
Katinka Hosszu of Hungary extended her domination of the 400 individual medley, becoming the first woman to win five titles in one event. She swam the four-stroke race in 4:30.39 seconds.
Ye Shiwen of China took silver, just as she did behind Hosszu in the 200 IM. Yui Ohashi of Japan claimed bronze.
Japan's Daiya Seto survived a last-lap challenge to win the men's 400 IM in 4:08.95.
Jay Litherland of the U.S. had the fastest final lap — 27.89 — to chase Seto to the wall. Litherland took silver in 4:09.22. Lewis Clareburt of New Zealand earned bronze.
Ledecky's hard knock
Adversity finally found Katie Ledecky and when it did, it hit hard.
Headaches, irregular pulse, elevated heart rate, sleeplessness, nausea. The symptoms she experienced struck the American star out of nowhere at the world swimming championships and derailed what had promised to be a stellar meet.
She suffered a loss in an event she's dominated, withdrew from two others and spent seven hours in a Gwangju hospital enduring a battery of tests that never produced an exact diagnosis.
She still managed to win one gold and two silver medals.
"I know I can tough it out now if something like this comes up," she said.
It's a lesson she never had to learn until now.