Highlights of Stop 1 | Swimming World Cup 2026 | Silk Road Tour | Baku

Away in the men's 50 meters freestyle final, McAvoy will surface first, Kornev beats him through to 15 meters and already they've set up a lead of over half a body length over the rest of the field. There's water splashing outside of the walls, Kornev picks him up underwater again, takes a breath, McAvoy in front, can he hang on? Look at the clock, 20.22, Cameron McAvoy breaks the world cup record in the men's 50 meters freestyle final. McAvoy ahead of Kornev and Niewald, the top three there, and boy did he give that 20 second barrier an almighty scare. Away in the final of the men's 50 metres backstroke. The underwater is going to be important. Kutsia might have won the start. That Boland really pushed under 15 metres there. And Kornev flips with a big lead through the first 25. He's only 1/100th outside of world record pace. He's got a body length ahead of Kolesnikov here. The world record's at his grasp. Kutsia flying home, but Kornev takes the gold. World Cup time as well. World Cup record time there for Yegor Kornev. Kuznetsov in second place, tying for Samisenko, we haven't seen the times come up, there it is, 22.23, the winning time, he gets within 0.1 of his teammate, Kliman Kolesnikov's world record. Right here, the 200 IM final for the men, we expect to see Barr out fast, very good off the butterfly, and as we come through the first 25, he should touch the wall first. Yeah, Rossetti as well loves the first 50 of the IMs. He is a butterfly specialist. Barr, strong through the breast and the butterfly. And he will go out quick as well. Really leaving Brodin behind him. Brodin there in lane four, turning last through the first 50 metres. Finlay Knox going strongly as well, so unfortunately for Brodin, he's got the worst possible position between our top two athletes. Barr looks sensational. If he hits the lead in the breaststroke, he's going to be hard to catch. He's really maximising his time underwater. Yeah, that was a great turn there from Luke Barr. Again, he'll come in with a lead. This will give himself a ton of confidence as he moves into his favoured breaststroke leg of this IM. Brodin trying to work his way through the field, Adapting to a short course IM is going to be too much. It's Barr and Knox really stretching out, trying to extend that lead. Barr looks fantastic. Almost out to a second ahead of Knox. Knox obviously with a class of talent as well. And Rossetti trying to push hard as the top three well established with 50 to come. Great breaststroke split there from Luke Barr. I don't think anyone's going to be able to catch him. He can breathe to his left and see Finlay Knox. Rossetti's down at the bottom of the screen, but plenty of legs there from Luke Barr, plenty of energy. Luke Barr might make it two gold medals in a row. He looks absolutely electric out in front of this race, racing under the clock. The US athlete looks incredible and no one will stop him as he takes the 200 champion as well as the 100. Luke Barr stops the clock there, 1.50, 1.34. Rossetti storms over Knox to claim second, Knox in third. 1.51, 1.34, the winning time there from Luke Barr. He is absolutely pumped with that swim. Two gold medals in two days. That's a storyline we didn't expect coming into the Baku World Cup. Away cleanly, across the field, the men's 100 freestyle hits the water, expected to be fast, expected to be furious, and Kornev, lightning off the block, but now McAvoy getting to work. 10-1 through the first 25 for McAvoy, there's two very different styles here, McAvoy will get up on top of the water and use his swim speed, whereas Kornev will use those powerful underwater kicks. 21-6 through the first 50 split, so it's a little slow in the opening, and Kornev starting to pull away. He looks absolutely massive, really using that power to the last turn. Kornev now, he will take the gold medal. McAvoy's in a clear second. Let's see what sort of time he can put up. Two gold medals in two nights for Yegor Kornev. It's an equal world record, 44.84. What a closing finish there from Kornev. Second swim of the night, he scares it in the 50 back and he'll take that world record in the men's 100 metres freestyle. 44.84, he equals that world record from Kyle Chalmers here in Baku at the Swimming World Cup, what a performance. Wow, what a powerful athlete, Igor Kornev, equals that world record, as you call Bobby, a fraction of a second off it at the 50, but he came home with so much momentum, and you can see why there's excitement, he wants everything this World Cup Tour can throw at him. Hundred free final for the women, the European record holder in four, expected to be out fastest, pulled through, not having it her own way, though, a tight competition for the opening lap. Yeah, Rock's going to be aggressive through that first 25 as well, Vasic, we know, has a lot of speed, but Steenbergen will build her race through each of these turns. And after what we saw from her in the backstroke events, she is electric under the water. It's 24.5, so it's well off that world record pace at the moment. Steenbergen breathing to her right. Look how high she sits above the water. And she's going to have a big lead with 25 to go. A monstrous 3rd-25 there from Steenbergen. Was it left in the way? Cruyff leads it there, but there's no challenge for the gold here. Had to win today, but Steenbergen has delivered in emphatic fashion. 50.78, just outside her best, just outside. She's just getting started here. Marit Steenbergen beats out, of course, Watson and Ross Brown in the top three. 50.78, the winning time. That's four gold medals in Baku for Marit Steenbergen. Away in the final event of the Baku World Cup. This is the women's 200 metres individual medley. Steenbergen looking for gold medal number five, swimming in lane four. But the early leader, no surprises there, is Yu Yi Ting. Also a gold medalist here at this competition. The field is stacked there with Abby Wood, the Olympic finalist, in lane three in that black cap. But Yu Yiting really going out aggressively, just like we saw her in the longer individual medley race. She's great underwaters as well, so she's able to carry that speed from the butterfly into the first and second turns in the backstroke. So Yu Yiting... In front, Wood's going to go out fast as well and use a bit of aggression there. Under world record split through the first 75 metres. That's somewhat of a surprise. Steenbergen getting left behind in lane four. We know she can close hard, but of course she'd still have plenty of lactate built up in her legs after winning the 100 metres freestyle less than 10 minutes ago. So this would be some sort of an upset if Yu Yiting can continue this form. Staying just at her feet at the moment. Watch for Wood's pull-outs. She is good under the water through the pull-out and the dolphin kicking. And Yu Yiting, fingernails on that world record line from Kate Douglas. Douglas' time from the Budapest World Championships, 2.01.63. Douglas, the breaststroke specialist. I'm surprised Yu Yiting is so close at this stage in the race. Woody with a clear second spot. Meters in third. Steenbergen's going to fly home. But what a performance from Yu Yiting. Looking for gold medal number two. China have had one strategy here at this World Cup, and that was to attack each and every race, no matter what the distance, and show no fear. Yu Yiting clearing out the field here. She's going to take the gold medal. We look at the clock, and it's a beautiful swim there. 2:02.80, a new Asian record for Yu Yiting. Silver going to Marit Steenbergen with a strong last 50, and Abby Wood taking the bronze. What a performance there from China's Yu Yiting, she takes four seconds off her entry time and blew away the field on top of the water in the butterfly, under the water in the backstroke.