The three-stop World Aquatics World Cup saw short-course world records fall and many of the sport’s biggest stars build toward the World Championships.
But it was also a huge financial boost for a lot of professional swimmers across the globe.
The World Cup provided prize money based on finishes as well as bonuses for world records and for triple crowns – winning the same event at all three stops, and for the series point total.
It was a nice boost for most of the swimmers, but a sizeable boost for several.
U.S. star Kate Douglass won the women’s point total and earned a total prize winnings of $184,000.
Douglass earned $12,000 in prize money on the first stop, $10,000 on the second and $12,000 on the third. She had two $10,000 world record bonuses, three $10,000 triple crown bonuses and earned $100,000 for winning the series.
Second in the earnings was another U.S. star, Regan Smith. She totaled $152,000 after finishing second in the series, setting three world records and earning two triple crowns.
Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey was third with $61,400 with one triple crown bonus, while Qianting Tang was fourth at $48,100 with two triple crown bonuses.
Poland’s Kasia Wasick totaled $35,100 in earnings with one triple crown to finish ahead of China’s Yiting Yu ($32,500).
Canada’s versatile star Mary-Sophie Harvey was seventh with $31,000 in earnings, while Alina Zmushka ($26,400), USA’s Beata Nelson ($15,000) and Canada’s Ingrid Wilm ($14,600) rounded out the top 10 in women’s earnings.
Not surprisingly, Leon Marchand was the leading money winner in the men’s World Cup, claiming a total of $174,000. He earned $12,000 in prize money at stop one, $10,000 at stop two and $12,000 at stop three. He got a $10,000 world record bonus, $30,000 in triple crown bonuses and another $100,000 for winning the series point championship.
Switzerland’s Noe Ponti claimed a total of $142,000, while Great Britain’s Duncan Scott was at $59,500 and South Africa’s Pieter Coetze was at $54,500.
The rest of the World Cup top 10 was rounded out by China’s Haiyang Qin ($42,000), Ilya Shymanovich ($27,900), Australia’s Isaac Cooper ($26,400), Italy’s Thomas Ceccon ($25,000), Netherlands’ Nyls Korstanje ($15,300) and Caspar Corbeau ($14,600).
The top U.S. men’s performer was Kieran Smith, who was 12th overall with earnings of $13,900.