The 2024 Swimming World Cup has made its way to Incheon, Republic of Korea, where the second stop of the competition is happening from October 24 to 26. The first day was packed with historic performances, including Kate Douglass breaking a 15-year-old world record in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:14.16, surpassing Rebecca Soni’s 2009 record. Douglass dominated the race, finishing more than five seconds ahead of her closest competitor, Tara Kinder from Australia, who took silver, and Korea’s Park Sieun, who claimed bronze.
In the men’s events, Leon Marchand set a World Cup record in the 200m final with a time of 1:50.30, securing the gold. However, in the 100m medley, he tied with Noe Ponti at 51.00 seconds, a rare occurrence in a World Cup final. Ponti had earlier struggled, losing his contacts and goggles during the 100m butterfly race, but bounced back to share the top spot with Marchand. Thomas Ceccon of Italy took the bronze.
Other notable performances included Mary-Sophie Harvey winning the women’s 400m freestyle in a comeback victory, clocking her first sub-4:00 time. China’s Pan Zhanle triumphed in the men’s 400m freestyle with a time of 3:36.43, beating Duncan Scott and Kieran Smith.
Regan Smith of the U.S. claimed gold in the women’s 50m backstroke with a time of 25.71, while Australia’s Bella Grant won the women’s 200m butterfly. In the men’s 50m freestyle, Korea’s Ji Yuchan secured the gold with a time of 20.80. The day’s events also included victories in the 100m men’s backstroke, where Ilya Shymanovich took the gold, holding off competition from China’s Qin Haiyang and the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau.
As the rankings stand after Day 1, Kate Douglass leads the women’s rankings, while Noe Ponti tops the men’s. More finals are set for October 25, with key events including the women’s 400m medley, 1500m freestyle, and men’s 100m freestyle and 200m but
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