Fab Five: The Athletes Who Captured World Titles in Singapore and Swept the World Cup Tour
The 2025 season has given the world of swimming incredible races, times and duels from which a handful of swimmers managed to record undefeated runs between the World Championships last summer in Singapore, and the recent World Cup circuit in North America. Here are the five athletes who claimed a gold medal in an individual event at the World Champs, and then swept the discipline at all stops of the World Cup Tour.
Hubert Kos
The Hungarian star and reigning Olympic champion in the 200 backstroke is part of Bob Bowman’s elite training group at the University of Texas. After claiming the world title in the 200 backstroke again, after initially winning in 2023, Kos went undefeated in all three backstroke events at the World Cup, and set short-course world records in the 100 and 200 distances.
Mollie O’Callaghan
After winning the world title for the first time in Fukuoka in 2023, the Australian followed with an Olympic crown in the 200 freestyle and another world championship in Singapore. But the 21-year-old wasn’t quite sure how fast she could perform in the short-course pool. Well, she provided an impressive answer, as she set two world records during the World Cup and swept the event’s three stops
Gretchen Walsh
The 2025 season has gotten better and better for Walsh with each passing month. In long course, she broke two world records before the World Championships, and then she won her first ever world titles in the 50 and 100 butterfly in Singapore. Afterward, she turned her focus to her short-course excellence and the results were as everyone expected. Walsh was dominant at the World Cup, with sweeps arriving easily in both butterfly events.
Kaylee McKeown
The Australian superstar, who has won back-to-back Olympic crowns in both backstroke events, captured the 200 backstroke title at the Singapore World Champs. At the World Cup, the two stops featured spectacular duels with American Regan Smith, and McKeown staying unbeaten with world records at the last two legs.
Kate Douglass
The American backed up her Olympic gold medal in the 200 breaststroke with a world championship in the event in Singapore, and she blasted the competition at all three World Cup meets. While Douglass was unbeaten in the 200 breaststroke between the World Champs and World Cup, her world-record efforts in the 100 freestyle actually highlighted the North American racing she logged.