The 7th and penultimate meet of the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup 2015 (50m) that will take place tomorrow and after tomorrow, November 2nd and 3rd at the Hamad Swimming Complex in Doha – the same excellent venue which last December played host to the FINA Swimming World Championships (25m) – this morning was preceded by a press conference.
In front of a floor crowded by local and international media, the president of the Qatari swimming federation and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Mr. Khaleel Al Jabir, introduced the event, emphasising how this meet and the constant co-operation with FINA are crucial for the development of swimming in Qatar. He said: “Today, we see Qatar’s commitment to growing and supporting the development of swimming continue as we prepare for the opening day of the FINA/ airweave Swimming World Cup – Doha. Over the next two days we will welcome sports fans, families and friends all witnessing the excitement of one of the most thrilling sports on earth. Each and every one of the competing athletes deserves and needs the support of fans and I would encourage everyone in Qatar enjoy this special sporting occasion.”
Sitting beside him, both last – and previous – year’s winners, Hungary’s “Iron Lady” Katinka Hosszu and South Africa’s Chad Le Clos said they were happy to be back to Doha’s Hamad Swimming Complex, an excellent venue, suitable for great performances. However both made clear that from their side it would be wrong to create high expectations in term of fast times, as both are currently through a heavy training period.
The Magyar said: “I will swim many races and will give my best, as always, but do not expect any world record here this time”. She detailed “I love to come back to Doha. I believe I have broken seven world records in this pool, so it’s one of my favorite places to race for sure. I’m excited this year, it’s going to be long course competition so it will be a little bit different this year, and I’m excited to race here tomorrow. I feel ready to race. I will be competing in a lot of events and I will try the best I can.”
South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, 200m butterfly Olympic champion and reigning 100m butterfly world champion is a real crowd favourite in Doha. He commented: “I am training really hard in this period and I will be happy with whatever it comes. Fast times are not impossible but they are not likely either. This season my mind is focused on the Olympic Games, next year in Rio (and on the duels with Michael Phelps). Here I am likely to swim the 100 and 200m freestyle and all the butterfly events”. Then he added: “Doha for me is a very lucky pool. Last year was a fantastic for me, I received the FINA Athlete of the Year award right here in Doha, and I also became the first man to do the fly triple, so I just want to thank everybody here for your support”. “One of the reasons I always come back here is because it’s the best competition. I’m not sure how fast I can go but I’m here to compete against the best in the world”.
A total of 349 swimmers, representing, 46 national federations, have entered this meet.
Strong contingents are announced from Australia (headed by Emily Seebohm and Mich Larkin, the best in the previous meet in Tokyo), the United States (with Michael Andrews, who multi medaled at the Junior World Championships earlier this year, veteran Natalie Coughlin, Tom Shields, Caitlin Leverenz, etc.), Great Britain (James Guy, Ross Murdoch, Andrew Willis, Jazz Carlin, Jemma Lowe, Liam Tancock, Rosie Rudin), Italy (Federica Pellegrini, Filippo Magnini, Luca Dotto), France (Jeremy Stravius and the returning Yannick Agnel), Japan and China. Argentina’s sprinter Federico Grabich, who medalled in Kazan in the 100m freestyle, will line up in the sprint events. From Hungary, besides Hosszu, there will be Daniel Gyurta, Zsuzsanna Jakabos and David Verraszto.