Egor Kornev
Egor Kornev equalled Kyle Chalmers’ World Record in the Men’s 100m Freestyle at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Baku, clocking 44.84.
The Russian star had already set a World Cup Record in the 50m Backstroke earlier in the session at the Aquatic Palace in Azerbaijan’s capital.
Kornev’s time matched Chalmers’ mark from 2021, beating his previous personal best of 44.99 set at the Russian National Championships last November.
However, he felt he had scope to go one better.
“I am very excited about the race, even if it is now a repeat record. There was a bad stroke [in the race], so I’ve got my potential, and I’ll show what I’ve got in the next stops,” Kornev said.
Australia’s Cameron McEvoy made a return to the 100m Freestyle for the first time since 2023, and was a clear second in 45.36. He was pleased with how he fared.
“I’m stoked. My PB before this was 46.1, so I’m almost a second faster, so couldn’t ask for anything better. I think there’s room for improvement in the next two stops which is exciting, but the bar is high. To win the 100 Free you have to get a World Record, which is pretty crazy,” he said.
Russia’s Vasilii Kukushkin came through in third in 46.77.
Kornev’s victory was his second of the day, having earlier won the 50m Backstroke in 22.23 to beat Isaac Cooper’s World Cup Record of 22.58. That fell just short of the World Record pace of 22.11 set by his compatriot Kliment Kolesnikov in 2022.
South Africa’s Pieter Coetze and Russia’s Pavel Samusenko tied for second in 22.51. Incredibly the same two athletes also won joint silver at last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, while Coetze set an African Record.
“I’m happy with it. It’s my best time so I can’t complain. It would have been nice to get the win, but Kornev is obviously a very fast guy,” Coetze said.
Freestyle and Backstroke wins for Haughey and Steenbergen
Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong won her 20th career Swimming World Cup gold by storming to victory in the Women’s 200m Freestyle. Ten of those triumphs have come in this event, following on from her Crowns won in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Haughey clocked 1:51.08 in Baku, a time she admittedly said was “better than she expected,” with Anna Peplowski (CLB) second in 1:52.48 and China’s Fan Yaqi third in 1:53.07.
Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands kept her unbeaten run on the Silk Road Tour going by winning the Women’s 100m Backstroke in 55.17 and claiming her third gold in three events, ahead of Taylor Ruck of Canada who was second in 56.49 and Peplowski who took bronze in 56.97.
“[I’m] really happy. It’s a big evening. I came in with a 58 [in the heats], so really happy with that, and I’ll see what I can do in the next stops in the 100 Back,” Steenbergen reflected.
Yu, Chen and Qin clinch Chinese treble, Barr wins again
China’s Yu Yiting stormed the Women’s 400m Individual Medley, winning by nearly four seconds in 4:24.09.
“It’s hard. We just finished Asian Games and came to the World Cup. But I am enjoying the World Cup because short course is always so fun,” Yu said.
Great Britain’s Abbie Wood took silver in 4:27.95, while Chang Mohan of China finished third, clocking 4:28.76.
In total, there were three gold medals for Chinese swimmers on day two in Baku, with Qin Haiyang edging a thrilling battle in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke. He clocked 25.67 to just beat Michael Houlie of South Africa (25.70), with Kirill Prigoda of Russia third in 25.88.
“It was a good swim and a good finish, especially for my last five metres,” said Qin.
Chen Juner produced a scintillating performance in the Men’s 200m Butterfly to round off the evening and complete the Chinese treble.
He triumphed in 1:49.37, with Japan’s So Ogata taking silver in 1:51.24 and Alberto Razzetti of Italy placing third in 1:51.53.
“I felt very good at the start, so I am very satisfied with the result. I think I can get even more results in the next two stops,” Chen said.
Razzetti had earlier taken silver in the 200m Individual Medley, finishing in 1:52.41.
“Tired for sure. It’s always a tough double, but it’s always fun to do it. I’m quite used to it now. It’s been the seventh time in a row I’ve done it at the World Cup, so I kind of like it. I’m very happy with the times in both races. To start the season this way is the best way,” he said.
The 200m Individual Medley was won by Luke Barr (CLB) in 1:51.34, earning his second victory in Baku following on from his triumph over 100m yesterday.
“It definitely hurt in the last 50, but I just sent it. I wanted to see how much I had in there, tried to make the prelims hurt as little as possible because I’ve been having a lot of issues lately where I’ve swam fast in the prelims and not got any faster at night, so that was my biggest goal here today and I think I executed that really well,” Barr said afterwards.
The top three in the race was completed by Canada’s Finlay Knox in 1:52.57.
Belgian double on day two, McSharry impresses
Wins for Lucas Henveaux in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle and Roos Vanotterdijk in the Women’s 50m Butterfly ensured there were two Belgian gold medallists on day two in Baku.
The 1500m Freestyle final took place in the morning session, with Henveaux clinching his first Swimming World Cup victory in 14:34.98.
“[I’m] stoked. Yesterday after the 400 I knew I was in good shape, so it gives me some excitement going into the next two weeks,” he said.
Germany’s Sven Schwarz placed second in what he described as a “decent time” of 14:35.41, and Carson Foster of the USA was third in 14:40.83.
Following 100m Medley silver and 50m Backstroke bronze yesterday, Vanotterdijk completed a full set of medals from Baku with her gold in the 50m Butterfly.
She triumphed in 24.96, with Sweden’s Sara Junevik second in 25.15 and Arina Surkova of Russia third in 25.21.
“It felt really good. I’m still looking for some things to improve, it’s still the first competition of the season and first time doing the races again, so I’m still looking a bit for everything, but overall I’m very happy with this result,” Vanotterdijk said.
“You can see the improvements from last year’s first stop to now, so that’s always nice to see the work you put in in the last year is really showing off.”
On her feelings post-race, Junevik reflected: “Actually pretty good. I was surprised. I didn’t feel 100% this morning, so I’m glad I pulled through and got almost my best time. I feel like it’s been a quick turnaround from Europeans, so it’s always fun to race the short course and get some speed into it.”
Mona McSharry of Ireland was the day’s other winner in the Women’s 100m Breaststroke by almost a second in 1:04.21, finishing clear of Russia’s Evgeniia Chikunova (1:05.13) and South Africa’s Aimee Canny (1:05.16).
“I’m happy, it’s faster than this morning, so hopefully I can get even faster and maybe PB as we go through the week,” McSharry said.
“I think the best part about this is getting to adjust things so quickly and move on and be able to try it.”
The first stop of the Silk Road Tour concludes in Baku today before moving to Tashkent (8-10 October) and Astana (15-17 October).
