TORONTO, CANADA – OCTOBER 24: Mollie O’Callaghan of Australia celebrates after winning the Women’s 200m Freestyle Finals and setting a new World Record during day two of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup – Toronto 2025 at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre on October 24, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)
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Mollie O’Callaghan has successfully finished another 200 freestyle race with a new record.
On Friday, O’Callaghan created history yet again, taking down the short-course 200 free world record for the second consecutive time. At the final stop of the World Cup in Toronto, Australia’s star cruised through with ease, posting a new mark of 1:49.36.
O’Callaghan’s win helped her wrap the event with a historic sweep, earning her a triple crown and a $10,000 bonus. The five-time Olympic gold medalist also added another $10,000 to her bonus for breaking her own world record.
Last weekend, in Westmont, O’Callaghan crushed the 200-meter record in 1:49.77. Taking down Hong Kong’s Siobhan Huaghey’s record set in 2021 (1:50.31), O’Callaghan became the first swimmer to break the 1:50 sub. However, this historical performance was upgraded only after a week, as the 21-year-old produced a new record-breaking finish, shaving 0.41 seconds off the previous time.
O’Callaghan, who had every intention of dominating the race from the start, stayed ahead of the field, with a lead of three-quarters of a second after racing the opening 50 meters in 25.45. She maintained the world record pace throughout, only slowing down in the last 50-meter lap. She was followed by her teammate, Lani Pallister, matching her personal best time in 1:51.75. New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather placed third in 1:52.71
“If you set your mind to it, you can achieve it, and if you put the hard work in it and have a great support team behind you, anything’s possible,” O’Callaghan said, crediting her performance to her Olympic coach Dean Boxall and the rest of her support team.
She is now the fastest swimmer in the short-course 200 freestyle. Challenging the top-notch freestyle swimmers, she has surpassed Siobhan Haughey (1:50.31) and freestyle legend Sarah Sjostrom (1:50.43), both of whom are yet to join the sub-1:50 club.
Now O’Callaghan will look forward to completing the meet, aiming for a podium finish in the 100-meter free. She can provide a strong competition to Kate Douglass, who is in line to claim the triple crown in the event this weekend.
So far, the Australian swimmers have dominated multiple events at the last stop of the World Cup. McKeown successfully clinched the triple crown in the 50 backstroke in 25.35, a new world cup and ocenian record. Following this, Australia’s key backstroke swimmer claimed the 100 backstroke in a national record of 54.49. She surpassed Regan Smith (54.57), who was unable to complete the triple sweep. Now the Olympic champion will aim to win the triple crown in the 200 backstroke after setting a new world record in the event in 1:57.87 in Westmont.
Lani Pallister also claimed a new 400 freestyle world cup and oceanian record in 3:51.87, becoming the third swimmer to break the 3:52 sub. Amid Ariarne Titmus’ retirement announcement, Pallister continues to be a force to be reckoned with, owning three of the seven fastest times in history. She is now more than two seconds faster than Titmus in the short-course 400 free.