Lani Pallister Smashes Katie Ledecky’s 800m Record At Toronto World Cup

Last Updated:October 26, 2025, 14:30 IST

Lani Pallister sets 800m freestyle world record at Toronto World Cup, going past Katie Ledecky. Five world records fall in a historic swimming finale.

Lani Pallister celebrates after setting a new world record during her win in the women's 800-meter freestyle final at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup (Picture credit: AP)

Australian swimmer Lani Pallister has created history to set a record time in the 800m freestyle short course, breaking the US’ Katie Ledecky’s record, roaring to a win in 7min 54 seconds as the Toronto World Cup closed with five world records on the day.

Pallister shattered the world record by 3.42 seconds, eclipsing the mark set by Ledecky at the World Cup in Indianapolis on November 5, 2022 and finished ahead of New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather, who took second in 8:09.69.

Caspar Corbeau of the Netherlands made history in the men’s 200m breaststroke, clocking 1:59.52 to set a new short-course world record and become the first swimmer to break the two-minute barrier.

Corbeau went past the previous mark of two minutes set by Russia’s Kirill Prigoda at the 2018 World Championships in Hangzhou.

American swimmer Kate Douglass broke her own short-course world record in the 100m freestyle, blazing to a time of 49.93 seconds to become the first woman to go under 50 seconds.

Douglass eclipsed her previous mark of 50.19 set just last week in Westmont, Illinois.

Hungarian swimmer Hubert Kos joined the world record frenzy, winning the 100m backstroke in 48.16 seconds and completing a flawless nine-for-nine sweep in this season’s World Cup backstroke events.

Olympic 200m backstroke champion Hubert Kos, who had set a world record in the 200m event just two days earlier, shattered the previous short-course world record of 48.33 seconds held by American Coleman Stewart for three years.

Fellow Aussie Kaylee McKeown capped off the final day of the three-leg World Cup series with another world record, winning the 200m backstroke in 1:57.33. She edged out American rival Regan Smith, whose 1:57.86 was also under the previous world mark McKeown had set just six days earlier in Westmont.

It was the second straight week that McKeown led Smith in a 200m back finish that saw both swim faster than the previous world mark.

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