#5 Seed Carson Foster No-Shows 200 IM On Day 2 Of Carmel World Cup

2025 SWIMMING WORLD CUP – CARMEL

• October 10-12, 2025
• Carmel, Indiana
• SCM (25 meters)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1

Men’s 200 IM — Prelims

• World Record: 1:48.88 — Leon Marchand, France (2024)
• World Junior Record: 1:51.45 — Matthew Sates, South Africa (2021)
• World Cup Record: 1:48.88 — Leon Marchand, France (2024)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:50.76 — Daiya Seto, Japan (2019)

Top 8:

1. Shaine Casas (USA) — 1:53.54
2. Leon Marchand (FRA) — 1:54.29
3. Tomoyuki Matsushita (JPN) — 1:54.34
4. David Schlicht (AUS) — 1:54.54
5. Kieran Smith (USA) — 1:54.79
6. Finlay Knox (CAN) — 1:55.35
7. Alberto Razzetti (ITA) — 1:55.65
8. Jeremias Pock (GER) — 1:55.87

Day two of the Carmel World Cup leg saw multiple faces absent from the men’s 200 IM prelims. American Carson Foster, who holds an Olympic silver medal in this event, notably did not race this morning despite being the #5 seed heading into the meet.

Foster is currently slated to compete in the fastest heat of the 1500 free tonight, so his absence in the 200 IM could signify a shift in focus towards the distance race.

No official reason has been offered for his no-show, but Foster is seeded 3rd in the 1500 and may see a better chance at placing higher in the freestyle than he would have in the IM. Swimmers can race as many events as they want at each World Cup stop, but only their three best swims count toward their overall standing.

With $112,000 USD on offer for each gender at each stop ($672,000 for the whole series), limiting events could mean targeting world records or better scores in other events. Prize money is awarded to the top 20 finishers at each stop, with men and women scored separately. In the event of a tie, the swimmer with the higher AQUA Power Points in their best event wins.

Foster already turned in a top performance on day one of the Carmel stop, narrowly winning the 400 free (3:37.80) last night against a stacked field that included the likes of Sam Short, Leon Marchand and Kieran Smith. The 1500 free is poised to offer another showdown between Foster and Short, with Short being seeded just one spot ahead of Foster in the runner-up position.

The men’s 200 IM was one of the most highly anticipated events of the World Cup series, with Leon Marchand, Hubert Kos and Shaine Casas, the top three finishers from the 2025 World Championships, back in the mix. All three athletes train together at Texas under coach Bob Bowman, with Foster being another one of their training partners.

Another top-seeded competitor, Daiya Seto also opted out of racing the 200 IM this morning. Seto came into the meet seeded 7th in the event, but is also entered in the 400 IM and 200 breast, both of which take place on day three.