No-one can ever say we don't get our money's worth from the Kaylee McKeown vs Regan Smith backstroke ball: 1:57.87 World and Commonwealth record for Australia's Olympic queen, 1:57.91 Americas and U.S. Open record for the opponent's t who went into the World Cup showdown in Westmont as holder of the global standard in 1:58.08.

After Smith equalled her own 100m back WR yesterday, McKeown was keen not to let the American out of her peripheral. She struck from go, turned with the number 1 stuck to her feet and got her hand to the wall first despite Smith's spilts fightback on the last two of eight lengths: up 0.2sec on the penultimate lap, and 0.17sec on the home comer ... but the Dolphin had done enough.

On 1:57s, the top two were a relative ocean ahead, Miranda Grana, an American club swimmer, getting the better of national teamster Phoebe Bacon on 2:01.96 for third.

Smith set the global mark twice last year, when she broke McKeown's 2020 1:58.94. The Australian today claimed the standard back and the $10,000 record bonus in a battle that represented the majority verdict in the many clashes she and the American have entertained us with.

Here's the progress on the clock since Katinka Hosszu, of Hungary, wiped 0.8sec off American London 2012 Olympic champion Missy Franklin's 2:00.03 to become the first woman to dip below 2mins in the event back in 2014:

The score of records long- and short-course now stands at three apiece for McKeown (L/C 50, 200m; S/C 200) and Smith (L/C 100: S/C 50, 100)

McKeown's was not the first Commonwealth and Australian mark of the third and last day in Westmont before the Cup heads to its conclusion in Toronto next Friday.

Pallister Halves Ledecky's Advantage On The WR Clock

Lani Pallister enteerd the 1500m freestyle fray as Commonwealth record holder on 15:21.43 , clocked at the Melbourne World S/C Championships in December 2022.

She ends 2025 as Commonwealth record holder anew, her thumping 15:13.83 Cup victory today lifting her from 6th to 2nd on the all-time rankings in the gap between the legend Katie Ledecky, whose World record now stands 5sec ahead of next best, and 4sec up on what had been next best, Sarah Kohler's 15:18, clocked on the way to becoming Olympic 1500m bronze medallist at Tokyo2020ne and Sarah Wellbrock soon after, Florian, German teammate and distance free king of the marathon at those same Games, having asked and received the answer he'd been dreaming of.

Pallister, who clocked a sensational 8:05 in the 800m free just shy of Ledecky in the race of the Singapore 2025 World long-course Championships back in early August, was in a class of her own as she sped through the400m inside 4mins, and the 800m on 8:03 (only seven women, herself included, have ever swum faster in a straight 800m s/c race).

Erika Fairweather was closest, for a New Zealand record of 15:30.22 a slither inside her own mark, teammate Caitlin Deans making it a Kiwi 2-3 in 15:42.18.

The all-time top 10:

Pallister's sensational tussle with Ledecky and Summer McIntosh in Singapore:

W800 Free - Empress Of Endurance Ledecky Leads The Greatest Women’s Distance Race In History To Triumph

Gold: 8:05.62 Katie Ledecky (USA); Silver: 8:05.98 Lani Pallister (AUS); Bronze: Summer McIntosh, 8:07.29. “I don’t feel like I have too much to lose ... just knowing what a fast field this was, I knew that if I put my best foot forward, I could be proud of the swim/the season that I’ve had.”

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

2025 Worlds Review - Race Of The Champs: KL 8:05, LP 8:05, SMc 8:07, SQ 8:12

It’s a fortnight since we entered the last weekend of a World Championships looking forward to the most anticipated race of the week. The women’s 800m freestyle exceeded expectations as the show-stopper of the meet. A great place to start our review of Singapore 2025

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

More action to follow in The Vortex...