SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which world record swim produced during the World Cup caught them off guard the most:
Question: What was the most surprising world record swim of the World Cup?
RESULTS
- M 200 BR – Caspar Corbeau (1:59.52) – 34.2%
- M 100 FLY – Josh Liendo (47.68) – 25.8%
- W 800 FR – Lani Pallister (7:54.00) – 18.5%
- W 100 FR – Kate Douglass (49.93) – 16.6%
- M 100 BK – Hubert Kos (48.16) – 1.5%
- W 200 FR – Mollie O’Callaghan (1:49.36) – 1.1%
- M 200 BK – Hubert Kos (1:45.12) – 0.9%
- W 50 FLY – Gretchen Walsh (23.72) – 0.8%
- W 200 BK – Kaylee McKeown (1:57.33) – 0.6%
The 2025 World Cup series had an onslaught of world record performances.
After Gretchen Walsh was the lone world record-setter at the opening leg of the series in Carmel, three marks were broken and another was tied in Westmont, and then at the finale in Toronto, an incredible eight more world records went down.
That included new barriers being broken in five different events, and the most monumental one came in the men’s 200 breaststroke.
Caspar Corbeau won the event in both Carmel (2:01.63) and Westmont (2:01.68), and though there may have been an expectation that he could take down Arno Kamminga‘s Dutch Record of 2:01.43 in Toronto, the seven-year-old world record of 2:00.16 from Kirill Prigoda wasn’t on the radar.
However, Corbeau delivered and then some, not only taking down Prigoda’s record from 2018, but blasting his way through the 2:00 barrier, becoming the first swimmer to break it in 1:59.52.
We asked SwimSwam readers what the most surprising world record swim of the World Cup was, and Corbeau’s 1:59.52 came out on top at 34.2%.
Among the nine events that saw new world records, Corbeau’s ranked in the middle of the pack in time dropped from the previous record (4th) and in percentage improvment (6th), but likely took the top spot due to Corbeau knocking more than two seconds off his two-week-old best time and the fact he broke down the door by becoming the first man under 2:00.
World Cup World Record Breakdown
| Event | Record Breaker | WR Pre-World Cup | New WR | Time Improvement | % Improvement |
| W 100 FR | Douglass | 50.25 | 49.93 | -0.32 | 0.64% |
| W 200 FR | O’Callaghan | 1:50.31 | 1:49.36 | -0.95 | 0.86% |
| W 800 FR | Pallister | 7:57.42 | 7:54.00 | -3.42 | 0.72% |
| W 200 BK | McKeown | 1:58.04 | 1:57.33 | -0.71 | 0.60% |
| W 50 FLY | Walsh | 23.94 | 23.72 | -0.22 | 0.92% |
| M 100 BK | Kos | 48.33 | 48.16 | -0.17 | 0.35% |
| M 200 BK | Kos | 1:45.63 | 1:45.12 | -0.51 | 0.48% |
| M 200 BR | Corbeau | 2:00.16 | 1:59.52 | -0.64 | 0.53% |
| M 100 FLY | Liendo | 47.71 | 47.68 | -0.03 | 0.06% |
There was a clear hierarchy in the poll, with the top four options receiving 16.6% of votes or more, and then the rest earning 1.5% or less.
Ranking 2nd behind Corbeau’s 200 breast was Josh Liendo‘s swim in the men’s 100 fly, which saw the Canadian take down Noe Ponti‘s world record of 47.71 with a time of 47.68, done on home soil no less, and deny Ponti the Triple Crown bonus.
Liendo, like Corbeau, raced at the first two legs of the series but was significantly slower, clocking 50.20 in Carmel and 49.56 in Westmont (a new best time) to place 4th and 3rd, respectively. Ponti was untouched with decisive wins in Carmel (48.53) and Westmont (48.47), and if anyone was going to challenge him in Toronto, it was expected to be Ilya Kharun, but Liendo unleashed a time of 47.68 in the final out of nowhere.
The top women’s swim in the poll was Lani Pallister‘s monster performance in the 800 freestyle, as the Aussie obliterated Katie Ledecky‘s world record by nearly three and a half seconds in 7:54.00, becoming the first woman sub-7:57, 7:56 and 7:55.
Pallister, who was coming off a breakout swim in the long course 800 free at the 2025 World Championships this past summer, won the 800 free in Carmel in 8:02.02, and then a week later in Westmont, topped the 1500 free with an opening 800 split of 8:03.17, indicating she was likely on sub-8:00 form for Toronto (her best time stood at 8:01.95 from the 2024 SC Worlds).
She blew that away and then some, knocking off Ledecky’s mark of 7:57.42 from 2022 with just the fourth swim in history sub-8:00–the others being Mireia Belmonte‘s 7:59.34 from 2013 and Wang Jianjiahe‘s 7:59.44 from 2018.
Picking up 16.6% of the votes was Kate Douglass‘ swim(s) in the women’s 100 free, as she first took down Cate Campbell‘s mark of 50.25 from 2017 in 50.19 in Westmont before clocking 49.93 in Toronto, becoming the first woman to break 50 seconds.
Coming into the World Cup, Douglass’ best time stood at 50.73, set at the 2024 SC World Championships, and although that was well within striking distance of Campbell’s record, the surprise factor comes given that her focus has tended to be more on the 200 breast, 100 IM and 200 IM in recent years in short course meters, with the 100 breast, 50 fly and even 50 free sometimes taking precedence over the 100 free.
Adding to the impressiveness of what Douglass did is that she broke the world records back-to-back while going head-to-head with an on-form Mollie O’Callaghan, as the Aussie broke the 200 free world record at consecutive stops as well, but was nearly a second back of Douglass in the 100 free in Toronto (50.82) and even further back in Westmont (51.44).
In the 200 free, O’Callaghan became the first woman to break 1:50, first lowering Siobhan Haughey‘s mark of 1:50.31 in Westmont in 1:49.77 before bringing the record down to 1:49.36 in Toronto.
In addition to O’Callaghan’s 200 free, Hubert Kos‘ records in the men’s 100 and 200 back, Walsh’s record in the women’s 50 fly and Kaylee McKeown‘s mark in the women’s 200 back only received a handful of votes.
Kos, who set the NCAA Record in both backstrokes at the 2025 NCAA Championships in March, lowered Coleman Stewart‘s mark of 48.33 in the 100 back by clocking 48.16, and in the 200 back, he took down Mitch Larkin‘s decade-old record of 1:45.63 in 1:45.12.
Walsh’s record not getting many votes is no surprise given the major surgery she did to the SCM record books last year, but chopping 22 one-hundredths off the women’s 50 fly record in 23.72 did make it the highest percentage improvement (0.92%) among all world records broken in the series.
McKeown and Regan Smith went under the world record in the women’s 200 back in both Westmont and Toronto. First, McKeown went 1:57.87 to take down Smith’s mark of 1:58.04, with Smith also going sub-1:58 in 1:57.91, and then at the series finale, McKeown brought the record all the way down to 1:57.33, with Smith 2nd in 1:57.86.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which upcoming midseason meet looks most exciting?
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The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
Corbeau has been steadily improving. Where he’s training now is the right place for him.
MOC has the biggest percentage WR drop and we were correct we expected her to obliterate WR and she did.
On the women’s side, KD is the most surprising.
But true Corbeau is the most surprising overall
Pallister’s was waaaay less surprising than KD’s. The only true shocker was Corbeau.
Liendo second but mostly because he isn’t known to swim fast in season. KD’s is third. The rest are good at 0-1%.
I voted Liendo’s because of all the records if you told me the record got broken I wouldn’t have been surprised but he would have been a distant third pick to do so.