Mt. Lebanon swimmer third in world
Smith wins bronze
Leah Smith of Mt. Lebanon captured a bronze medal July 29 in the 800-meter freestyle at the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The University of Virginia and Oakland Catholic High School graduate recorded a time of 8:17.22 for third place in the event. The mark broke her previous-best performance in the event by three seconds (8:20.18).
Smith joined Katie Ledecky on the podium for the U.S. National Team. Ledecky placed first with a time of 8:12.68. China’s Bingjie Li finished second with a time of 8:15.46.
With the addition of the 800 free, Smith holds three medals at the World Championships. She earned gold with the 4×200 freestyle relay team and silver in the 400 freestyle.
The daughter of Dan and Margee Smith concluded her performance at the World Championships with a sixth-place showing in the 400 individual medley. She clocked in at 4:36.09.