Canadian swimmer Ilya Kharun clinched his second consecutive gold medal at the World Cup finale in Toronto by triumphing in the men’s 50-meter butterfly final on Saturday. Hailing from Montreal, Kharun, who had already secured a victory in the 200m butterfly the previous day, finished with a time of 21.80 seconds, narrowly beating Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, the current short-course world record holder, by a mere one-hundredth of a second. Toronto’s Josh Liendo claimed the bronze medal with a personal best time of 21.91.
Expressing his elation, Kharun stated, “It means a whole lot. You know, I knew it was going to be very close and I’m just so happy I got it done. I’m just speechless. I saw Ponti’s splashes on the second 25, and I knew it was going to come down to me or him, and I was just hoping that I got it. And you know what, I did.”
The 20-year-old swimmer earned $10,000 US for his victory in the 50m butterfly at all three World Cup events, replicating his success in the 200m fly. Kharun’s exceptional performance contributed to Canada’s 25 podium finishes and 10 wins throughout the World Cup tour, which included stops in Carmel, Ind., and Westmont, Ill., earlier in the month. He secured fifth place in the Toronto men’s standings and fourth place in the overall men’s rankings, amassing total earnings of $54,500.
Kharun kicked off the Toronto competition by clinching the bronze in the 50m freestyle on Thursday before securing a silver medal behind Liendo in the 100m butterfly later that day. The Canadian swimmer cherished the opportunity to compete against Liendo in front of their home supporters at the Pan Am Sports Centre, renowned as “Canada’s fastest pool.”
Liendo, who achieved three gold medals in Toronto, wrapped up the event in ninth place in the overall standings, pocketing a total prize sum of $25,000. The 23-year-old set a new world record in the 100m butterfly with a time of 47.68, enhancing his performance as the silver medalist in Paris 2024.
The competition witnessed several world records being broken, with Australia’s Lani Pallister notably shattering Katie Ledecky’s record in the women’s 800m freestyle. Pallister, the reigning world champion in this discipline, completed the race in 7:54, over three seconds faster than Ledecky’s previous record set in 2022.
Additional world records were achieved by Australia’s Kaylee McKeown in the women’s 200m backstroke, American Kate Douglass in the women’s 100m freestyle, Hungary’s Hubert Kos in the men’s 100m backstroke, and the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau in the men’s 200m breaststroke. Alongside these accomplishments, five other Canadians narrowly missed podium placements in various events.