Stage Set for Hosting Second Leg of FINA World Cup

Doha, September 10 (QNA) -The Qatar Swimming Association has completed its preparations for hosting the second leg of FINA World Cup later this month. Last year's overall winners Chad Le Clos and Sarah Sjostrom will look for repeat success at the Hamad Aquatic Centre. Over 100 swimmers representing 20 countries, with almost all the prominent names in the sport have confirmed their participation for the Doha leg (long course), which will take place at Doha's state-of-the-art aquatic centre from September 13 to15. Olympic and World Champion Le Clos the last year's overall winner at FINA World Cup will continue his love affair with Doha where he picked six medals including four gold medals last year. Russian world record holder Vladimir Morozov and his compatriot Kirill Prigoda will join the South African maestro in men's battles. American Michael Andrew, who won four titles at the US Nationals this year and Aussie Mitchell Larkin have also confirmed their participation. The women line-up also offers a treat for fans as Sweden's Sjostrom the last year's overall winner and Hungary's Katinka Hosszu, famous as the 'Iron Lady' will also return to Doha, promising top-notch action. Hosszu's compatriot Zsuzsanna Jakabos, Dutchwoman Ranomi Kromowidjojo and China's Yifan Yang are among the other female stars who will also be seen in action in Doha. Swimmers will fly to the Qatari capital after competing in the opening leg of this year's FINA World Cup, scheduled in Kazan, Russia from September 7 to 9. Doha leg will conclude Cluster 1 comprising long course contests, with the remaining two clusters of the FINA Swimming World Cup to be competed on short course. The Cluster 2 includes Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Budapest (Hungary) meets while legs in Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan) and Singapore form Cluster 3. Qatar, the host country for 2023 FINA World Championships, has been hosting the FINA World Cup legs successfully since 2012 and, the Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) President Khaleel Al Jabir said the Organising Committee was confident of delivering another blockbuster event. "The Qatar Swimming Association is honored to welcome the world's best swimmers in Doha for the FINA Swimming World Cup 2018," Al Jabir said. "One of our main goals when we first hosted the event back in 2012 was to promote swimming in Qatar and in the region as a whole, to inspire new athletes and to introduce new fans to this exciting sport. We thank FINA and its partners for their continued support, which has helped us in achieving our mission. "This year's FINA Swimming World Cup will continue to build on this success," he added. (QNA)