★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ WORLD CUP SINGAPORE ≡
The record machine was on full speed at the World Aquatics short-course (25 m pool) World Cup in Singapore, as a total of five world records were set during the three days:
● 31 Oct.: 2:12.72, Kate Douglass (USA) in women’s 200 m Breaststroke
● 01 Nov.: 1:48.88, Leon Marchand (FRA), in men’s 200 m Medley
● 01 Nov.: 54.27, Regan Smith (USA) in women’s 100 m Backstroke
● 02 Nov.: 1:58.83, Regan Smith (USA) in women’s 200 m Backstroke
● 02 Nov.: 21.50, Noe Ponti (SUI) in men’s 50 m Butterfly (heats)
Douglass broke her own world mark on Thursday, and then Marchand crushed the 1:49.63 time by American Ryan Lochte from 2012, winning by more than two seconds over Britain’s Duncan Scott.
Smith followed Marchand in the pool on Friday and slashed 0.14 off of her own world short-course mark of 54.41 from last week in Incheon (KOR). Then on Saturday, she took down the 2020 mark of 1:58.94 by Australian star Kaylee McKeown, with a brilliant 1:58.83 swim, winning by almost three seconds.
Ponti lowered his own record of 21.67, set in the heats at Shanghai (CHN) two weeks ago, in the first meet of the series.
Douglass wasn’t done, either, setting American Records in Singapore in the 50 m Butterfly and 100 m Freestyle. In all, she set five records in three meets: world marks twice in the 200 m Breaststroke, two in the 50 m Fly and one in the 100 m Free!
There were a load of “triple crown” winners, who won all three meets in the series in a specific event. Of the 22 possible triplers coming into the Singapore leg, 18 took home the title and a $10,000 bonus:
● Men/200 m Free: Duncan Scott (GBR)
● Men/100 m Back: Pieter Coetze (RSA)
● Men/200 m Back: Pieter Coetze (RSA)
● Men/50 m Breast: Haiyang Qin (CHN)
● Men/50 m Fly: Noe Ponti (SUI)
● Men/100 m Fly: Noe Ponti (SUI)
● Men/100 m Medley: Leon Marchand (FRA)
● Men/200 m Medley: Leon Marchand (FRA)
● Men/400 m Medley: Leon Marchand (FRA)
● Women/50 m Free: Kasia Wasick (POL)
● Women/200 m Free: Siobhan Haughey (HKG)
● Women/100 m Back: Regan Smith (USA)
● Women/200 m Back: Regan Smith (USA)
● Women/50 m Breast: Qianting Tang (CHN)
● Women/100 m Breast: Qianting Tang (CHN)
● Women/200 m Breast: Kate Douglass (USA)
● Women/50 m Fly: Kate Douglass (USA)
● Women/100 m Medley: Kate Douglass (USA)
In the Friday and Saturday men’s racing in Singapore, Marchand won two events (200-400 m Medleys) and Qin, Coetze and Ponti completed triple crowns. Olympic 100 m Free champ Zhanle Pan (CHN) won the men’s 100 m Free in 46.09, Isaac Cooper (AUS) beat Coetze in the 50 m Back, South African star Chad Le Clos won the 200 m Fly over American Trenton Julian, 1:50.42 to 1:51.68, and Caspar Corbeau (NED) won the 200 m Breast final.
In the women’s Friday and Saturday action, Douglass won the 50 m Fly in an American Record of 2.42, lowering her own mark of 24.54 from the Shanghai World Cup and moved to no. 2 on the all-time list.
She then won the women’s 100 m Free on Saturday in another American Record of 50.82, smashing Abbey Weitzeil’s 51.26 time from 2020; Douglass moved to no. 5 all-time.
In Smith’s 100 m Back world record swim, American Beata Nelson got a lifetime best in second in 55.72, now no. 5 all-time U.S. And the U.S. got two more wins from distance star Katie Grimes, who won the 800 m Free in 8:14.36 over Australia’s Olympic open-water silver medalist Moesha Johnson (8:18.24), with Claire Weinstein of the U.S. third (8:18.41), and in the 400 m Medley, in 4:24.19, to move to no. 3 all-time U.S.
Haughey and Tang (two events) also won triples, and Swede Louise Hansson won the 100 m Fly (55.46), and China’s Yiting Yu won the 200 m Medley (2:03.99), with Nelson of the U.S. third (2:05.00).
In the race for the women’s overall title across all three meets, Douglass edged Smith, 178.5 to 178.4. Marchand won the men’s title at 175.7 to 171.9 for Ponti.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 885-event International Sports Calendar for the rest of 2024, 2025 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
