2025 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – Westmont
- October 17-19, 2025
- Westmont, Illinois
- SCM (25 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Recaps:
Men’s 800m Freestyle — Fastest Heat
- World Record: 7:20.46 — Daniel Wiffen, Ireland (2023)
- World Junior Record: 7:36.00 — Sven Schwarz, Germany (2019)
World Cup Record: 7:35.40 — Pan Zhanle, China (2024)U.S. Open Record: 7:36.24 — Pál Joensen, Denmark (2011)
Top 8 Finishers:
- Zalan Sarkany (HUN) – 7:29.50 *World Cup Record, U.S. Open Record, & Hungarian Record*
- Sam Short (AUS) – 7:32.43
- Carson Foster (USA) – 7:34.10
- Lucas Henveaux (BEL) – 7:34.51 *Belgian Record*
- Brendan Smith (AUS) – 7:41.14
- Batuhan Filiz (TUR) – 7:56.45
- Charles Clark (CLB) – 7:58.26
- Sean Atkinson (CLB) – 8:04.01
In the second event of the night at the 2025 Westmont World Cup stop, Hungary’s Zalan Sarkany picked up his first win of the meet, shattering the World Cup, U.S. Open, and Hungarian Records in the men’s 800m freestyle.
The 22-year-old stopped the clock at 7:29.50, breaking Pan Zhanle‘s World Cup Record of 7:35.40 from last year’s Shanghai stop, as well as Pál Joensen‘s U.S. Open Record of 7:36.24, set at the 2011 Duel in the Pool.
The time moves Sarkany up to eighth on the all-time list, improving from his previous 10th-place ranking.
Top 10 Performers In History:
- Daniel Wiffen (IRL) – 7:20.46 WR
- Grant Hackett (AUS) – 7:23.42
- Mykhailo Romanchuk (UKR) – 7:25.73
- Henrik Christiansen (NOR) – 7:25.78
- Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA) – 7:27.94
- Florian Wellbrock (GER) – 7:27.99
- Yannick Agnel (FRA) – 7:29.17
- Zalan Sarkany (HUN) – 7:29.50
- David Aubry (FRA) – 7:30.32
- David Johnston (USA) – 7:30.41
Sarkany is the reigning world champion in this event, having won gold in his home country last December in 7:30.56, his former national record. He trailed Australian Sam Short through the first 350 meters, staying within striking distance—between 0.03 and 0.33 seconds behind at each turn. He overtook Short at the 350-meter mark by 0.03 seconds and steadily extended his lead from there.
Short finished second in tonight’s race at 7:32.43, just shy of his lifetime-best 7:31.19 from the Australian Short Course Nationals earlier this month. Carson Foster claimed third in 7:34.10, setting a new personal best, while Lucas Henveaux nearly caught the American, touching in 7:34.51 and slicing 2.5 seconds off his Belgian Record.
Compared to his former national record, Sarkany’s time drop mostly stems from the opening 200 and the final 150. He turned nearly six-tenths faster at the 200 (1:49.54 vs. 1:50.12), then gave back some ground through the middle 450. From there, however, he surged home, negative-splitting his final 150 meters in 27.96, 27.91, 27.72, and 26.69, each faster than his previous closing splits of 28.75, 28.54, 28.23, and 27.65.
Splits Comparison:
| New World Cup, U.S. Open, & Hungarian National Records | Former Hungarian Record | |
| 50 | 25.51 | 25.55 |
| 100 | 53.28 (27.77) | 53.36 (27.81) |
| 150 | 1:21.26 (27.98) | 1:21.54 (28.18) |
| 200 | 1:49.54 (28.28) | 1:50.12 (28.58) |
| 250 | 2:17.93 (28.39) | 2:18.33 (28.21) |
| 300 | 2:46.45 (28.52) | 2:46.58 (28.25) |
| 350 | 3:15.20 (28.75) | 3:14.82 (28.24) |
| 400 | 3:43.95 (28.75) | 3:43.44 (28.62) |
| 450 | 4:12.84 (28.89) | 4:11.92 (28.48) |
| 500 | 4:41.75 (28.91) | 4:40.43 (28.51) |
| 550 | 5:10.57 (28.82) | 5:08.97 (28.54) |
| 600 | 5:39.22 (28.65) | 5:37.39 (28.42) |
| 650 | 6:07.18 (27.96) | 6:06.14 (28.75) |
| 700 | 6:35.09 (27.91) | 6:34.68 (28.54) |
| 750 | 7:02.81 (27.72) | 7:02.91 (28.23) |
| 800 | 7:29.50 (26.69) | 7:30.56 (27.65) |
On Friday, Sarkany had placed seventh in the 400 freestyle in 3:39.37, less than a second off his 3:38.43 personal best from the 2024 Short Course Worlds.
After his record-setting swim, Sarkany said he thought he would be close to his personal best from last year’s World Championships, aiming for something around 7:30. “I was like, if I go around that time and I win it, I’ll probably be happy. I just saw my chance and took it at the 600. I was like, I have to go for it, and I did. It’s a PB too — and a record. It was a pretty nice one,” he said.
He credited his yardage training for helping him maintain his pace and close strong. “I knew we were going to go out fast, and I knew I’d be able to because of the yardage training I’ve been doing — short course yards. I knew I was going to be able to keep up the pace and even improve it and not die. I think I executed it well, and that’s where I came away.”
In the middle of the NCAA season, the Indiana junior and two-time defending 1650-yard freestyle champion emphasized that his main focus is the NCAA Championships in March, rather than Short Course Europeans in December.
“NCAAs is the number one race that I’m preparing for this season. I have Short Course Europeans this year — I want to do well there. But NCAAs is one of the most important things for me now. It’s my last season in college swimming, so I just want to do the three-peat that I’ve been dreaming of. The mile, 100 percent. The mile is on the first day now, so that’s going to be interesting,” he said. “That’s all in my mind right now — my training, my coaches at Indiana, and the whole team are just preparing for that.”
He confirmed he won’t be racing in any events tomorrow or at next week’s World Cup stop in Toronto. “I’m going home, back to practice. I’m not going to swim tomorrow or in Toronto. I’m preparing for the mid-season meet — it’s at Ohio State. I’m preparing to do well there,” he said. “I just dropped 4:29 last week, I don’t think I need to taper for that too much. But I want to support my team and be there for them. And then Short Course Europeans — that’s the only two races I have left this year.”
Zalan: exists
Swim fans: Imma underestimate this guy!
Excellent Performance!