Canada’s Kharun swims to gold, Liendo takes bronze in 50m butterfly at World Cup finale in Toronto

Canadian swimmer Ilya Kharun won his second gold medal in as many days at the World Cup finals in Toronto with a thrilling win in the men's 50m butterfly final on Saturday.

Montreal's Haroun, who also won Friday's 200-meter butterfly, clocked 21.80 seconds to narrowly beat Switzerland's Noe Ponty by one hundredth of a second. Toronto's Josh Liendo finished just behind them to take bronze in 21.91.

Harun, 20, earned US$10,000 for winning the 50m butterfly at all three World Cup events, which he also achieved in the 200m.

WATCH | Harun takes gold, Liendo takes bronze in the 50-meter butterfly:

Montreal's Haroun won the 50m butterfly; Toronto's Liendo won bronze.

Montreal's Ilya Kharun finishes first in the men's 50m butterfly final at the 2025 FINA World Cup in Toronto with a time of 21.80. Josh Liendo of Toronto placed third and won the bronze medal.

On Thursday he won silver behind Liendo in the 100m butterfly, where Liendo broke Ponty's short course world record with a time of 47.68.

Haroun, whose parents spent most of their lives performing with Cirque du Soleil, won a total of eight medals, including five golds, in the first two competitions in Indianapolis and Chicago.

WATCH | Harun remembers winning the 50m butterfly:

Ilya Kharun is “very happy” about winning the 50m butterfly

Montreal's Ilya Kharun talks about finishing first in the men's 50m butterfly final at the 2025 FINA World Cup in Toronto.

Pallister beats Ledecky's short distance record

Australia's Lani Pallister opened the final night of racing with a bang, breaking Katie Ledecky's short course world record in the women's 800m freestyle.

Pallister, the reigning world champion over the distance, clocked 7:54, more than three seconds faster than Ledecky's 7:57.42 at the 2022 world championships in Indianapolis.

The 23-year-old was well ahead of the world record pace throughout the race, ahead of New Zealanders Erica Fairweather (8:09.69) and Caitlin Deans (8:09.69).8:11.76).

Mary-Sophie Harvey from Trois-Rivières, Quebec finished fourth in 8:15.52.

WATCH | Pallister breaks world record in 800m freestyle:

Australian Pallister set a world record in the 800m freestyle, Quebec's Harvey finished fourth

Australia's Lani Pallister wins the women's 800m freestyle with a short course world record of 7:54.00 at the 2025 FINA World Cup in Toronto. Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, narrowly missed out on the podium with a fourth-place finish.

Four more world records were set during Saturday's finals: Australia's Kayleigh McKeown in the women's 200m backstroke (1:57.33), American Kate Douglas in the women's 100m freestyle49.93), Hubert Kos from Hungary in the men's 100m backstroke (48.16).) and Caspar Corbeau from the Netherlands in the men's 200m breaststroke (1:59.52).

Along with Harvey, four other Canadians moved down one place from the podium.

Calgary's Ingrid Wilm placed fourth in the women's 200m backstroke. Finlay Knox of Okotoks, Alta., achieved the same result in the men's 100-meter backstroke.

Alexandranna Lepage Vernon, British Columbia and Taylor Ruck of Kelowna, British Columbia, finished fourth in the women's 50-meter breaststroke and 100-meter freestyle, respectively.

WATCH | Liendo on his “amazing” performance at the World Championships in Toronto:

Josh Liendo remembers his 'amazing' performance at the World Championships in Toronto

Toronto's Josh Liendo looks back on his record-breaking performance at the 2025 FINA World Cup in Toronto.

Leave a Comment