Marritt Steenbergen and sprinting go hand in hand, but on Day 2 of the last round of the 2026 World Cup, she was reminded by Poland's Kasia Wasick of the relative gulf between two lengths and four.

First up, Steenbergen, coached by Patrick Pearson at the Eindhoven performance centre in The Netherlands, collected her second $10k triple-crown prize with a third 100m medley victory on this year's Silk Road tour in Astana.

The time - a 56.54, 0.36sec shy of the European record 56.18 she set a week ago in Tashkent, after a 56.82 victory in Baku at the start off the series two weeks ago - gave a hint that she was keeping something back in her tank, which was reasonable given, a. the lack of any close opposition :

... and b. and the fact that she would leave the water bound for a second shot at crown-busting in as many days after breaking Siobhan Haughey's financial heart yesterday by stopping the Hong Kong ace's shot at the triple in the 200m free.

Come the 50m free, however, Wasick, the winner of the first two rounds of the 50m free on tour, in the absence of Steenbergen, was determined to uphold the pride of dashers just two months after stunning herself with a 0.02sec victory over Olympic champion and comeback-mum Sarah Sjöström at the European long-course championships. Steenbergen finished fifth in that race.

Coached by Ozzie Quevedo, at the SMU women’s program, Wasick knew that Steenbergen is dangerous in any sprint event she enters, and the threat was very real as the Polish ace turned in 11.37, her Dutch chaser just 0.1sec away. No matter, under the guidance of Quevedo and with mindset help from Dr. Bruce Lawrie, the acclaimed Scottish specialist in psychology and mental health, (as well as being a coach himself), Wasick has become an example of what the mind can bring to a body capable of more than it might have believed possible.

The battle to the end wall after that 0.1sec gap was even tighter: just 0.01sec separated the homecoming pace of the sprinters, 11.93 to Wasick, 11.94 for Steenbergen, the gap between gold and silver 0.11. Haughey was next closest:

Under Quevedo's guidance, Wasick has achieved some of the greatest milestones of her elite career, including: 

• 2024 World Aquatics Championships (Doha): Won a bronze medal in the 50m freestyle, clocking one of the fastest times in swimming history (23.95sec)
• Paris 2014 Olympics: 5th in the 50 free final - 0.13sec from the podium
• 2025 European Short Course Championships: 50m free gold
• 2026 European Long Course Championships: 50m free gold (23.84).

There were three other triple-crown conclusions own the day in the women's events:

Women's 100m butterfly - Vanotterdyk Victorious & 10k Better Off With Debut sub-55 to her name.

Belgium's Roos Vanotterdyk left her best until last with a 54.80 Belgian-record for a third victory and the $10k cup Triple Crown prize to fend of wouyld-be crown-buster Yu Yiting, of China, on 55.17. That time sits on the result sheet as an Asian record but the standard, yet to be ratified, belongs to Japan's Mizuki Hirai in 55.10.

Yu, who collected her own triple crown prize in the 400IM yesterday, was a touch down on Vanotterdyk's speed on all four tenths as the Belgian pioneer refused too yield in pursuit of a fine pay day.

All triple crown winners also have a shot at a 15k bonus, on offer for those who leave their cup with three wins in the game event and then back up at World s/c titles in Beijing in December. The winning points in the race today - 889, indicate just how steep that climb is in a world in which American ace Gretchen Walsh is the title holder and world-record owner in a stunning 52.71.

Vanotterdyk, who has stood on world podiums with Walsh, is coached by Dutchman Mark Faber, head coach to the Flemish Swimming Federation, in Antwerp, Belgium. Other star names in the squad include Dutch Olympic medallists Tes Schouten and Caspar Corbeau, and Belgian record-holder Florine Gaspard.

Faber was out of action for six months leading up to the July European Championships in Paris, where Vanotterdyk claimed gold in the 100 'fly, silver in the 50 'fly and bronze in the 200IM.

The reason for Faber's absence is now well-documented and for the same of full understanding as far as the known facts are, here is the explanation:

Mark Faber was suspended for six months for sexual misconduct involving an abuse of his position of power in a case brought in The Netherlands focussed on events that took place several years ago.

According to an investigation by the Institute for Sports Judiciary (ISR), Faber engaged in sexual contact over an extended period with a former swimmer. The situation was judged to have created an "unfair and unsafe sporting environment". Faber accepted the disciplinary suspension on January 9, 2026, stating that the contact had been mutually consensual, which the impacted party who filed the complaint and won the case. World Aquatics adopted the suspension globally, which concluded on July 9, 2026, after which Mark Faber was able to resume work.

For those wondering how and why, the Flemish Swimming Federation (Zwemfed) explicitly stated that they retained full confidence in Mark Faber, justifying his fitness to coach by distinguishing between his past behavior and his current professional performance. [1, 2]When the suspension became public, Zwemfed management issued an official statement outlining their reasoning, which included the following three key factors:

• Zwemfed emphasised that the misconduct had occurred years prior in the Netherlands and did not involve any athletes or staff within the Belgian system. 
• The federation stated that since his hiring as High Performance Manager, Faber's professional execution, integrity, and behavior within the Belgian program had been entirely without fault.
• Athletes' backing was clear: prominent swimmers under his guidance publicly defended his environment. Vanotterdijk was among them, and praised his empathetic and respectful approach, stating that he focused heavily on the mental well-being of his athletes and treated them "as a person first."

Women's 200m breaststroke - Expansion 15k In Sight For Triple-Crown Chikunova

Evgenia Chikunova was the third woman on day 2 to land the $10k triple-crown prize, her 2:16.57 victory the fastest of her three wins on the 2026 tour, closest to her Dutch ace Tes Schouten, with Ireland's 100m triple-winner of yesterday, Mona McSharry, just 0.05sec further adrift.

Chikunova now has a solid shot at the 15k 'Expansion' bonus at World s/c titles in Beijing this December. She holds the world long-course record in the event but has yet to defeat American Kate Douglass, widen of the big occasion in recent years and, since 2024, the s/c World record holder at a bracing 2:12.50, her Cup mark from October in the same year a 2:12.72:

In other finals...

Women's 400m freestyle - Peplowski 2, Colbert 1

No-one breached the 900-point mark but Anna Peplowski, coached by Ray Looze at the Indiana Swim Club, part of Indiana University, settled a scrap with Britain's Freya Colbert with a second victory in the event, on 4:00.25, precisely the same time in which she won round 2 in Tashkent last week. Colbert won the first round in Baku in 3:59.91, the fastest swim of the series, before finishing just behind the American in each final:

Having won the first final of the last session of the 2026 cup, Peplowski also made the podium in the third final of the evening:

Women's 200m backstroke - Ruck 2, Peplowski 1

Taylor Ruck, of Canada, won the first round of the 20-0 back in Baku in 2:02.41, 0.3sec ahead of Anna Peplowski, who then hit back with a 2:02.34 over Ruick's 2:02.44 in Tashkent a week ago. Today, Ruck settled the argument in the fastest win of the series, a 2:02.29, to 2:03.81 for Peplowski, Irish 200 and 400m European champion Ellen Walshe taking third place as she practised the parts of the sum she's working on for another day: