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≡ TORONTO WORLD CUP ≡
The final installment of the three-meet World Aquatics World Cup series – in 25 m, short-course pools – was in Toronto (CAN) with a sensational eight world (short course) records set over the three days:
Thursday:
● Men/200 m Backstroke: 1:45.12, Hubert Kos (HUN)
● Men/100 m Butterfly: 47.68, Josh Liendo (CAN)
Friday:
● Women/200 m Freestyle: 1:49.36, Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS)
Saturday:
● Men/100 m Backstroke: 48.16, Hubert Kos (HUN)
● Men/200 m Breaststroke: 1:59.52, Caspar Corbeau (NED)
● Women/100 m Freestyle: 49.93, Kate Douglass (USA)
● Women/800 m Freestyle: 7:54.00, Lani Pallister (AUS)
● Women/200 m Backstroke: 1:57.33, Kaylee McKeown (AUS)
Douglass erased the women’s 100 m Free world mark by the legendary Cate Campbell (AUS) at the Westmont stop, then became the first woman ever under 50 seconds with a 49.93 masterpiece, beating second-place O’Callaghan by almost second (50.82)!
Still just 23, Douglass has said she isn’t sure about continuing to 2028, but wanted to see what she could really do in this World Cup series. Remember, her individual Olympic medals have come in the 200 m Breast and 200 m Medley and her Worlds medals in the same strokes, save for a 2024 Worlds silver in the 50 m Free. Does she think she’s a sprinter now?
Meanwhile, O’Callaghan got her second world record in two meets in the 200 m Free, taking 0.41 from her Westmont record of 1:49.77. It also earned her a Triple Crown in the event.
Australian teammate Pallister won the 800 m Free Triple Crown and demolished the 2022 world record by American Katie Ledecky of 7:57.42, winning by a Ledecky-like 15.69 seconds!
The best rivalry in the World Cup was the Backstroke war between Olympic champ McKeown and American Regan Smith, also a former World Champion. On Saturday, McKeown took another win in a world mark of 1:57.33, pushed all the way by Smith, who touched in 1:57.86, also under McKeown’s Westmont mark of 1:57.87.
Kos, the Olympic 200 m Back gold medalist, got world records on Thursday and Saturday and won the triple-triple with Triple Crowns in the 50-100-200 m events. His Saturday 100 m Back record took American Coleman Stewart of the U.S. (48.33 in 2021) out of the record book.
Dutch Breaststroke star Corbeau, who swam at Texas, won the Paris 2024 200 m Breast bronze, and became the first ever under two minutes at 1:59.52, crushing Russian Kirill Prigoda’s mark of 2:00.16 from 2018.
Those were the boldest headlines, but there were also 26 “Triple Crown” possibilities going into Toronto, for swimmers trying to sweep all three meets in the same event. There were 23 Triple Crown winners out of the 26 in all, each of whom got a $10,000 bonus; 14 triples came on the final two days of the meet:
Friday:
● Men/50 m Back: Hubert Kos (HUN: 22.67)
● Men/200 m Fly: Ilya Kharun (CAN: 1:49.71)
● Men/200 m Medley: Shaine Casas (USA: 1:49.79)
● Women/200 m Free: Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS: 1:49.36 WR)
● Women/100 m Breast: Kate Douglass (USA: 1:02.93)
● Women/50 m Fly: Gretchen Walsh (USA: 23.91)
Saturday:
● Men/200 m Free: Luke Hobson (USA: 1:39.94)
● Men/100 m Back: Hubert Kos (HUN: 48.16 WR)
● Men/200 m Breast: Caspar Corbeau (NED: 1:59.52 WR)
● Men/50 m Fly: Ilya Kharun (CAN: 21.80)
● Women/100 m Free: Kate Douglass (USA: 49.93 WR)
● Women/200 m Back: Kaylee McKeown (AUS: 1:57.33 WR)
● Women/100 m Fly: Gretchen Walsh (USA: 53.10)
● Women/200 m Medley: Alex Walsh (USA: 2:04.01)
On Friday, six Triple Crowns were clinched, but two were broken up. U.S. sprint star Jack Alexy lost in the final of the men’s 100 m Free to Josh Liendo (CAN), 45.30 to 45.55, and Australian Backstroke machine McKeown edged American star Smith in the women’s 100 m Back, 54.49 to 54.57. For McKeown, it’s a lifetime (short course) best; she remains the no. 2 performance (behind Smith) all-time and this was the no. 5 performance ever. Smith’s was no. 8.
On Saturday, all nine Crown-eligibles won their events. Casas, who won the 200 m Medley Triple Crown, swept all three men’s Medleys (100-200-400 m) in Toronto. Corbeau swept the Breaststroke events, taking the 100 on Thursday, the 50 on Friday and the world record in the 200 on Saturday.
The Walsh sisters earned Triple Crowns in three events between them!
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Beyond the rewriting of the record book, there was big money on the line for the top-scoring swimmers in the series. With her historic world record in the 100 Free, U.S. star Douglass overtook teammate Gretchen Walsh, 177.5 to 177.3, earning $100,000 to $70,000 for Walsh. McKeown was third overall (173.3), earning $30,000, then teammate Pallister (171.0: $15,000).
World-record setter Kos won the men’s title with 175.8 points, followed by Casas (171.2), then Corbeau (171.0) and Kharun (169.2).
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