The Five Crowns Most Likely To Be Busted At The Toronto World Cup

2025 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – Toronto

• October 23-25, 2025
• Toronto, Canada
• SCM (25 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

As we head into the third and final leg of the 2025 World Cup series in Toronto, 15 swimmers have a chance to earn Triple Crown bonuses across 25 different events this weekend, with $10,000 up for grabs for winning the same event at all three stops.

However, World Aquatics’ newest incentive, the “Crown Buster,” brings a new wrinkle into the fold for the final leg of the circuit. If a swimmer denies someone the crown in Toronto, they earn the Crown Buster bonus of $2,500.

We laid out the swimmers in line to win Triple Crowns and the potential Crown Busters here, now it’s time to rank the five Crowns most likely to be cracked.

5. Kaylee McKeown, Women’s 200 Back

Although Kaylee McKeown broke the world record and became the first swimmer sub-1:58 in the women’s 200 back last time out in Westmont, Regan Smith was hot on her heels and also went under 1:58 for the second-fastest swim in history.

McKeown comfortably beat Smith in Carmel, 1:58.86 to 2:00.07, but Smith has been heating up as the series goes and gave McKeown all she could handle last weekend, clocking 1:57.91 to fall just shy of McKeown’s new world record (1:57.87).

McKeown is as clutch as they come and has an unblemished record head-to-head against Smith in the 200 back since the 2019 World Championships, but based on current form, Smith has a better chance of upending McKeown than McKeown does of topping Smith in the 100 back. In Westmont, Smith beat McKeown by 1.02 seconds in the 100, tying her world record.

4. Ilya Kharun, Men’s 50 Fly

Ilya Kharun, like McKeown, has swept the 50 and 200 events of his best stroke so far in the series, but has curiously been denied the 100-meter title.

Switzerland’s Noe Ponti beat Kharun by over half a second in the 100 fly in Westmont, and in the 50 fly, though Kharun has gone two-for-two thus far, Ponti has kept things close and holds the distinction of being the world record holder.

Kharun topped Ponti by four one-hundredths in Carmel, 21.86 to 21.90, and then in Westmont, it was Kharun’s 21.69 besting Ponti’s 21.80.

Kharun’s swim was just two one-hundredths shy of his lifetime best and Canadian Record set at the 2024 SC Worlds, while Ponti has been nearly half a second quicker, having gone 21.32 at those Worlds en route to winning gold and resetting the world record.

3. Hubert Kos, Men’s 50 Back

Hubert Kos is on the verge of pulling off the triple-triple, with a chance to sweep the men’s 50, 100 and 200 backstroke events at the World Cup after winning all three in Carmel and Westmont.

His closest call came last weekend in the 50 back, as he emerged victorious in a time of 22.91, but Poland’s Kacper Stokowski (22.92) and Italy’s Thomas Ceccon (22.94) were both within three one-hundredths of upsetting him.

Kos owns a lifetime best of 22.64, and was only .01 slower than that at the opening leg in Carmel, where his 22.65 clocking comfortably won over Estonian Ralf Tribuntsov (22.91).

If Kos produces a similar performance to his Carmel swim in Toronto, he should win the Triple Crown, but if it’s closer to what he did in Westmont, Stokowski, Ceccon and Tribuntsov could all knock him off the throne.

2. Kaylee McKeown, Women’s 50 Back

You’d be hard-pressed to find an event more stacked than the women’s 50 back in Westmont, even in the absence of world record holder Regan Smith.

The event featured four of the six fastest women in history, only missing Smith and the retired Maggie MacNeil.

Kaylee McKeown pulled off her second straight win in the event in a time of 25.63, followed closely by Gretchen Walsh (25.65), Mollie O’Callaghan (25.72) and Katharine Berkoff (25.76). Canada’s Kylie Masse, the #9 performer in history, was also sub-26 in 25.89.

Heading into Toronto, all of these swimmers, including Smith, are entered in the 50 back and have to be salivating at the chance to earn a Crown Buster over McKeown.

Smith has scratched the 50 back at both legs of the series thus far, and with its proximity to the 200 fly, she may do so again in Toronto, but she’s had a big enough buffer in the 200 fly that the double could be possible, though there were only 13 minutes between event starts last weekend.

Smith’s world record stands at 25.23, and based on what she’s done in the 100 and 200 back thus far, a new all-time mark could be within reach if she races it in Toronto. In terms of best times, McKeown (25.36) is next fastest in the field, followed by Walsh (25.37), O’Callaghan (25.49) and Berkoff (25.51), so all have a chance of grabbing the win in Toronto.

1. Kasia Wasick, Women’s 50 Free

The women’s 50 free was either going to be ranked #1 or left off the list entirely. Its ranking hinges on Gretchen Walsh swimming the event, which she has yet to do in the series. Walsh swam the prelims and then scratched the 50 free final in Carmel, and then didn’t enter it at all in Westmont.

However, she has entered it in Toronto, and though it takes place right before the 100 IM, there is a possibility Walsh opts to race both, if she believes she can do the quick double and preserve her 100 IM Triple Crown while also earning a Crown Buster in the 50 free. In Westmont, the 100 IM final went off 11 minutes after the 50 free.

Polish veteran Kasia Wasick has run the table with back-to-back wins in the 50 free in Carmel (23.29) and Westmont (23.30), winning by 21 one-hundredths over Aussie Alexandria Perkins (23.50) at the first leg and then by 15 one-hundredths last weekend.

Walsh owns the world record at 22.83, and cruised to a 23.71 clocking in the Carmel prelims before scratching.

If Walsh doesn’t swim it, it’s still possible we see Perkins spring the upset, and Mollie O’Callaghan has the clutch gene and placed 3rd in both Carmel (23.96) and Westmont (23.81), but this event ranking #1 is based on Walsh swimming it.

It may only be a small possibility she does, but if Walsh swims the 50 free and wins it going away, we couldn’t justify leaving this out of the #1 spot.

And then if Walsh does the swim the 50 free, the possibility of Kate Douglass taking her down in the 100 IM and earning a Crown Buster increases, though Walsh has won decisively at the first two legs, including a 0.65 margin of victory last weekend.