Hungarian Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu stayed true to form and lived up to her nickname of Iron Lady by winning 4 of her 5 events on the first day of the FINA/Airweave Swimming World Cup 2016 in Singapore.

Hosszu, 27, won the 100m fly in 56:02, 200m IM in 2:06:25, 200m back in 2:01:66 and 200m free in 1:53:17. She clinched a silver in the 50m back in 26:18.

Another big name whose people’s eyes are on, South Africa’s Chad le Clos, won a gold and silver medal for the men’s 50m rfly and men 200m fly respectively. The 24-year-old had been travelling and training alone for this cluster.

When addressing the press, he said: “My performance today was not too good. I was a little bit slow tonight I felt a little sluggish. I knew it was going to be tough coming from a long travel.”


Le Clos ©Singapore Swimming Association / Lim Yong Teck

Alia Atkinson from Jamaica came in first in her pet event, the 100m breast, with a timing of 1:02:40. However, got the 8th position in the 200m IM with a timing of 2:14:32.

She said: “I am always a little nervous because you don’t know how the training has been going you don’t know how the body is feeling- whether it’s in the training mode or vacation mode. So it’s always a little rough for me emotionally. So I always have to remember and have the confidence that no matter what happens I am okay.”

The 27-year- old also mentioned that her mother is here and she is following her for emotional and physical support.

She knows when my performance is on or off, she will give me her perspective,” added Alia.

The Singapore athletes did not win any medal on the opening day but they remained optimistic and were grateful for their experience.


Hosszu ©Singapore Swimming Association / Lim Yong Teck

Swimmer Lionel Khoo from Singapore said: “I am surprised of my performance because I am swimming with the experts and doing well is a bonus. FINA is very important to me as it gives me a lot of exposure.”

The seventh leg of the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup 2016 has seen 190 international swimmers from 33 countries visiting Singapore for the elite competition. Singapore alone has seen the largest contingent of local swimmers, represented by 150 swimmers from the national team and various swimming clubs.

Crowd favourite and South Africa’s most decorated Olympian Chad le Clos continued to dominate his pet event of the 50m fly, where he emerged first with a timing of 22.33 seconds. He continued to pick up medals for his pet events, clinching the silver in the 200m fly.

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, the ‘Iron Lady’, continued her dominance in the pool, picking up four gold medals and one silver throughout the five finals for the first day.

Our Team Singapore swimmers continued to do the nation proud, with national swimmer Lionel Khoo thrilling fans at the OCBC Aquatic Centre in the men’s 200m breast, surging to break the national record at 2:11.80 with a fifth placing finish.

Check out the results of Day 1 here