Miracle man Qin wins 2nd worlds gold ahead of blockbuster

China's Qin Haiyang celebrated 'a miracle' second gold at the world championships in Singapore on Friday, on the eve of a blockbuster showdown between Katie Ledecky and Summer Mcintosh.

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Roared on by a large number of screaming Chinese fans, world record holder Qin touched the wall in 2min 07.41sec in a nailbiter of a 200m breaststroke final.

The 26-year-old won the IOOm breaststroke earlier in the week but he celebrated his second victory as if it were his first.

He punched the air before standing with his arms spread wide to soak up the acclaim of the Chinese fans.

Japan's Ippei Watanabe (2:07.70) won silver and Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands (2:07.73) took bronze.

Qin started the race in lane eight after qualifying slowest from the semifinals but it made no difference as he regained in style the world title he won in 2023.

"Amazing," said Qin. "Have you heard of the lane eight miracle?