Hungary’s Hubert Kos extends perfect record in second leg of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2025 at Westmont, United States
Hungary’s Olympic and world 200m backstroke champion Hubert Kos maintained his lead in the men’s overall standings after the second of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2025 legs in Westmont, United States.
The 22-year-old took his record to six wins from six in the second of the three scheduled legs, which also saw short course world records for home swimmer Kate Douglass, who clocked 50.19 in the 100m freestyle, and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, who recorded 1:57.87 in the women’s 100m backstroke.
Kos concluded his backstroke racing by taking 0.01 off his national record as he won in 48.78 o remain fifth on the all-time list. It was also a World Cup record, lowering the 2022 mark of 48.84 set by the United States’ Shaine Casas.
“I just took it out,” Kos told World Aquatics. “Last week I was more conservative on the first 50. This week I just wanted to go for it and see what I could do.
“My last 25, especially the underwater, it was kind of stinging me. It wasn’t a great feeling but that’s what you learn from. I want to just keep pushing myself and see how close I can get.”
Italy’s Olympic champion and long course world record holder Thomas Ceccon was second in 49.60.
Kos now has 116.4 points, with Canada’s Ilya Kharun second on 113.1 points.
Kharun earned a second successive 50m butterfly victory over Noe Ponti, clocking 21.69 to the Swiss swimmer’s 21.80. Before the World Cup this year Ponti hadn’t lost a short course 50m butterfly since the 2022 Short Course World Championships.
But Ponti beat his Canadian rival in the 100m butterfly, 48.47 to 49.00. The Swiss athlete also finished second in the 100m medley in 50.76 behind Shaine Casas of the United States in 50.45, and second in the 200m butterfly behind Kharun.
Caspar Corbeau of The Netherlands clocked 2:01.68 to win his second straight 200m breaststroke of this tour, where he has now earned victory in four of the six breaststroke finals. He won emphatically over last year’s World Short Course champion Carles Coll Marti of Spain, who recorded 2:03.61.
Britain’s multiple world and Olympic champion Adam Peaty was fourth in the men’s 100m breaststroke in 57.00 in a race won by neutral athlete Ilya Ahymanovich in 56.41 from Corbeau in 56.43 and Japan’s Shin Ohashi in 56.79.
Peaty was also fourth in the 50m breaststroke won by Corbeau in 25.52.
US swimmer Alex Walsh won the women’s 200m medley in 2:04.44, with Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko breaking her own national record with 2:04.93.
Poland’s Katarzyna Wasick won the women’s 50m freestyle in 23.30, and Ireland’s Mona McSharry was victorious in the 50m breaststroke in 29.59.
The final stop of the World Cup will start in Toronto on Thursday, October 23, concluding on October 25.
Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
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