Pakistan, July 28 -- Germany's Olympic champion Lukas Maertens won a thrilling 400m freestyle gold at the world championships in Singapore on Sunday, pipping Australia's Sam Short by 0.02sec. in a nail-biting finish. Maertens, who broke the world record earlier this year, came home in 3min 42.35sec after a fierce battle with Short, the 2023 world champion. South Korea's Kim Woo-min, the reigning world champion, was third in 3:42.60. Maertens was the favourite for the title after breaking the world record in Stockholm in April, a mark that had stood since 2009. But Short fought him every stroke of the way, losing out after an incredible tussle to the finish. The result gave Maertens his first world title after claiming Olympic gold in Pari...