Marrit Steenbergen of The Netherlands confirmed her status as overall women’s champion in the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2026 as she secured her third and fourth Triple Crowns on the third and final day of the Astana leg.
The overall men’s title went to South Africa’s Pieter Coetze, whose victory in the men’s 50m backstroke saw him move to the head of the standings ahead of Russia’s Egor Kornev, who finished third in that final having won the 50m butterfly Triple Crown earlier in the evening.
Steenbergen, who won four events in the each of the first two World Cups earlier this month, had put herself beyond challenge in the overall competition by earning her second Astana Triple Crown in the 100m medley on day two – having won the previous day’s 50m backstroke.
On the final night in the Kazakhstan capital she added two more Triple Crowns – each worth $10,000 – with third successive victories in the 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke.
The 26-year-old Dutch swimmer first won the 100m freestyle, in which she had set a European record of 50.32 in the second World Cup stop, this time clocking 50.52 to finish nearly half a second clear of Hong Kong’s multiple world medallist Siobhan Haughey.
She concluded her campaign with victory in the 100m backstroke, recording 55.43 to finish ahead of Canada’s Taylor Ruck, who clocked 56.69.
Belgium’s Lucas Henveaux earned his second Triple Crown as he followed up his victory in the first men’s 800m freestyle, staged at stop two in Tashkent, with a second win, clocking 7:30.76.
Kornev, reportedly hampered by a back problem, secured the final World Cup 2026 win in the men’s 50m butterfly in 21.82 – well off the world record of 21.28 he set in Tashkent.
Kornev’s compatriots Kirill Prigoda and Ilia Bordin also profited from day three.
Prigoda won the Triple Crown in the men’s 100m breaststroke, clocking 56.03 ahead of Dutch swimmer Caspar Corbeau, who finished in 56.86.
And Bordin earned $2500 for his “Crown-buster” performance in the men’s 400m individual medley, where he clocked 3:58.95 to deny American Carson Foster a third consecutive win in this event.
Ireland’s double European individual medley champion Ellen Walshe won the women’s 200m butterfly in 2:04.05.
Russia’s Ralina Giliazova won the women’s 50m breaststroke in 29.54 ahead of Belgium’s Florine Gaspard and Mona McSharry of Ireland.
Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium finished second in the concluding women’s 200m individual medley in 2:05.07 behind China’s Yu Yiting, who secured a Triple Crown in an Asian record of 2:02.63 – breaking the mark of 2:02.80 she set in the opening World Cup leg.
Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
