Phelps, who has amassed a whopping 18 Olympic titles in three Olympic Games, won five medals at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, in what was his first major international since London 2012.

His medal tally included three golds, in the 100 metres butterfly, 800m freestyle relay and 400m medley relay, in addition to two silvers in the 200m individual medley and 400m freestyle relay.

The seven-time World Swimmer of the Year also posted the fastest 100m butterfly time in the world this year in 51.17sec at the 2014 Phillips 66 National Championships.

Ledecky's honour comes after a historic Pan Pacific Championships, held from August 21 to 24, where she became the first woman to secure four individual gold medals with wins in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events.

She also picked up gold as the anchor of the women's 800m freestyle relay team.

Katie Ledecky made history at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships as she became the first woman to win four individual gold medals ©Getty Images



Prior to her Pan Pacific success, Ledecky captured three national titles at the National Championships in California, while also breaking the world record in the 400m freestyle with a time of 3min 58.86sec.

This record was topped through her performance at the Pan Pacific Championships, an event that also saw her break her own 1500m freestyle record.

The US women's eight team of Katelin Snyder, Heidi Robbins, Eleanor Logan, Caroline Lind, Grace Luczak, Lauren Schmetterling, Amanda Polk, Meghan Musnicki and Vicky Opitz won its ninth consecutive world title at the World Rowing Championships in the Dutch capital Amsterdam.

The victory ensures the team's immaculate record of not losing a World Championship or Olympic race since 2006.

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