ASTANA — Canada’s Taylor Ruck swam to a gold medal in the women’s 200-metre backstroke Friday at a World Aquatics Swimming World Cup event. Ruck swam to victory in a time of two minutes 2.29 seconds. The 26-year-old from Kelowna, B.C., won gold in the same event at last week’s World Cup stop in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Anna Peplowski of the United States was second in 2:03.81, and Ellen Walshe of Ireland finished third in 2:04.33. Ruck’s medal was Canada’s first at the Astana World Cup stop, which is the final event of the circuit and runs through Saturday. She enters the final day of competition with seven medals over the three events. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026. The Canadian Press
