The first night of the last stop of the 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup got off to a rousing start. After no World Records in men’s events through the first two stops, two world records fell on Thursday night at the Toronto Pan American Sports Center.

Canada’s Josh Liendo got the crowd exactly what they wanted when he broke through for his first career world record in the 100m butterfly. Liendo, who used to train in this pool up until 2022 when he moved to school in the United States at the University of Florida, spoiled the triple crown party that Noe Ponti of Switzerland was hoping to have.

“The crowd got me hyped up,” Liendo said. “I was looking around before my race and saw everyone cheering loud and they were getting hyped, so it hyped me up too.”

Fellow Canadian Ilya Kharun was looking to be the one to spoil that party, but Liendo shaved down tonight to show the Toronto crowd something special. Liendo swam 47.68 to take 0.03 off of Ponti’s world record from last year and a big celebration ensued.

“Off the start, I knew I was having a good swim and from there, I didn’t look back,” Liendo said. “I saw ‘World Record,’ and I would have been happy even if it said 48 up there, so that was when I slapped the water.”

Kharun did end up beating Ponti in the process for second place at 48.35 to Ponti’s 48.38, while Liendo cashed in on the $10,000 USD world record bonus.

“(Ponti and Kharun) cooked me on that first stop,” Liendo said, as he was fourth in Carmel two weeks ago at 50.20. “I got a little bit of rest under my belt and was feeling good this stop. Obviously, the home pool, I know it pretty well, I’m used to training in it. I know the dimensions, I know what it’s like, I know how to do a turn…I’m not missing any turns. It’s pretty comfortable for me.”

It’s a big moment for Liendo, who had a disappointing summer at the World Aquatics Championships in July when he finished fourth in the 100m butterfly after he was the Olympic silver medalist the year prior.

Liendo then came back later in the session to break the World Cup and Canadian record in the 50m freestyle at 20.31 to move to tied for sixth all-time. The swim lowered Vladimir Morozov’s World Cup record of 20.48 from 2018, as he took Kharun’s 50m record he set last week.

“I told Ilya, ‘hey, you went 20.7 last week, I’m going to have to take it back now.’ It’s great racing him, we push each other, and having someone like that in Canada…he’s only going to get better. He’s a stud, man, so it’s great to race him and I am looking forward to racing him in the future.”

Liendo finished ahead of Kharun again in the 50m, who finished third at 20.73 as he lost his Canadian record in the process. American Jack Alexy finished second at 20.70.

It’s been a long time coming for Hungary’s Hubert Kos who finally set the world record in the men’s 200m backstroke, lowering Mitch Larkin’s 2015 mark of 1:45.63 to swim 1:45.12. Kos has achieved nearly everything in this sport - Olympic gold medal, World title, but the world record eluded him. He missed it by 0.02 at the World Short Course Championships last year in front of his home fans in Budapest, but he finally got it done on Thursday night in Toronto, achieving his first of a possible three triple crowns this weekend.

“It's kind of unbelievable,” Kos said. “You can't really process these things straight away and it's just going to take me some time, especially since I'm still processing the Olympic gold, so who knows how long this will take to process. I knew I could be pretty close, but I also knew that I could be pretty far too, like, it could have been between 1:45 or 1:50.”

Amongst the 26 triple crowns at stake this weekend, Kos is the only swimmer to have a chance at sweeping an entire stroke, having won all the possible backstroke races the last two weeks. Now the toughest tests await him in tomorrow’s 50m backstroke and Saturday’s 100m.

In the women’s events, Australia’s Lani Pallister threw a challenge at Summer McIntosh’s world record in the 400m freestyle final as she put up the third fastest time ever at 3:51.87. McIntosh’s 3:50.25 will last another day as Pallister improved on her best time to remain third on the all-time list as she also broke her own World Cup record set last week that was 3:52.42.

This was the triple crown race for Pallister, who won by four seconds over New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather (3:56.12). It’s been a career year for Pallister, who won silver and bronze at this summer’s World Aquatics Championships in the 800m and 1500m freestyle as she is finally showing the promise she showed as a junior in 2019 when she was the top performer at the World Juniors that year.

“I think it was just important building each week,” Pallister said. “I wasn't super stoked with the first week, but I think coming off the flight (into the USA two weeks ago) I guess jet lag hurts you a little bit more than you anticipate. So yeah, pretty happy with the 3:51. I mean, I'd like to be under 3:50 eventually, but we'll see where that event takes me in the future. I'll take it as a win.”

Health complications prevented Pallister from qualifying for the Tokyo team while illnesses affected her performances at the 2022 Worlds and 2024 Olympics. Now in 2025, the world is seeing what Pallister can achieve when healthy.

“It was honestly more about just having fun,” Pallister said of her World Cup experience. “I wanted to do (the World Cup) at the start of the year and I had so much fun doing them in 2023. So coming away, getting the American experience, kind of getting used to the culture here a little bit. It's important (preparation) for 2028, but also important for the Pan Pacific Championships next year  in California. So it wasn't all just about racing. It was almost like a little bit of reconnaissance, just seeing what the environment would be like.”

Another of McIntosh’s records was under threat on Thursday night in her old training pool as American Regan Smith was looking to become the third woman to break 2:00 in the 200m butterfly after she was 2:00.20 last week in Westmont.

Smith attacked the race early and was on McIntosh’s world record pace for 150 meters, before the pace got the best of her and she faded down the stretch to finish at 2:00.34. It wasn’t the sub-2:00 she wanted, but it was enough for a $10,000 USD triple crown bonus.

“I'm happy with three in a row, but I think the biggest thing for me is to be good, better, best,” Smith said. “And even if I wasn't under 2:00, I wanted that to be my fastest one. And that was my slowest.

“I did go for it, though. I really felt it more than I have in any of the other stops in the last 25… I could feel myself just falling apart. So I'm proud of myself for going for it, but also, I think I'm better than that personally.”

The women’s overall race is looking to come down between American teammates Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh as both of them took care of their crown business tonight.

Douglass won the 200m breaststroke in a season best of 2:13.45, but it was shy of her world record of 2:12.50 she set last year. Douglass now holds the six fastest times in history as she has not been beaten in this race since February 2024.

“My goal going into tonight was to win the triple crown,” Douglass said. “It was my best swim of the series so I'm happy with it. I was obviously hoping to maybe dip under into 2:12 again, but I'm happy that I was able to improve from the other weekends.”

Walsh won the 100m IM without Douglass in the field at 55.99 as she now holds the seven fastest times in history and has yet to get beat in her short history of racing the event in short course meters. Douglass was next to her at the first two stops in this event, but she dropped the 100m IM to focus on her three events this weekend.

“I'm definitely really pleased with the triple crown,” Walsh said. “I think at the end of the day, that's what I wanted out of that race. And, you know, the time is kind of meh, but I just need to let go and move on and continue upon this triple crown journey.  

“I think I'm less nervous when (Kate Douglass) is not racing against me, but I think she also pushes me a lot. When I see her, I get motivated. And so maybe in that way, I kind of benefit when she's there. But I think there was still a great competition today. And I definitely had this inner motivation to hopefully go faster than I did at the last stop. And even though I didn't, it was fast enough, and that's all that matters.”

Walsh nearly stole a crown from Australia’s Kaylee McKeown in the 50m backstroke, who out-touched a crowded field that included World champions Kylie Masse and Katharine Berkoff and freestyle world record holder Mollie O’Callaghan.

McKeown won her third straight 50m backstroke with a World Cup and Oceania record at 25.35 to sit third all-time. She lowered the old World Cup record she set last year at 25.36. Walsh was second at 25.40, while O’Callaghan was third at 25.42. Masse was fourth (25.69) and Berkoff was fifth (25.74).

“This time last year I didn't even last the World Cup Tour,” McKeown said. “I did the first day and then decided to run the tail end. So I'm really happy to have made my way through and just be in such a good place. I think I'm just a lot fresher mentally. And like I just want to be in the sport still. I think I've just found a new love for it.”

American Shaine Casas also completed his triple crown in the 100m IM as the 25-year-old out of Texas swam to fourth all-time in holding off his teammate Hubert Kos at 50.28 to Kos’s 50.56.

“I thought that was still really sloppy,” Casas said. “I feel like I was a little bit tired today, not really sure why - probably from walking around Chicago the whole time, so I think that might be a little bit of it, but it’s still a best time. That's good. It definitely gives me some momentum for tomorrow. I didn't go under 50 there, so maybe I can go under 1:49 tomorrow (in the 200m IM). We'll see.”

Casas was once thought to be one of the future stars for an American men’s team to carry USA men's swimming in the post-Phelps-Lochte era in 2019 when he broke out onto the scene as a top-ten ranked backstroker globally. Then he missed the Olympic team in 2021, and his career has bit a bit up and down since then.

That changed in 2025, when he swam to silver in the 200m IM at the World Aquatics Championships in July. Now in these World Cups, Casas is looking like the guy people thought he was going to be, and he is delivering each time he races.

Casas will head back to his roots on Saturday when he will take on Kos in the 100m backstroke as the Hungarian is going for a triple crown, the potential ninth win of the three weeks if he can also complete the hat trick tomorrow in the 50m.

Poland’s Kasia Wasick also completed the triple crown in the 50m freestyle at 23.21, the second fastest time in her career at age 33.

“It means the world to me,” Wasick said. “To be able to handle the pressure, and when you see the crown going in front of you…it really brings the nerves, and to be able to handle it gives me confidence.”

Wasick finished ahead of another veteran in 25-year-old Taylor Ruck, who broke the Canadian record at 23.49 to now sit 15th all-time.

Former training partners Caspar Corbeau and Carson Foster also claimed wins on Thursday night. Corbeau broke the Dutch record to win the 100m breaststroke at 55.55 to now sit fifth all-time.

“I think in Carmel and in Westmont, and also years before, I would really push the frequency, because naturally you think the higher the frequency, the faster you can go, but that's not really how I swim,” Corbeau said. “And I think I should focus on my strengths, which is gliding. So tonight, I tried out the four, five, six, six and a half… I didn't do a last kick in, but it worked, and I think that's going to be my new plan.”

Corbeau also won ahead of two-time Olympic champ Adam Peaty (56.59), who was second in a season best. These World Cups have been Peaty’s first bits of competition since he won the silver at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Foster won an unconventional 400m freestyle final at 3:36.52 as the IM specialist took down 2022 World Short Course champ Kieran Smith (3:37.28) and 2023 World champ Sam Short (3:37.89). The time is not a best time for Foster but a big breakthrough for him as he is coming off of a difficult summer that saw him scratch out of the World Championships due to a foot injury sustained during the competition.

“This is the first time in probably two and a half years where I've really had fun at a swim meet, the last three weeks,” Foster said. “It has been an answered prayer to be able to come here and swim well, and more importantly, have fun, so I just want to take advantage of that.”

How to Watch

The final stop of the World Cup will continue from Toronto on Friday, October 24, at 10:00 a.m. local time with finals following at 6:00 p.m. local time.

Where to Watch

Catch all the action live and watch on demand through our broadcast and streaming partners here.

Relive the Action

Westmont Day Three: Kate Douglass resets 100m freestyle World Record as Kaylee McKeown rips the World Record in the 200m backstroke

Westmont Day Two: Mollie O’Callaghan, Regan Smith cash in on world records on second night of World Cup in Westmont

Westmont Day One: Pallister, Smith, Walsh break World Cup records to open second stop in Westmont

Carmel Day Three: Kaylee McKeown nears 200m backstroke World Record to close first stop of Swimming World Cup in Carmel

Carmel Day Two: Gretchen Walsh slams world record on day 2 of World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Carmel

Carmel Day One: Regan Smith, Gretchen Walsh break World Cup records to open Swimming World Cup in Carmel

Contributing: Gregory Eggert