Hosszu breaks 200m IM record, wins world gold

Hungary's 'Iron Lady' Katinka Hosszu broke the women's 200m IM record on Monday as she retained her crown in the final at the world swimming championships in Kazan. Hosszu, 26, clocked two mins 06.12 secs to take 0.03secs off Ariana Kukors' previous record from the 2009 world championships in Rome which the US swimmer set in the era of the neoprene suits, which have since been banned. Japan's Kanako Watanabe took silver at 2.33s back with Britain's Siobhan Marie O'Connor claiming bronze at 2.65. "Before the race, I was just trying to give my best and race as fast as possible, and then there was a record. It was just perfect," said Hosszu. China's Ye Shiwen, the Olympic 200m and 400m IM champion, finished eighth and last, at 7.89s behind Hosszu's winning time having failed to recapture her form since her London 2012 triumph three years ago. Hosszu's world record is the fourth to have fallen in Kazan and the third on Monday alone. In the evening finals session, Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom broke her own women's 100m butterfly record she had set on Sunday as she won gold after Katie Ledecky of the USA bettered her own 1500m freestyle record in Monday's heats.