How The Cup Banked A 54.5k Pay Day For Kharun & Ripened A Maple Rivalry With Liendo
Swimming Canada's take on Ilya Kharun's World Cup tour campaign speaks to what it means to the athlete and where swimming finds itself on the evolutionary stream as a sport that demands highly professional preparation but is still learning how to dress its shopwindow in between Olympics
The 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup series was rich in emotions for Ilya Kharun. It wasn’t bad either for his bank account.
On the final night of the three-meet short-course competition Saturday at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, the Montreal native won the men’s 50-m butterfly to capture his second triple crown of the weekend, each worth USD 10,000.
At the Swimming World Cup – which also included stops in Carmel, Ind., and Westmont, Ill., earlier this month – athletes earned a triple crown for winning the same event at all three meets.
The 20-year-old also secured fifth place in the Toronto men’s standings (USD 5,500) and fourth in the overall men’s rankings for the complete series (USD 15,000), part of his total earnings of USD 54,500.
Over the course of the three competitions, Kharun collected 12 of Canada’s 25 podium finishes and seven of the country’s 10 wins.
In the 50 fly, he thrilled the sellout crowd of 1,800 with a time of 21.80 to edge world record holder Noè Ponti of Switzerland by one hundredth of a second. Canadian teammate Josh Liendo of Toronto was third in a personal best 21.91. Said Kharun:
“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.”
Kharun particularly enjoyed going head-to-head with Liendo in front of their home fans, who on Saturday saw a remarkable five world records fall at Canada’s fastest pool. Said the 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in the 100 and 200 'fly.
“It always means a lot. I mean, he swam really amazing this week. I think it was just a very, very fun and cool moment.”
Liendo finished second in the Toronto men’s standings (USD 10,000) thanks in large part to a trio of triumphs, including a world record in the 100 'fly on opening night:
Craig Lord
The 23-year-old finished ninth in the series overall standings and merited USD 25,000 in total prize money.
“It was great,” said the 100 fly silver medallist from Paris 2024 when asked about the World Cup stop on home turf.
“Had to try my best to get some sleep after night one, but it’s been good. I wasn’t expecting it to be like this this week at all. I’m really happy with where I am at, so just go back and get things rolling again for the rest of the season.”
Liendo, who placed the crown on Kharun`s head in the post-race ceremony, also savoured the friendly rivalry with his national team teammate:
“It was awesome. It was good to be up there with him in the 50 because he’s been a tank in the 50s. I’m getting a little bit closer to him, and good to see him get his hand on that wall.”
