FINA is pleased to announce that next year’s FINA Champions Swim Series will comprise two legs in January 2020. The first event will take place in Shenzhen (CHN) on January 14-15, while Beijing (CHN) will stage the second meet of the Series on January 18-19. Olympic and World Championships medallists, World Cup stars, World Records holders and top-ranked athletes in the world ranking will be invited to the competition, successfully launched by FINA in 2019.
Following the very positive feedback from athletes and coaches, the programme of the Series will include 28 individual events and two relays (mixed 4x100m free and 4x100m medley) over two days of exciting competition. Maintaining also the popular 2019 formula, only finals will be held, with four athletes per race. The competition will be staged in 50m-pool.
The sport performances will be completed by an attractive entertainment show, both for spectators on site and fans around the globe.
The allocation of prize money will continue distributing US$ 10,000 for the first in each race, US$ 8,000 for the second best, US$ 6,000 for the third-ranked swimmer and US$ 5,000 to the fourth in the final. Prize money will also be available for relay events. Moreover, appearance fee will be provided to all invited athletes, who will have their travel, accommodation and local meals also covered.
The main goals of this new international gathering are to give high-level swimmers increased attention and additional occasions to compete, thus generating stronger international TV, digital and media interest, and creating another world-class platform for Swimming on a yearly basis.
The 2019 edition included three meets in Guangzhou (CHN, April 27-28), Budapest (HUN, May 11-12) and Indianapolis (USA; May 31-June 1). 110 swimmers from 25 nations took part in this inaugural edition.