Swimming stars ready to shine in Lausanne (SUI)

Some of the stars attending the second edition of the Lausanne Swim Cup, taking place on December 20-21, were present in today’s Press Conference to introduce the event in the Olympic Capital. After a successful inaugural meet in 2016, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) is back to Switzerland and ready to shine at the Mon-Repos 25m-pool. The Magyar great won three gold medals at the Rio Olympic Games and has 13 podium presences at the FINA World Championships, including her four medals last July at home, in Budapest.

“It’s a great way to finish the year! I was a bit scared last year, for the first edition, but the experience was so nice that I am here again! Given the level of the athletes present here in Lausanne, I better start training hard for the meeting”, Hosszu considered, smiling.

Other big names attending the competition, supported by FINA, are Ranomi Kromowidjojo, from the Netherlands, three-time Olympic champion and winner of 16 medals at the FINA World Championships. Leah Smith (USA) will also make the travel to Switzerland: the North American star won two medals at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (bronze in the 400m free and gold in the 4x200m free relay) and was three times on the podium at the 2017 FINA World Championships – gold in the 4x200m free, silver in the 400m free and bronze in the 800m free.

Among men, Daiya Seto (JPN) leads a strong Japanese delegation. The 23-year-old ace was third in the 400m IM at the Rio Olympics and earned two more bronze medals at the 2017 Worlds: 200m fly and 400m IM. Moreover, he has an impressive collection of 10 medals at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), from 2012 to 2016. His teammate Kosuke Hagino, 2016 Olympic champion in the 400m IM and 2017 world vice-champion in the 200m IM will also compete at the highest level in Lausanne.

Norimasa Hirai, Head Coach of the Japanese Team explained the presence of a powerful 24-swimmer delegation: “We heard about this meeting in Budapest during the FINA World Championships. We immediately got interested, as none of us has ever visited Switzerland. We know it’s a very beautiful country, so I am sure we’ll enjoy very much our experience here. Also, I believe this is a good opportunity to finish the year with a strong competition, aimed at the wider preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games”.

Michael Andrew, 18 years old, is one of the most talented US swimmers, shining at the 2015 and 2017 editions of the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, and collecting 10 medals at the two competitions. He was also one of the athletes in great shape at the 2016 edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Windsor (CAN), climbing three times to the podium of the competition.

“I had a great time last year and I see that the level has really improved in 2017! Switzerland is a beautiful country and I surely want to break some records during the meet”, said the US athlete.

From the side of the organisers, Christophe Debize, the Executive Director of the competition, was a happy man: “Some of the finals here in Lausanne will be of world level! We are very proud to gather so many top-level stars in just the second edition of the event. This proves that’s attractive to come here. For our youth and children, this is certainly a great inspiration, and the city schools have been mobilised for the competition”.

 
The list of participants in Lausanne also includes: Chase Kalisz and Kevin Cordes (USA), Pieter Timmers (BEL), Femke Heemskerk (NED), David Verraszto (HUN), Philipp Heintz and Franziska Hentke (GER), Taylor Ruck (CAN), Andrii Govorov (UKR), Mehdy Metella and Anna Santamans (FRA). Seventeen nations will be represented in the meet, distributing a total of around US$ 80,000 in prize money. The competition will take place in a six-lane 25m-pool according with the following schedule (hours in local time): December 20 – heats at 10h30, finals at 19h00; December 21 – heats at 9h30, finals at 18h00.