Pallister breaks Ledecky’s 800m freestyle record as five world marks fall at Toronto World Cup

Australia’s Lani Pallister shattered Katie Ledecky’s short course world record in the 800m freestyle on Saturday, clocking 7 minutes 54.00 seconds to close out the Toronto World Cup with a stunning victory. Pallister sliced 3.42 seconds off Ledecky’s mark set in 2022 and finished well ahead of New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather, who took second in 8:09.69.

The final day of the three-event World Cup series saw five world records tumble. Dutch swimmer Caspar Corbeau became the first man to break two minutes in the 200m breaststroke, setting a new record of 1:59.52 to surpass Kirill Prigoda’s 2018 benchmark.

American Kate Douglass broke her own 100m freestyle record, becoming the first woman to swim under 50 seconds with a 49.93 finish. Hungary’s Hubert Kos extended his dominance in backstroke events, winning the 100m in 48.16 to improve on Coleman Stewart’s 2021 world record.

Fellow Australian Kaylee McKeown capped the day with another record-breaking performance, winning the 200m backstroke in 1:57.33 ahead of American rival Regan Smith, who also swam faster than the previous record. It marked the second consecutive week that McKeown and Smith both went under the old world mark in a head-to-head finish.