The three-stop World Cup opened Friday in Carmel, Indiana.
Olympic gold medalists Regan Smith, Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh each swam the third-fastest time in history in an event on the first night of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Carmel, Indiana.
In the 200m butterfly, Smith lowered her own American short course record in the 200m butterfly from 2:01.00 to 2:00.28. The only faster times in history overall were the last two world records: 1:59.32 from Canadian Summer McIntosh last year and 1:59.61 from Spain's Mireia Belmonte in 2014.
Douglass won the 200m breaststroke in 2:13.97. She now owns the four fastest times ever, led by her world record of 2:12.50 from last December's World Short Course Championships.
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Walsh took the 100m individual medley in 55.91 seconds, giving her the top five times ever in the event, including her world record of 55.11 from December's worlds.
Walsh, who this time last year had never raced in a short-course meters pool (25 meters), broke a total of 12 world records in short course between individual and relay events last fall.
Eleven of them came at December's worlds, including two in the 100m IM (which is not an Olympic event).
The three-stop World Cup series — Carmel, followed the next two weekends by Westmont, Illinois, and Toronto — is held in 25-meter pools rather than 50-meter pools used for the Olympics.
Swimmers accumulate points based on their results and times with overall men’s and women’s champions crowned after the final stop.
In 2024, Douglass and Frenchman Léon Marchand won the women's and men's titles, respectively.
While Marchand is racing in Carmel, he is not expected to compete in Westmont or Toronto. Douglass is expected to contest all three stops.
McIntosh, who won four individual gold medals at this past summer's long-course World Championships, withdrew before the Carmel stop due to illness but could still race Westmont and Toronto.
The Carmel World Cup continues Saturday with preliminary heats at 10 a.m. ET and finals at 6 p.m., both live on Peacock.
Category: General Sports
