~ Egor Kornev equalled Kyle Chalmers' World Record in the Men's 100m Freestyle on the second night of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Baku, clocking 44.84.
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 03.10.2026) :: The Russian star had already set a World Cup Record in the 50m Backstroke earlier in the session at the Aquatic Palace in Azerbaijan’s capital.
Kornev’s show stopping night
Kornev's time matched Chalmers' mark from 2021, beating his previous personal best of 44.99 set at the Russian National Championships last November.
However, he felt he had scope to go one better.
“I am very excited about the race, even if it is now a repeat record. There was a bad stroke [in the race], so I’ve got my potential, and I’ll show what I’ve got in the next stops,” Kornev said.
Australia’s Cameron McEvoy made a return to the 100m Freestyle for the first time since 2023, and was a clear second in 45.36. He was pleased with how he fared.
“I’m stoked. My PB before this was 46.1, so I’m almost a second faster, so couldn’t ask for anything better. I think there’s room for improvement in the next two stops which is exciting, but the bar is high. To win the 100 Free you have to get a World Record, which is pretty crazy,” he said.
Russia's Vasilii Kukushkin came through in third in 46.77.
Kornev’s victory was his second of the day, having earlier won the 50m Backstroke in 22.23 to beat Isaac Cooper's World Cup Record of 22.58. That fell just short of the World Record pace of 22.11 set by his compatriot Kliment Kolesnikov in 2022.
South Africa’s Pieter Coetze and Russia’s Pavel Samusenko tied for second in 22.51. Incredibly the same two athletes also won joint silver at last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, while Coetze set an African Record.
“I’m happy with it. It’s my best time so I can’t complain. It would have been nice to get the win, but Kornev is obviously a very fast guy,” Coetze said.
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