Nic Fink and Dylan Carter won their eighth respective finals on Friday night in Indianapolis as they each have 153 points in their pursuit of the overall FINA Swimming World Cup title.

Carter won the 50m backstroke with the fastest of his three wins, touching at 22.72 to put himself 11th all-time in the event. Carter, age 26, has reinvigorated his career. He is currently training on his own in his native Trinidad & Tobago and has already collected two triple crown wins, coming on the heels of his 50m freestyle win on Thursday. Carter still has one more hat trick to collect on Saturday - the heats and finals of the 50m butterfly. 

“That's a big, best time for me,” Carter said. “I am not primarily a backstroker so I think I gained a lot more from racing more frequently. Like I said in Berlin, this is something (a goal) that I wrote down. It’s really awesome to set goals and to almost achieve them. We still have a job to do tomorrow.”

Fink won his eighth final at the World Cup series in 2022, remaining undefeated across the three breaststroke races as he won his second triple crown with a 25.83 in the 50m breaststroke.

It’s not the best time for Fink, but he has a chance to win all nine breaststroke finals tomorrow with the 200m remaining on his schedule. Fink is another one who has reinvigorated his career, making his first Olympic team last summer for the Tokyo Games at age 28. Now as he approaches 30, he is swimming faster than ever, winning on Friday ahead of the rest of the podium from this summer’s World Championships as Nicolo Martinenghi (26.02) and Michael Andrew (26.32) finished second and third in Indianapolis.

Both Fink and Carter have one more shot at a perfect weekend tomorrow, as all eyes will be on them in their pursuit of nine World Cup wins.

“I was taking it race by race and I still have the 200m left,” Fink said. “Fortunately I didn’t have to think about that race until now, but I still have the eight-lapper tomorrow. I just try to take care of myself and get plenty of rest. I'm expecting some faster times tomorrow.”

Women’s World Cup title still in Nelson’s control

The women’s overall World Cup leader is still American Beata Nelson, despite getting out-touched in the 100m backstroke final by fellow American Bella Sims at 55.75 to Nelson’s 55.90. Sims put herself 15th all-time as she set two world junior records on Thursday, with the first coming in the 200m freestyle final where she was fourth at 1:52.59 in a near World Championship final. 

In between finals, Sims had roughly 12 minutes to prepare.

“It was very stressful,” Sims said of her double. “I just didn't know how it was going to turn out. My coach helped me prepare for almost anything. 

“I definitely did not expect this. I thought I was going to be dead for the 100 back but my training came into play in tonight’s races. There was definitely some pressure but I didn’t think I had to step up. It was fun. I had never swam short course meters before this meet. I always like exploring the world of swimming and I really enjoyed tonight.”

Sims comes from the same training group as Katie Grimes, who set the world junior record in the 1500m freestyle earlier this afternoon in a time trial (the event is not included in the Swimming World Cup program) as the pair that trains for coach Ron Aitken in Las Vegas, Nevada, feed off each other in practice.

“That was amazing,” Sims said of Grimes’ swim. “She definitely inspired me today.”

As for the excitement of two world junior records in such a short time period, “let’s hope I sleep tonight!” she said.

In the 200m freestyle final where Sims raced, Hong Kong, China’s Siobhan Haughey swam a dominating performance to win her third straight final at 1:51.19 ahead of a stacked field that included World champions Katie Ledecky (1:52.10), Madison Wilson (1:52.23), and Summer McIntosh (1:52.63).

Haughey proved to be the class of the 200m freestyle field, winning by nearly a full second over the all-time great Ledecky, and getting within a second of her own world record she set at last year’s Short Course Worlds. Haughey added her name to the triple crown winners this weekend.

“It was definitely a very exciting race tonight,” Haughey said. “I was trying to focus on my own race. Yesterday I saw a lot of swimmers wearing the crown and today I wanted to be sure I got my hand on the wall first so I could wear the crown.”

In the overall standings, Haughey currently sits second overall with 146.4 points behind Nelson’s 152.3. She is ahead of Sweden’s Louise Hansson (143.1) who won the 50m butterfly tonight for her second win overall in the entire World Cup series.

Olympic Champions Looking Better Than Ever

One swimmer who looked to be in danger of not completing the triple crown attempt was Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte in the 100m breaststroke as she lined up against fellow Olympic champion Lilly King in her virtual home pool, having raced in Indianapolis growing up as she currently serves as the crowd’s unofficial favourite swimmer.

However, Meilutyte hardly looked phased and swam a very impressive 1:02.77 to complete the hat trick. It was the fastest time Meilutyte had swum in eight years since she was 17 in 2014.

“I am super happy, especially also to get the money because these are not easy times,” Meilutyte said. “I am so grateful to be able to win and I am super happy to keep up my times and even to improve. It’s been a great three weeks.

“Going into the final I tried to focus on the present and not really think of the future. I tried to enjoy every moment of the race, even the painful parts, it's part of the process. I am ready for the 50 tomorrow of course.”

South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, who currently sits third overall with 149 points looked like vintage Le Clos on Friday with a come-from-behind win in the 200m butterfly final over USA’s Trenton Julian as the 2012 Olympic champion won with a 1:49.89.

“It’s unbelievable,” Le Clos said. “I could never have expected this just a few weeks ago. I have so much support here including some friends who travelled from Texas.”

After two straight disappointing summers in 2021 and 2022, Le Clos looks like the man that was winning gold medals and setting world records in the 2010s as he achieved his hat trick yesterday in the 100m butterfly and returned with an impressive 200m unshaved.

“I think a lot of people didn’t really believe what I was saying, but (now) I have got my mindset back,” Le Clos said. “I could never have expected this.  I am in control of my swimming now.  No one controls the way I swim, that’s the way I have raced before. I have to remind people that I finish hard. I am trying to educate the youth again, respectfully of course.

“I can’t predict what's going to happen, but I will be in the best shape and the best form for the Fukuoka World Championships and also for the (Paris) Olympics. God bless the winners if they can beat me.”

Image Source: Mike Lewis/FINA-USA Swimming

Fellow Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers won his third 100m freestyle final of the 2022 Swimming World Cup with a 45.55, as he was hardly touched. Italy’s Thomas Ceccon was second at 46.27 as Chalmers swam the seventh fastest time of his career.

“The 100 freestyle is my baby,” Chalmers said on Friday. “I've been so successful over so many years. Having new guys come in to challenge me is what excites me, and there is no better feeling than winning the event I love the most. Having new guys coming in each week to challenge me for the title, I love the fight. I love the pre-race (ready) rooms. I love challenging myself against the best in the world.

“Melbourne will be no different with some big dogs rolling in. But I really look forward to battling them on my home soil.”

American Kieran Smith won his second race in Indianapolis with a 1:52.98 in the 200m IM, putting himself 38th all-time in the event.

“My high school coach is gonna be really happy,” Smith said. “This is the event that I grew up swimming (all the time). This result gives me so much confidence. Obviously, last week wasn’t as good as this week, but I am happy that I can keep improving and building on these experiences.”

Canada’s Sydney Pickrem (400m IM) and USA’s Bobby Finke (1500m freestyle) also won finals tonight as Pickrem won over USA’s Katie Grime at 4:26.66 while Finke swam a 14:45.77 to run down Ondrej Gemov on the second half.