Pieter Coetze enjoyed two top-three finishes and set an African record in the 50 back on day two of the World Cup in Incheon, South Korea.
Leon Marchand and Duncan Scott tussled once more in the 200IM while Siobhan Haughey claimed her second 200 free win to go within one victory of the triple crown.
Regan Smith commanded the spotlight with a world record of 54.41 in the 100 back with the American now the owner of the short and long-course marks.
The second stage of the World Cup 2024 concludes on Saturday in Incheon before the final leg in Singapore which runs from 31 October to 2 November.
Mary-Sophie Harvey took over the lead from Yu Yiting going into the freestyle leg and extended her lead to come home in a 4:26.23 PB and her second victory in as many days following her 400 win on the opening day.
Yu was second in 4:27.81 followed by Tara Kinder of Australia (4:29.02).
Pieter Coetze was the only man inside 23secs as he set an African record of 22.80 ahead of Isaac Cooper (23.10) and Thierry Bollin, the Swiss claiming his first World Cup medal in 23.20.
Coetze, the 2022 Commonwealth silver medallist, cut 0.04 from his own African mark of 22.84 set at the 2022 World Short-Course Championships in Melbourne, Australia.
Siobhan Haughey was 0.6 off her WR at the halfway stage and extended her lead throughout for a dominant victory in 1:51.02.
Brittany Castelluzzo went second at halfway, a position she maintained to touch in 1:54.11 with Milla Jansen making it an Australian 2-3 in 1:54.98.
This was a real thriller of a race with Leon Marchand and Duncan Scott renewing rivalries after they finished 1-2 last week in Shanghai.
The Frenchman set a European and World Cup record of 1:50.30 in China but it was Scott who led through the fly and breaststroke legs, turning 0.19 ahead.
Marchand surged on the breaststroke and had built up a 0.49 lead by 150. Scott clawed his way back through the water and reduced the deficit to 0.14 at the final turn.
The four-time Olympic champion more than held firm with a 12.59 final 25 – the fastest in the field – propelling him to the win in 1:50.91 with victory greeted with a thumbs-up.
Scott repeated his Shanghai second in 1:51.25 with Seto third in 1:52.36.
This was a real tussle with Qin Haiyang edging victory by 0.02 over Ilya Shymanovich, the Chinese touching in 25.76 to 25.78.
Choi Dongyeol of South Korea was third in 26.05.
Kate Douglass went within 0.4 of Therese Alshammar‘s WR of 24.38 in prelims, a mark that has stood since November 2009.
The American already has one global standard under her belt in Incheon after her 2:14.16 in the 200m breaststroke on Thursday and on Friday she was a clear winner in 24.73, 0.15 off Claire Curzan’s national record of 24.55.
Sara Junevik of Sweden and Lily Price of Australia shared second in 25.27.
Jamie Jack led throughout to win in 46.48 ahead of Hwang Sunwoo who took second from lane eight in 46.60.
Pieter Coetze continued his fine night in the pool, adding freestyle bronze in 46.74 to his backstroke gold.
Tang Qianting was inside the pace of the 1:02.36 world record shared by Alia Atkinson and Ruta Meilutyte throughout the race and the prospect of a second global mark of the session was a distinct possibility.
However, the WR line got away in the final few metres with the Chinese athlete stopping the clock at 1:02.82, outside the Asian mark of 1:02.53 she set last week in Shanghai.
Alina Zmushka was second in 1:04.12 with Sophie Angus of Canada coming from fourth at the final turn to move past Benedetta Pilato and take third in 1:05.41.
Trenton Julian was 0.76 ahead of Chad le Clos at the 175 mark which heralded a blistering final 25 of 14.10 by the South African.
The American’s lead was enough for him to hold on and take the win in 1:51.00 to 1:51.07 with Italy’s Alberto Razzetti third in 1:52.23.
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