2022 FINA World Cup – Toronto Day 1: Finals Live Recap

2022 FINA WORLD CUP – TORONTO

• Friday, October 28 – Sunday, October 30, 2022
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC), Toronto, Canada
• SCM (25 meters)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:30 am local (ET)
  • Finals: 6:00 pm local (ET)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results (Omega)
• Live Stream (FINA YouTube)

Day One Finals Heat Sheets 

It’s the first night of finals at the Toronto stop of the 2022 FINA World Cup and with 12 finals, we’ve got a busy session ahead of us. The session kicks off with the women’s 400 freestyle; it’s one of the most anticipated races of the meet as Katie Ledecky, Summer McIntosh, and Siobhan Haughey facing off. This is Ledecky’s first short course meters meet since 2019, and many were expecting her to take a run at the world record. The goal posts moved a bit as earlier this week, Li Bingjie shattered the previous world record by 2.62 seconds, lowering the mark to 3:51.30. Ledecky swam a relaxed looking 3:56.23 this morning to lead the field–what does she have left in the tank for finals?

In the men’s 400 free, Matt Sates aims to keep his momentum from Berlin rolling. There, he went 4-for-4 in his individual events, including a win in the 400 free in 3:36.30. He’s the top seed heading into finals tonight, just ahead of Danas Rapsys and Kieran Smith.

The women’s 50 back boasts four Canadians, an impressive display of force for the home nation. Kylie Masse posted the top time in the heats, .14 seconds ahead of world record holder Maggie MacNeil. MacNeil has been lights out in yards so far this NCAA season, will she be able to keep her speed after a quick turnaround from a dual meet on Thursday?

This stop of the World Cup features more collegiate swimmers, and it’s NC State’s Kacper Stokowski who leads the men’s 200 backstroke heading into tonight. Shaine Casas, who won this event in Berlin, sits second less than half a second back, which portends an exciting race tonight. Don’t overlook fourth seed Javier Acevedo either; he might not contend for the win but he had a stellar meet in Berlin that featured a pair of backstroke bronze medals in Canadian record times.

Chad Le Clos 2.0 is back in action tonight after a monster meet in Berlin. It’s a close field in the men’s 100 butterfly, but the veteran South African turned on another gear at the first stop of the World Cup and doesn’t seem to have shifted out of it yet.

WOMEN’S 400 FREE – Finals

• World Record: 3:51.30, Li Bingjie (CHN) – 2022
• World Junior Record: 3:53.97, Wang Jianjiahe (CHN) – 2018
• World Cup Record: 3:53.97, Wang Jianjiahe (CHN) – 2018

PODIUM:

1. Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 3:52.80 WJ WC
2. Katie Ledecky (USA) – 3:52.88 AR
3. Siobhan Haughey (HKG) – 3:58.50

It was an electric first race of the session in the women’s 400 freestyle, as Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh went head-to-head in a rematch of this year’s LC Worlds. They had definitively separated themselves from the field by the halfway point.

Ledecky had the lead for the majority of the race, but at the sixteen-year old McIntosh took over the lead at the 275-meter mark. Ledecky took the lead back with 50 meters left in the race and was ahead at the final turn, but McIntosh surged on the final 25 to touch first by .08 seconds and give Canada a win in the very first event. She came home in 14.87 seconds compared to Ledecky’s 14.95. McIntosh’s time of 3:52.80 is a new world junior and World Cup record, breaking Wang Jianjiahe‘s record from 2018.

For her part, Ledecky set a new American record, eclipsing the 3:54.06 she set in 2019 at her lone ISL meet.

Siobhan Haughey, who won this race at the first stop of the World Cup in Berlin, was third in 3:58.50.

MEN’S 400 FREE – Finals

• World Record: 3:32.25, Yannick Agnel (FRA) – 2012
• World Junior Record: 3:37.92, Matt Sates (RSA) – 2021
• World Cup Record: 3:32.77, Paul Biedermann (GER) – 2009

PODIUM:

1. Matt Sates (RSA) – 3:37.52
2. Kieran Smith (USA) – 3:38.34
3. Danas Rapsys (LTU) – 3:38.95

Matt Sates continued his winning ways from Berlin, taking the men’s 400 free in a time of 3:37.52. That’s slightly off the 3:36.30 he went to win at the first stop of the FINA World Cup, but he was still over half a second ahead of second place. He’s now 5-for-6 at the World Cup, with his only loss coming in the 100 IM to Thomas Ceccon.

This is the same podium from Berlin, in the exact same finish order, as Kieran Smith touched second and Danas Rapsys took third. Like Sates, Smith was slightly slower than the time he went last weekend in Berlin. Rapsys, however, was significantly faster here, touching in 3:38.95 compared to 3:40.36. His lifetime best is 3:33.20, from the 2019 European SC Champs, which stands as Lithuania’s national record.

WOMEN’S 50 BACK – Finals

• World Record: 25.27, Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 2021
• World Junior Record: 26.13, Olivia Smoliga (USA) – 2012
• World Cup Record: 25.81, Kira Toussaint (NED) – 2021

PODIUM:

1. Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 25.96
2. Kylie Masse (CAN) – 26.02
3. Ingrid Wilm (CAN) – 26.18

The Canadian women kept their momentum rolling here, sweeping the 50 backstroke podium. Maggie MacNeil led the whole race, flipping first at the turn then getting her hand on the wall in 25.96. The world record holder was the only woman in the field to crack 26 seconds with a 25.96. It’s been a busy weekend for MacNeil, who raced in LSU’s dual meet with Auburn yesterday before flying to Toronto.

Kylie Masse took second in 26.02, cutting three-hundredths off her prelims time. She and Ingrid Wilm went 1-2 in this event in Berlin, and they kept that order here, with Wilm touching third in 26.18. Both of them were faster than they were there, where 26.15 and 26.21 earned them their gold and silver medals.

MEN’S 200 BACK – Finals

• World Record: 1:45.63, Mitch Larkin (AUS) – 2015
• World Junior Record: 1:48.02, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) – 2017
• World Cup Record: 1:46.11, Arkady Vyatchanin (RUS) – 2009

PODIUM:

1. Shaine Casas (USA) – 1:48.99
2. Javier Acevedo (CAN) – 1:50.76
3. Kacper Stokowski (POL) – 1:51.59

It was all Shaine Casas in the men’s 200 backstroke, as he took the lead at the first 25-meters and never surrendered it. He earned the win in 1:48.99, which is just off his lifetime best of 1:48.81 which he went to earn silver at 2021 SC Worlds. It’s a massive season best time for the American, who didn’t crack 1:50 when he won the race in Berlin.

He was pushed most of the way though by Javier Acevedo, who was as close as .07 seconds. Casas pulled away from the Canadian at the 125-meter mark and ended up winning comfortably ahead of Acevedo’s 1:50.76. Acevedo set two Canadian records in Berlin and though he was just off that mark in this race (which he skipped in Berlin) it’s still a big lifetime best for the 24-year-old. His previous best was 1:51.47, which he went at an ISL race.

Touching third was NC State’s Kacper Stokowski, who was the top seed after the heats. He swam a 1:51.59, which is a liftime best by about two-tenths.

WOMEN’S 200 FLY – Finals

• World Record: 1:59.61, Mireia Belmonte (ESP) – 2014
• World Junior Record: 2:02.96, Suzuka Hasegawa (JPN) – 2017
• World Cup Record: 2:00.78, Liu Zige (CHN) – 2009

PODIUM:

1. Kelly Pash (USA) – 2:03.61
2. Hali Flickinger (USA) – 2:04.00
3. Katerine Savard (CAN) – 2:06.62

In her first ever final in short course meters, Kelly Pash earned the win in the women’s 200 fly with a time of 2:03.61. By bettering the 2:05.70 she went in prelims, it was also a new lifetime best for the Texas senior.

She touched .39 seconds ahead of Hali Flickinger, who was on the back-end of a brutal 400 freestyle/200 butterfly double for the second weekend in a row. Flickinger finished third in Berlin, so this swim was an improvement for her both on the podium and by the clock, as she was 1.63 seconds faster here with her 2:04.00.

Katerine Savard grabbed the third spot on the podium in 2:06.62, well back of the two Americans. With her third place finish, the Canadian women have gotten at least one swimmer into the top three in every event so far.

MEN’S 100 FLY – Finals

• World Record: 47.78, Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 2020
• World Junior Record: 49.53, Li Zhuhao (CHN) – 2017
• World Cup Record: 48.48, Evgenii Korotyshkin (RUS) – 2009

PODIUM:

1. Chad Le Clos (RSA) – 48.88
2. Matthew Temple (AUS) – 49.68
3. Trenton Julian (USA) – 49.75

Chad Le Clos 2.0 seems to have made his way across the Atlantic from Berlin to Toronto. The South African had a huge meet in Europe last weekend, and he’s gotten this one started on the right foot with a win in the men’s 100 fly. He touched in 48.88, which is .30 seconds slower than his time from last weekend. It was more than enough though, as he won the race by .80 seconds ahead of Matthew Temple, helped by a monster underwater on his last wall.

Temple took second in 49.68, just touching out Trenton Julian, who earned third in 49.75.

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST – Finals

• World Record: 2:14.57, Rebecca Soni (USA) – 2009
• World Junior Record: 2:16.88, Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS) – 2021
• World Cup Record: 2:15.42, Leisel Jones (AUS) – 2009

PODIUM:

1. Lilly King (USA) – 2:18.47
2. Sydney Pickrem (CAN) – 2:19.71
3. Kelsey Lauren Wog (CAN) – 2:20.59

Lilly King dealt with illness this summer at Worlds; she built her way into the meet and eventually came away with a world title in the 200 breaststroke. She won the event here in Toronto as well, leading from the start and touching first in 2:18.47. That’s well off her lifetime best of 2:15.56 from 2020, but it’s a solid start for the American.

We had a total turnover on the podium from last weekend in Berlin, as Sydney Pickrem and Kelsey Lauren Wog, like King, did not swim at the first stop of the World Cup. Pickrem and Wog continued the Canadian women’s podium streak, as they took second and third. Wog was ahead of Pickrem at the beginning of the race, but Pickrem passed her at the halfway points.

MEN’S 100 BREAST – Finals

• World Record: 55.28, Ilya Shymanovich (BLR) – 2021
• World Junior Record: 56.66, Simone Cerasuolo (ITA) – 2021
• World Cup Record: 55.61, Cameron van der Burgh (RSA) – 2009

PODIUM:

1. Nic Fink (USA) – 56.39
2. Caspar Corbeau (NED) – 57.33
3. Reece Whitley (USA) – 57.45

Nic Fink had control of the race down the home stretch of the men’s 100 breaststroke. He took the win in the event for the second straight World Cup stop in a faster time than he won last weekend, 56.39 to 56.43.

It was a much tighter race for second, as the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau managed to get his hands on the wall ahead of a charging Reece Whitley. Whitley, who was second in this race in Berlin, was slightly off the 57.07 that he went last weekend. Post-race, Corbeau spoke about how the main goal of the race for him was to punch his ticket to this year’s SC Worlds in Melbourne, which he accomplished.

WOMEN’S 50 FREE – Finals

• World Record: 22.93, Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) – 2017
• World Junior Record: 23.69, Anastasiya Shkurdai (BLR) – 2020
• World Cup Record: 22.93, Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) – 2017

PODIUM:

1. Kasia Wasick (POL) – 23.27
2. Maggie MacNeil (CAN) – 23.74
3. Madi Wilson (AUS) – 23.89

Kasia Wasick pulled away in the women’s 50 freestyle, earning the win for the second straight weekend. She clocked 23.27, which is a lifetime best for her, resetting her old Polish record of 23.30 by .03 seconds.

After winning the women’s 50 backstroke, MacNeil was back in the water here. She had a big underwater coming off the turn, which powered her to the silver medal in 23.74. MacNeil hadn’t swum this race in SC for a long time, and her prelims time of 23.95 stood as her lifetime best until she eclipsed that here with a 23.74.

Madi Wilson got her hand on the wall in third with a 23.89.

MEN’S 50 FREE – Finals

• World Record: 20.16, Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 2020
• World Junior Record: 20.98, Kenzo Simons (NED) – 2019
• World Cup Record: 20.48, Vladimir Morozov (RUS) – 2018

PODIUM:

1. Dylan Carter (TTO) – 20.91
2. Brooks Curry (USA) – 21.07
3. Kyle Chalmers (AUS) – 21.10

In Berlin, Dylan Carter spoke about how missing podiums served as huge motivation for him to keep training. It paid off for him in Berlin, and so far it’s still paying off for him in Toronto, as he took the win once again in the men’s 50 freestyle. He was slightly off the Trinidad and Tobago record of 20.71 that he set last weekend. That said, 20.91 was more than enough to get the job done here as he was the only man to break 21 seconds.

Like his LSU teammate MacNeil, Brooks Curry also had a quick turnaround from yesterday’s dual meet. He surged over the second 25, getting his hand on the wall second in 21.07. That lowers his best time from the 21.35 that he swam in prelims. It was very tight in the middle of the pool as the field came to the wall, and after Curry it was Chalmers in 21.10, just .03 seconds behind the American.

WOMEN’S 100 IM – Finals

• World Record: 56.51, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) – 2017
• World Junior Record: 57.59, Anastasiya Shkurdai (BLR) – 2020
• World Cup Record: 56.51, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) – 2017

PODIUM:

1. Beryl Gastaldello (FRA) – 57.97
2. Beata Nelson (USA) – 58.06
3. Louise Hansson (SWE) – 58.31

Beryl Gastaldello, who post-race gushed about how fun this race is, is now 2-for-2 in the women’s 100 IM as she backed up her win from Berlin. She was slightly slower tonight, earning the win in 57.97. Fourth at the halfway point, she surged over the back-half and was the only woman under 58 seconds.

Beata Nelson was second behind Gastaldello once again, this time in 58.06, well off the 57.82 she swam in Berlin. After leading on the fly leg, Louise Hansson was able to hang around and grab third in 58.31. It’s a big improvement from last weekend for her, where she fell away to sixth.

In the final women’s event of the night, the Canadian women’s podium streak ends, as Pickrem finished fifth in 58.75.

MEN’S 100 IM – Finals

• World Record: 49.28, Caeleb Dressel (USA) – 2020
• World Junior Record: 50.63, Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) – 2018
• World Cup Record: 50.26, Vladimir Morozov (RUS) – 2018

PODIUM:

1. Shaine Casas (USA) – 51.03
2. Thomas Ceccon (ITA) – 51.69
3. Matthew Sates (RSA) – 51.87

In the final race of the night, Casas earned his second win of the session. In his own words, he “messed up” in the 100 IM in Berlin, but he didn’t make that mistake here. He led from start to finish, flipping .75 seconds ahead of the field at the halfway point.

Thomas Ceccon, the winner of the race in Berlin, hung around and was able to come back on Casas a bit on the back half of the race. The Italian took second in 51.69, .17 seconds slower than his time from Berlin. Like last weekend, Sates finished just behind Ceccon, this time third in 51.87. Like Ceccon, that’s slower than he went in Berlin, but it’s still a solid double for the South African as he looks to keep himself at the top of the points standings.