After two world records on night one of the 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, the drama continued into Friday night in Toronto.

Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan brought the 200m freestyle world record down another notch after she became the first woman to break 1:50 last week in the event. O’Callaghan swam 1:49.36 to continue her record assault, scoring $10,000 for a triple crown and a World Record as she is taking this event into another stratosphere.

“If you  set your mind to it, you can achieve it,” O’Callaghan said. “And if you put the hard work in it and have a great support team behind you, anything's possible. I think I have to give (thanks to) all to the people behind me, my physio, to my coach, Dean (Boxall) and to everyone who's done a little nitty gritty for me to perform on this day. They push me to the extraordinary. So I think, use the people behind you and use that support and give back to them."

After winning the Olympic gold medal last summer and the World title this year, she hasn’t missed a step as she marches toward potentially becoming the first person to ever win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 200m freestyle. This trip has been O’Callaghan’s first visit to North America as she gears up for next summer’s Pan Pacs in Southern California and the next Olympics in Los Angeles.

She won tonight over fellow Australian Lani Pallister (1:51.75), who tied her lifetime best to remain 15th all-time, while the green and gold were also represented in the final by Brittany Castelluzzo (1:53.88, 6th) and Hannah Casey (1:54.54, 7th).

“It shows the depth that we have and it shows that we are still growing as a country for relays and as individuals,” O’Callaghan said. “We have a lot of youngsters and they're trying to figure their way through this, and I think this type of meet is the perfect way to try and get that international experience and try and get that depth for the relays and the individuals.”

O’Callaghan, age 21, is in the prime of her career at the moment, swimming better than she ever has as she is delivering on the hype she showed as an 18-year-old in winning the 100m free World title in 2022. Now she shifts her sights to tomorrow’s 100m freestyle in a duel with world record holder Kate Douglass.

“Kate is an incredible athlete,” O’Callaghan said. “Her 100m freestyle last week was just phenomenal. If I can try and be close to her, then that would be amazing.

"I'm just gonna try and put myself out there. I don't know what I'll be capable of doing, but I'm trying to learn from last week and the week before. Even though last week was a bit of a hiccup, that's part of racing. It's just accepting those challenges and putting yourself out there. So whatever happens, happens. I'm grateful to race these women.”

Douglass broke the 100m freestyle world record last week with O’Callaghan in the field, as it’s expected to be a hotly contested race tomorrow night.

“I think I'm just gonna try to kind of channel what I did last weekend,” Douglass said. “Come in the morning, try to have a really good prelim swim, and then see if I can get faster at night.”

Douglass took care of her second triple crown tonight in the 100m breaststroke, winning at 1:02.93. It wasn’t a best time for her, but it was an extra $10,000 USD in her pocket.

“I definitely don't love this event short course. I feel like I struggle,” Douglass said. “Kind of getting my tempo going so quickly, just in like a 25 lap. But I think a long course I'm enduring, focusing on this race more and focusing on my sprint breaststroke, which I also think is helping my 200.”

Douglass is also in line for the overall title, battling her teammate Gretchen Walsh in the process.

Walsh won the 50m butterfly tonight at 23.91, the third fastest time in history as she now owns the 11 fastest times in history in the event. Walsh doesn’t have a lot of experience in short course meters, taking it on for the first time last calendar year, but she has made her mark, showing off her kick power and strength each time she enters the water. Walsh still has yet to lose a butterfly race in short course meters.

“I maybe should have stuck to a plan that I did in the Carmel stop (with) maybe one less kick on the second wall so I can take one more stroke and really hit the last wall,” Walsh said. “I was kind of long into my finish.

Walsh is currently leading the overall World Cup standings with 175.4 points by virtue of her three swims this weekend, with Douglass in second at 157.4. With only the top three swims counting from each stop toward the overall points, Walsh and Douglass are expected to come down to the wire tomorrow night with Walsh doing her best event - the 100m butterfly.

Two crowns were busted on Friday night with Australian Kaylee McKeown spoiling Regan Smith’s party in the 100m backstroke, with McKeown coming out on top at 54.49 for a new Australian record.

Smith was second at 54.57 as she was hoping to improve on her 54.02 world record from last week but finished second here to one of the greatest backstrokers of all-time.

We have seen this movie before from both of them as McKeown ran her down to get her hand on the wall first yet again. McKeown has always found a way to get her hand on the wall first in the big moments, no matter the margin or who is next to her.

“I think I just love competing,” McKeown said of her finish. “I love getting the best outta myself, like all the other girls.”

Smith and McKeown have gone back and forth every year since 2019 and have raced each other all the way back to 2017, bringing out the best in each other each time. They will battle one more time tomorrow night in the 200m backstroke where it took a world record from both of them last week to come out on top. McKeown is going for her third straight win in that event, while Smith is primed to steal the crown bonus from her.

“I'm sure Regan will be coming back tomorrow with a vengeance in the 200m backstroke,” McKeown said.

Canada’s Josh Liendo, fresh off the 100m butterfly world record last night, won his third event of the weekend tonight in the 100m freestyle, busting the triple crown attempt by American Jack Alexy.

Liendo set the Canadian record in the process at 45.30 to move to ninth all-time as Alexy ran out of room on the last 25m to finish second at 45.55. Fellow American Chris Guiliano finished third at 45.71 as he almost stole the crown as well, leading at the 75m turn.

“I paid for it a little bit at the end, but I just had to get my hand on the wall at the end there,” Liendo said.

This is a huge improvement for Liendo, who was 14th in Carmel and sixth in Westmont last week. Swimming in the Toronto pool has given Liendo that extra boost to be the best sprinter in the world.

“When I look up and see, like, a million people in the crowd (and they could have been at) a Blue Jays game tonight,” Liendo said. “There’s a lot of people in the crowd, man. So, it’s pretty hype. It’s good to see, and it gets me fired up.”

Liendo is leading this stop with 59 points after his three wins.

Fellow Canadian Ilya Kharun also gave the Canadian crowd something to cheer about as he won his third straight 200m butterfly at 1:49.71. Kharun, the Olympic bronze medallist, was getting serious pressure from American Trenton Julian, who was with him for 150 meters. But Kharun bided his time, splitting 28.62 on the last 50 meters to win by nearly two seconds over Italian Alberto Razzetti (1:51.63).

“I thought I did very well,” Kharun said. “I took it smooth and kept it smooth the entire way. I thought maybe I could go a bit quicker but it’s alright, I’ve been tired from all the races, but I’m just glad I got it done, it was a great race. The crowd really pushes us and I’m just happy to be here.

Kharun and Liendo have received two of the loudest ovations from fans at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, the other being Olympic medalist and Ontario native Kylie Masse when she walked out with a Toronto Blue Jays shirt for the final of the 100m backstroke. The city is alive with Canadian pride with the World Series in town for the first time since 1993.

“Shout out to my mom, she made that happen,” Masse told the CBC. “She had the idea in between sessions and was able to get her hands on a T-shirt. I wish I’d thought of that earlier because it would have been cool if we could all rep it, but anything for this city! I think it’s incredible to see the city and the country get behind the Jays and it just truly shows what sport can do.”

Two additional triple crowns were handed out on Friday night as American Shaine Casas collected his third straight 200m individual medley title, winning at 1:49.79 for the sixth fastest time ever posted and a $10,000 USD bonus.

“Swimming needs more of that!” Casas said of the prize money. “Yeah it's good. I mean, it's a nice little reward. (My) time wasn't what I wanted, but seeing the check, I'm like, all right, it's not too bad. Could be worse. It's a good race, though. Honestly, I was a little bit surprised.”

It’s not a best for Casas, but it’s another swim in his career year as he had a couple years of disappointments at the international level, missing the 200m individual medley podium at the 2023 World Championships and missing the final entirely at the 2024 Olympics.

In 2025, he broke through for a huge silver in the 200m individual medley at the World Championships, and has continued that momentum into the fall with two triple crowns in the IMs. It’s been a long time coming for Casas, who had a lot of hype around him in 2020.

“I'm just kind of focused on who I am right now,” Casas said.

Hungary’s Hubert Kos completed his second triple crown in the 50m backstroke, his eighth win on the tour across three cities. Kos won tonight’s final at 22.67 thanks to a superb turn, taking down Olympic champion Thomas Ceccon (22.93).

“I'm going to have to watch it back, but I think maybe I could have gone a little bit faster in the first 25,” Kos said. “My start was way better than last week, though. Just the second underwater is where I can win these races. I'm still not as strong as I need to be to excel at those, but we're getting close, so it's fun to see.”

Kos currently leads the men’s overall standings with 172.9 points and seems to have it all wrapped up, holding an eight point lead over Ilya Kharun (164.7).

Kos, who started his career as a 200 IM’er, has turned into the best backstroker in the world right now, staying versatile across the 50m, 100m, and 200m.

“Now I'm a triple crown champion (in the 50m), so that's kind of crazy to think about,” Kos said. “Obviously, Kliment Kolesnikov isn't here. A lot of the good fast 50 swimmers aren't here. So I've got to give them credit (because) I've had a little bit of an easier run, but that's a part of swimming, you have to be good on the day. I'm really happy with it, even though they aren't here.”

His remaining crown is in the 100m, where Shaine Casas hinted he may end up scratching, leaving the door open for a potential Ceccon steal tomorrow night. However, Kos is swimming better than anyone in the world at the moment.

Caspar Corbeau, who is currently third overall in the points standings, won the 50m breaststroke on Friday night at 25.77, just off his 25.5 from last week as this is his fifth overall win of the tour.

“Honestly a few years ago when I was contemplating quitting swimming, before every race I would get very nervous and not want to not want to race because I felt almost too sick in terms of nerves,” Corbeau said. “But now I don't feel really nervous anymore.

“Part of it has been gratitude. I try to practice gratitude every single day. I wanted to quit after (2023 Worlds in) Fukuoka because I wasn't enjoying the sport anymore and I took the opportunity to move overseas and give swimming another shot. I'm really glad I did because I had one of the most successful years of my life and I'm trying to continue to build on the way to Los Angeles as long as I stay healthy and keep enjoying what I'm doing.”

Corbeau won ahead of two-time Olympic champion and one of the best breaststrokers to ever dive into a pool, Adam Peaty, who swam a season best at 25.87. Peaty, age 31, is using the World Cup as his first competition since the 2024 Olympics as he has gotten better each week and is marching towards a potential fourth Olympic appearance in Los Angeles 2028.

Ireland’s Ellen Walshe set the Irish record in the 400m IM at 4:22.97 to move to eighth all-time, taking over two seconds off her previous record set last week.

“I just tried to use the momentum from last week, and I'm hurting from yesterday with the 2fly,” Walshe said. “I knew I was going to have to take it out a bit stronger and try to stay ahead of the pack and then fight the last 100m I guess.”

She won ahead of Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey (4:24.25), who heard the cheers from the Toronto crowd as a Quebec native. Harvey moved to 12th all-time with her swim.

Australia’s Sam Short collected his third win of the tour with a 14:35.33 in the 1500m freestyle, just off his 14:30 he swam two weeks ago in Carmel. Short, who had some health issues at the last two major meets, is using this North America tour as a training tool for his long term goal at the 2026 Pan Pacs in Irvine and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“Trying to gain that experience so it will be much better for it next year,” Short said. 

“(It has been) a big three weeks, I just tried to do that as aerobically as possible, energy wise. I probably couldn't swim it how I wanted to. I love just going out hard and doing it that way, but had to change my tactic up. Thank God I didn't have to sprint finish the end for the win. I probably could've if I had to.”

How to Watch

The final stop of the World Cup will finish from Toronto on Saturday, 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

• Toronto Day One: Josh Liendo, Hubert Kos crush the World Records on night one in Toronto
• 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