Australian Mollie O’Callaghan broke the world record for the 200-meter freestyle in the Fukuoka World Cup final with a time of 1:52.85, which had been held by Italian Federica Pellegrini with 13 hundredths more since 2009.
Her compatriot Arianne Titmus, who led the test for 150 meters, was second (1:53.01) and third was Canadian Summer McIntosh who did 1:53.65, a new junior world record, which she herself had with 1:53.91.
It is one of the oldest records that still stood and which in turn was the record of the World Championships. The Italian Federica Pellegrini achieved it at the 2009 World Cup in Rome in a year in which many continental and world records were achieved in the so-called ‘miracle swimsuits’.
The new world record holder, Mollie O’Callaghan is 19 years old and gets her second gold medal in Fukuoka after the Australian triumph in the 4×100 freestyle relay. O’Callaghan won 6 medals, three gold and three silver, at the 2022 Budapest World Championships, where she was silver in the 200 free.
It is the third world record to be broken in Fukuoka, after that of his compatriot Arianne Titmus in the 400 free (3:55.38) and that of the Frenchman Leon Marchand in the 400 medley (4:02.50) that Michael Phelps had since 2008.
