World Cup Westmont – Day Three Finals: Lani Pallister Pops Aussie Record in 1500 Freestyle; Becomes No. 2 Performer in History
Just one session remains of the World Cup stop in Westmont, and if the opening days of action are any indication, the evening should provide some dazzling performances. Already, Regan Smith has equaled her world record in the 100-meter backstroke and set an American record in the 200 butterfly. Meanwhile, Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan destroyed the world record in the 200 freestyle.
On Sunday night, Smith will return to the pool for a duel with Aussie Kaylee McKeown in the 200 backstroke while O’Callaghan will chase a title in the 100 freestyle. Gretchen Walsh (100 butterfly) and Luke Hobson (200 freestyle) will contest events in which they own the world record and Canadian Ilya Kharun will chase his latest World Cup victory, this time as the top seed in the 200 butterfly.
Here is an event-by-event recap of the Day Three finals:
Men’s 400 Individual Medley
One week after racing the 400 IM in an unseeded heat, American Shaine Casas contested the timed final of the event at night and walked away with a victory. As expected, Casas built a lead during the opening butterfly and backstroke legs and held off countryman Carson Foster. Casas registered a time of 3:57.41, with Foster taking second place in 3:58.18. They were the only athletes to break the four-minute barrier.
Casas opened up a 1.37-second advantage on Foster during the first half of the race and slightly added to the edge on breaststroke to lead by 1.79 seconds entering the freestyle leg. While Foster cut into his deficit over the last 100 meters, it was not enough to reel in Casas, who finished just shy of the World Cup record.
Women’s 1500 Freestyle
Coming off a win last weekend in the 800 freestyle, Australian Lani Pallister extended her distance success to the 1500 freestyle in Westmont – and in style. Pallister put together a time of 15:13.83, which broke her national record by nearly eight seconds and made the Aussie the No. 2 performer in history. Only American Katie Ledecky (15:08.24) has been faster than Pallister.
Pallister’s previous Australian record of 15:21.43 was set at the 2022 World Short Course Championships in Melbourne. She was followed in second place on Sunday night by New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather, who clocked in at 15:30.22.
Women’s 100 Butterfly
The United States’ Gretchen Walsh did what she does best in the final of the 100 butterfly: Destroy the field. Walsh powered to a mark of 53.72, which was well ahead of runnerup Alexandria Perkins of Australia, who was second in 55.43. Walsh bolted to a 24.51 to 25.66 by the halfway point of the race and finished a little more than a second off her world record of 52.71, set last year. Walsh heads to next week’s World Cup stop in Toronto looking to finish off a sweep in the 100 fly, along with the 50 fly and 100 individual medley.
Men’s 50 Butterfly
Make it back-to-back titles in the 50 butterfly for Canadian Ilya Kharun, who won the event last week in Carmel and followed up by topping the field in Westmont. In setting up a chase at the Triple Crown, Kharun posted a time of 21.69, which got him to the wall ahead of Switzerland’s Noe Ponti (21.80). Kharun has enjoyed a strong weekend in the Chicago area, as he also earned victories in the 50 freestyle and 200 butterfly.
Women’s 200 Backstroke
For years, Australian Kaylee McKeown and American Regan Smith have battled around the globe, pushing each other to stellar performances. So, it was no surprise they engaged in another epic race at the World Cup, with both women going under the world record in the 200 backstroke. It was McKeown who emerged on top, as her time of 1:57.87 clipped the 1:57.91 of Smith, who established an American standard.
Smith entered the race as the world-record holder, thanks to her 1:58.04 from the World Short Course Championships last year in Budapest. In this latest showdown, McKeown was out in 27.93 at the 50-meter turn, with Smith at 28.03. At the midway point, McKeown’s lead was a bit wider, 57.68 to 57.85, and the edge extended to 1:27.50 to 1:27.91 at the 150-meter checkpoint. Down the last two lengths, Smith sliced into McKeown’s lead, but the Aussie’s early margin held up.
More on McKeown’s World Record
Men’s 100 Backstroke
On the back of the showdown between Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith, Hungarian Hubert Kos notched a World Cup record in the 100 backstroke. En route to staying undefeated in backstroke action during the World Cup series, Kos touched the wall in 48.78, which bettered the 2022 World Cup mark of Shaine Casas, who went 48.84. Finishing behind Kos was Italian Thomas Ceccon, the Olympic champion in the event. Ceccon clocked 49.60.
Women’s 50 Breaststroke
Ireland’s Mona McSharry was third at the midway point, but pulled in front over the second length and prevailed in a time of 29.59. Belgium’s Florine Gaspard was in front at the turn, but McSharry had the greater endurance to reel in Gaspard, who placed third in 29.70. In second place was Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko, on the strength of a 29.66 outing.
Men’s 200 Breaststroke
There was no threat to the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau in the 200 breaststroke, as he cruised to victory in 2:01.68. Corbeau delivered a wire-to-wire decision and finished nearly two seconds clear of Spain’s Carles Coll Marti, who was second in 2:03.61. Just .01 behind in third place was Japan’s Shin Ohashi, whose time of 2:03.62 was not far off the world junior record of 2:03.23.
Women’s 100 Freestyle
For nearly eight years, Australian Cate Campbell held the world record in the 100 freestyle at 50.25, but that standard is now history. Already the world-record holder in the 200 breaststroke, American Kate Douglass put her versatility on display once again by clocking a time of 50.19. In shaving .06 off the previous world mark, Douglass benefited from an aggressive front half of the race.
Douglass was .23 under world-record pace at the first turn and was .33 ahead of Campbell’s pace at the halfway point. Over the closing 50 meters, Douglass remained strong and while she yielded to what Campbell did in 2017, her early work got the job done. Douglass claimed victory by more than a second over Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan, who was second in 51.44.
Men’s 200 Freestyle
World-record holder Luke Hobson wouldn’t let a tightly bunched field after prelims prevent him from winning another 200 freestyle race featuring international competition. Hobson took command of the race on the third lap and never relented, grabbing victory in 1:40.62. He was followed by fellow Americans Chris Guiliano (1:41.34) and Grant House (1:41.52), who were the only other athletes to go sub-1:42.
Women’s 200 Individual Medley
A Triple Crown is within reach for Alex Walsh after the American standout won her second straight outing in the 200 individual medley. The University of Virginia product took the lead on the backstroke leg and never relinquished her edge, en route to a time of 2:04.44. Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko was next in 2:04.93, with third place going to Great Britain’s Abbie Wood in 2:05.73.
