The most decorated Australian Olympian, 5-time Olympic champion, Emma McKeon sits on top of the women’s chart now (170 points), however her advantage before Kira Toussaint of the Netherlands (169.2 points) and her teammate Madison Wilson (156.3 points) is not overwhelming.

What I expect is a very hot week-end, and very interesting finals.  I am happy to be back to Kazan as well.
By Emma Mckeon

She added: “I hope to keep my lead, - she stated. - But I will mostly be focused on my own swimming, I will try to improve my time. First I visited the city in 2015, for the world championships, where I had my first individual races. Then we competed at the stadium, now – in the Aquatics Palace of Kazan. All in all, Russia is very different from Australia, but I like it. The competition will be held without spectators, like we did in Tokyo. That’s our new reality. That does not help to swim, but there is no choice”.

Vladimir Morozov of Russia, defending overall champion, seemed to be happy to return to Kazan, although he does not so well in the ranking (#9 on 126.8 points) as he used to in 2019.

First of all, my main goal is to keep fit, and my paramount goal is to try qualify for the World Championships, - said Vladimir Morozov. – In August, I had COVID, and my fit was zero. Then I got recovered and started to train hard. I guess I am not in the best shape now, as for the previous leg it was 7 out of 10. So maybe in Kazan I will try to beat Chalmers.
By Vladimir Morozov

I love swimming in Kazan, - he added with a smile. - Unfortunately, we will swim with not a spectator in front of us, and we will badly miss them, people of Kazan, who usually come and support us passionately” 

Vladimir Salnikov, Russian Swimming Federation President, opened the press-conference, expressing anticipation to see a lot of swimming stars in action.

“I am happy to welcome top international swimmers in Kazan, the sport capital of Russia. Kazan has been serving floor for the world’s major competitions for 6 years now, and every time we have a big swimming meet here, we open up new opportunities for the local athletes. Young and promising swimmers can compete and practice back to back with the strong names and world stars, thus learning a lot and increasing their motivation to achieve big results. And of course, Swimming World Cup in Kazan is a big promo for the aquatics, which can give a big impulse for further development of the sport in the area”.

Vladimir Leonov, sport minister of Tatarstan, expressed gratitude to FINA for the opportunity to stage the climax of the Swimming World Cup season.

“The 4th leg of the FINA Swimming World Cup in Kazan is a big celebration for us, and we confess we have been waiting for it for a while. COVID pandemic hit us all, most international sport competitions have been cancelled or rescheduled for fully 2 years. When it seemed the worst is over, there came another pandemic wave, so I shall admit we are organizing the competitions under strict anti-COVID regulations, and we shall follow all rules to make it a COVID-free story. It is not an easy task for everyone to follow them, but it is the only possible way at the moment.

We are sure, that the Kazan’s stop will be a success. There are 292 athletes representing 37 nations at the starting orders, and we hope, that everyone will like swimming in Kazan. It is a big honor for us, that our stop will be also a qualification event for the Abu-Dhabi Worlds”.

Craig Hunter, FINA Swimming Technical Committee Vice Chairman paid a compliment to the Organising Committee for the big job they have done to make the Swimming World Cup Leg #4 in Kazan happen:

“On behalf of FINA and our President Husain Al Musallam let us welcome all at the 4th stop of the FINA Swimming World Cup and convey our thanks to the authorities of the Republic of Tatarstan, to the Russian Swimming Federation and to FINA partners for the collaboration. The competitions will be staged at the Aquatics Palace, wonderful facility, very comfortable and modern. We have the largest number of participating nations in Kazan - 37, and the highest number of competitors, representing clubs - over 190 athletes. We are really excited to see who the overall winners will be and we cannot wait up the Saturday evening awarding ceremony. All stars in place here in Kazan, all top swimmers, who will be a part of the clash on overall titles. We are also hopeful to see some new world records in Kazan”.

Impressive field of over 290 world’s fastest short-course swimmers of 37 nations are to contest the highest individual honors of the meet and overall titles. The fourth and the final leg of the FINA Swimming World Cup is set to get underway in Kazan on 28 October, 2021.