Kos and Corbeau set world records on dazzling final night of WA World Cup 2025 series in Toronto

Hungary’s Hubert Kos and Caspar Corbeau of The Netherlands provided a spectacular European finale on the last day of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2025 series in Toronto as they set respective world records in the 100m backstroke and 200m breaststroke.

Kos – who also set a world record in the 200m backstroke on the first day of competition in Toronto – completed a series clean sweep as he came home in 48.16, lowering the time of 48.33 set by Coleman Sweet of the United States in 2021.

Meanwhile the 24-year-old Dutch swimmer became the first to break two minutes in the 200m breaststroke short course event as he clocked 1:59.52, eclipsing the 2018 mark of 2:00.16 set by Russian athlete Kirill Prigoda.

Poland’s Kacper Stokowski followed Kos home in 49.41, with third place going to Estonia’s Ralf Tribuntsov in 49.41.

The world and Olympic 200m backstroke champion thus followed France’s quadruple Olympic champion Leon Marchand in becoming men’s overall World Cup champion – with a prize of $100,000 – as he secured a third triple crown, having already won the 50m and 100m backstroke events at each of the Carmel, Westmont and Toronto World Cup legs.

Nine wins out of nine left the US-based Hungarian on 175.8 points, with Shaine Casas of the United States second on 171.2.

“ It was great,” Kos told World Aquatics. “The last 25 really, really hurt me, but I just wanted to get that on. I was, I came here wanting to get that record. I didn’t expect the 200, but, you know, we’ll take two. Really, really happy with (how I) performed over these three weeks and really sad it’s come to an end.

“It teaches you to become a better swimmer, it teaches you to be on when it really matters. Come the Olympics, come the World Championships, just be able to swim a good race, warm down, get ready for the next thing, keep going and just consistently do that over three weeks.

“t’s such a good life lesson and lesson in sport to be able to do that and that’s why I’m super happy about it.”

Corbeau, who won 200m breaststroke bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics, rounded off a hugely successful performance across the three legs of this year’s series as he finished more than two seconds clear of his nearest challenger, Japan’s 16-year-old Shin Ohashi, who clocked a world junior record of 2:02.03.

“I’m not processing it to be honest,” Corbeau said. “It’s just kind of, it’s there right now. I need to go talk to my friends and my family. But you know, it’ll take some time.”

After nearly walking away from the sport two years ago after he was fifth in this event at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, Corbeau is now back in the swim. He earned $30,000 for finishing third overall in the men’s standings on 171.00.

Britain’s 30-year-old multiple world and Olympic champion Adam Peaty, for whom this year’s World Cup has been the first major competition since he took joint Olympic 100m breaststroke silver at the Paris 2024 Games, was seventh in 2:07.48.

Three other world records fell on a dazzling final night at the Toronto Pan American Center.

Australia’s Lani Pallister provided the first of the evening as she clocked 7:54.00 in the women’s 800m freestyle to take three-and-a-half seconds off the previous mark held by Katie Ledecky of the United States.

In the women’s 200m backstroke Australia’s five-times Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown took 0.54 off her own world record in 1:57.33, with Regan Smith of the United States also finishing inside the previous best mark in 1:57.86.

And Kate Douglass of the United States became the first woman to break 50.00 for the 100m freestyle as she took 0.26 off the world record she set at the second leg of this series in Westmont in clocking 49.93, securing the overall women’s title in the process.

Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics

The post Kos and Corbeau set world records on dazzling final night of WA World Cup 2025 series in Toronto first appeared on European Aquatics®.