By Terin Frodyma on SwimSwam
World Aquatics World Cup #2 – Tashkent
October 8-10, 2026 Tashkent, Uzbekistan SCM (25 meters) Meet Central Results Psych SheetsIt’s time for the next leg of the Silk Road Tour of the World Cup to begin, as some of the sport’s top talents reconvene in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, hoping to climb the World Cup standings and deliver more headline-worthy swims.
Here are a few storylines to watch as the Silk Road Tour continues through Tashkent.
The Next Chapter of McEvoy and Kornev
One of the most exciting matchups coming into this World Cup was the colossal clash between two of the best sprinters in the history of the sport. Australia’s Cam McEvoy and Egor Kornev squared off three times in Baku and will go toe-to-toe three more times in Tashkent.
The two faced off in both the 50 and 100 free, as well as the 50 fly. Arguably the best battle came in the 50 free, where we got an early taste of how close these two are. McEvoy squeaked out the win in 20.22, clocking a new World Cup and Oceanic Record in the process. Kornev was not far off, touching only four hundredths behind McEvoy in 20.26, largely due to a big 2nd 25 (10.60).
The two also delivered a memorable race in the 100 free, though it was not as close as the 50; that race will be remembered for Egor Kornev tying the 100 free world record in 44.84, though McEvoy still wound up with the silver in 45.36, the only other swimmer in the field under 46 seconds.
The 50 fly was all Kornev, who won by nearly a half second in 21.64, with McEvoy touching 7th in 22.46.
Eyes will be glued to the screen for those 50 and 100 freestyle races. The 50 could be a toss-up, though McEvoy has a slight momentum advantage, having thrown down a strong time for the win last week. The 100 free is all Kornev, considering he is one of the two fastest performers ever in the event; he could be on his way to breaking that tie for the World Record and cementing himself as the fastest in history.
Can Anybody Contend with Steenbergen in the Women’s Points Standings?
Marrit Steenbergen was about as dominant as she could be in Azerbaijan, accumulating four wins and one runner-up finish in just three days of action.
Heading into the 2nd stop of this World Cup, Steenbergen holds a four-point lead over the rest of the women’s field in the World Cup points standings with 58.2 points, giving her a four-point lead over 2nd-place Roos Vanotterdijk with 54.2 points.
The gap between Vanotterdijk and the next three swimmers is less than the scoring gap between her and Steenbergen for 1st and 2nd.
The real question is whether anybody can catch her, or at least move into position to do so, heading into stop 3.
Vanotterdijk is the obvious favorite, as she is the closest competitor in the points and was a two-time winner last week in the 50 fly (24.96) and the 100 fly (55.29). She notably finished runner-up to Steenbergen in one of the tightest battles of the first top in the 100 IM, clocking 56.84 in the 100 IM, two hundredths of a second behind Steenbergen’s 56.82. She has a lot of speed and versatility, but so does Steenbergen, though she has the edge in raw speed.
Yu Yiting sits 3rd in the points standings with 53.7 points. Winning both the 200 and 400 IMs in 2:02.80 and 4:24.09, while also securing a bronze medal in the 100 IM in 56.99.
It’s a bit of a stretch to think that someone can catch Steenbergen, especially after seeing a near-perfect showing last week. But there will be matchups this week where, if Steenbergen doesn’t pull out a win or delivers a not-so-stellar swim, the standings could shift all around.
What can Casas do in Tashkent?
Shaine Casas picked up a win, a runner-up finish, and a 3rd-place finish in Baku, which makes for an intriguing 2nd stop after giving a glimpse of the condition of the American talent.
He won the 200 free, clocking 1:41.50 on the final night of competition. He finished one hundredth of a second outside of the gold medal in the 100 IM in 51.58, and wound up 3rd in the 100 back in 49.89.
One of the big storylines coming into this World Cup was what version of Casas we would get since parting ways with the Bob Bowman-led Texas Pro Group; all in all, Casas looks to be in pretty strong racing shape.
He is entered in the 200 free, 100 fly, and 100/200 IMs for this stop in Tashkent, which removes his chances of competing for another 100 back medal.
That will be an enticing race, as he sits 5th on the entries list, behind the likes of Andrei Minakov, Chen Juner, and So Ogata, though in this format, it is anybody’s race.
The win in the 200 free was promising for things to come, considering he finished nearly a full second ahead of He Yubo of China for the win.
Domestic fans of Casas know that when he is on, he is hard to beat and, seemingly, in stride, no matter the event. But in a three-week format like this, it is never a guarantee we will get that desired version of Casas.
Raising the Barr
Luke Barr was a breakout star in Baku, coming away with three wins, claiming both the 100 and 200 IMs in 51.57 and 1:51.34, respectively, as well as a near American Record in the 200 breast in 2:01.73.
He made a statement, though now he will be expected to repeat as the winner in three events over the next two stops, which is no small task.
If we are looking at one event to really zone in on, it should be the 200 breast; after coming just .13 seconds from a new American Record, the hope is that he can find that next gear and break it in Tashkent. He was also in a thriller in the 100 IM in Baku, where he used a sensational back half to beat fellow countryman Shaine Casas by .01, setting up what could be a great battle over the next two stops.
He is coming off of one of the best seasons of his career this past summer, and that fire has not died down in the slightest; if anything, it is burning brighter. His short-course ability was on full display during his college years at Indiana, and that translates nearly perfectly to the short-course meters pool.
He is entered in all three of his winning events from last week, as well as the 100 breast, which he finished 4th in at 56.44. That event could be a good one for him, since his time was within less than .4 seconds of the win, but the field as a whole is pretty deep.
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