Dutchwoman Kromowidjojo wins 50 metres freestyle gold

Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands won gold in the women's 50 metres freestyle at the world swimming championships on Sunday.

Kromowidjojo, Olympic champion at 50 and 100 freestyle at last year's London Games, clocked a time of 24.05 seconds.

Cate Campbell of Australia, who won gold in the 100 freestyle on Friday, took silver in 24.14 and Briton Francesca Halsall claimed the bronze in 24.30, her nation's first medal of the championships.

China's Sun Yang won a second consecutive world championship gold in the men's 1,500 metres freestyle to complete a rare treble of distance titles.

The Olympic champion and world record holder clocked a time of 14 minutes 41.15 seconds at the hilltop pool in Barcelona, matching American teenager Katie Ledecky in winning 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle titles in the Catalan capital.

The towering 22-year-old Sun is only the second man to achieve the feat at a world championships after Australian Grant Hackett at the 2005 edition in Montreal.

Ryan Cochrane of Canada repeated his second-place finishes at the last two world championships after touching in a time of 14:42.48, and Italian teenager Gregorio Paltrinieri was third in 14:45.37.