The 2024 Swimming World Cup has taken off from Shanghai and moved to its next destination. The series has reached its second stop in Incheon, Republic of Korea. The next set of competitions is set to happen here between 24 and 26 October. As expected, the World Cup is turning out to be a spectacle yet again, with record-breaking and questionable finishes!

As the schedule unraveled at the Namdong Asiad Swimming Pool, the world saw a lot of unexpected performances. And all of that just on day 1! If you missed out on history created on October 24th, we’ve got you covered!

Stop two of the World Cup turns out to be the beginning of something historic for Kate Douglass and co., but not much for Leon Marchand!

Hold onto your swim caps, folks! Kate Douglass has already set the tone for the races to come in Incheon on the very first day itself! Kate did not just swim. She dove straight into the arms of history. Kate went on to break a 15-year-old world record by clocking 2:14.16 in the 200m breaststroke. The time recorded beat Rebecca Soni’s 2009 record of 2:14.57. The iconicity of the moment increases when you look at where Kate Douglass left her competitors.

Kate Douglass was ahead of her competitors by over five seconds! Australian swimmer Tara Kinder took second, clocking 2:19.21, while Korea’s own Park Sieun came third. Kate had her winning pace on point from the very beginning. She clocked 30.68 at the 50m point, reached halfway at 1:04.75, and then continued to maintain the pace. Additionally, this makes Kate the second swimmer from the University of Virginia to set a world record within a week! The first was Gretchen Walsh and her record in the 100m individual medley. While the women’s swimming was off to a historic start, the men’s competition was just as exciting.

The most coveted swimmer for the season, Leon Marchand, had a day of wax and wane. Leon came to Korea with the spirits from Shanghai, where he had won the gold in the 100m medley. But this time, the match was an anticipated one as Leon was set to go head-to-head yet again against Noe Ponti. During the 200m finals, Leon went on to clock 1:50.30, which set the World Cup record. And, of course, won him the gold. During the same, Noe Ponti clocked 1:51.78. Thus winning the bronze. Leon, coming with four Olympic golds, made this perhaps the most anticipated race.

The pools of Incheon were set for Leon to continue his series of wins. But fate had a different gameplay in mind! The 100m medley finals saw a Deus ex machina! A rare tie during a World Cup final. Leon Marchand and Ponti tied with a time of 51.00 seconds. Ponti, despite losing his contacts and goggles in the previous 100m butterfly race, came back and won! Meanwhile, Thomas Ceccon of Italy took the bronze. But Kate Douglass and Leon Marchand weren’t the only ones to do great things on day 1!

Elsewhere, the women’s 400m freestyle saw one of the greatest comebacks. Mary-Sophie Harvey, who was behind Siobhan Bernadette Haughey for most of the race in the last 100m over, took the Hong Kong swimmer to clock 3:56.78. The win was her first sub-4:00 performance! Meanwhile, in the men’s 400m, China’s Pan Zhanle had a sweaty palm finish with big names up against him!

The race saw names including Duncan Scott and Kieran Smith in the pool. But Pan, least worried, went on to finish them in seconds. Pan Zhanle’s final 25m was his greatest advantage as he pushed to clock 3:36.43. He went on to beat Scott’s time by 0.61 seconds. Meanwhile, Smith won the bronze. While the long distances were fun, the short-distance swims were riveting on their own accord!

America’s favorite went on to do something huge! Regan Smith, keeping up her performance and form, swam the women’s 50m backstroke. She went on to clock 25.71 and win the gold. And she did so, beating Canada’s Ingrid Wilm and fellow American Beata Nelson. While Regan undoubtedly ruled the short distance, she fell off in the 200m butterfly.

Australia’s Bella Grant went on to clock 2:03.13 and win gold. While Regan Smith won the silver, clocking 2:03.21. The women’s 50m was an equally transfixing race! Katarzyna Wasick of Poland went on to win, clocking 23.51. While the men’s 50m was won by Korea’s Ji Yuchan, clocking 20.80. Day 1 also saw the 100m men’s backstroke finals happen.

During the finals, Ilya Shymanovich went on to win the gold in 100m. Thus holding back China’s Qin Haiyang and the Netherlands’ Caspar Corbeau, who had to settle for silver and bronze, respectively. With that, the Icheon standings and charts have changed.

While these rankings will likely change in Singapore, the current rankings for women after day 1 are:

Meanwhile, the men’s ranking has also taken a hit, with Marchand disappearing entirely from the list after day 1.

Overall, the opening day in Incheon has set the standard rather high for the races to come! So, what’s next on the schedule? Well, on Friday, 25th October, multiple finals are set to happen. This includes the finals for women, including the 400m medley, 1500m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, and 50m butterfly. Meanwhile, the finals for men include 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 50m breaststroke, 200m butterfly, and 200m medley.