SINGAPORE - Fresh off their medal-winning exploits at the Rio Olympics, a host of big name will be in Singapore for next month's Fina/airweave Swimming World Cup presented by Yakult.
Among the stars for the Oct 21-22 competition at the OCBC Aquatic Centre include three-time Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu, Australia's latest swim sensation Kyle Chalmers and Asian talents Daiya Seto and Masato Sakai.
They, together with the likes of South African duo Chad Le Clos and Cameron Van Der Burgh, make up the world-class field that features more than 20 Olympic and World Championship medalists in this year's Singapore stopover, the highest tally since 2010.
Last year's overall World Cup winners were Hosszu (women) and van der Burgh (men). Hosszu won the 100m backstroke, 200m & 400m individual medley Olympic titles in Brazil and Chalmers bagged the men's 100m freestyle event.
This is the 10th year of the prestigious international meet in the Republic and is the seventh leg of this season's three-month competition. The eighth stop will be in Tokyo (Oct 25-26) and ninth and final meet in Hong Kong (Oct 29-30).
The high-level competition has been crucial in developing the sport here, said Singapore Swimming Association vice-president (swimming) Josecelin Yeo.
She said: "Over the past 10 years, our local swimming fraternity of athletes, coaches and officials have had the opportunity to work and swim with the world's best. This has not only inspired generations of swimmers but has benefited the wider aquatic community in Singapore, with our coaches and officials also having an opportunity to learn from the world's best.
"Such competitions are critical to the development of the sport and having it in Singapore provides an opportunity for Singapore to come together to witness world class sporting action and cheer on our Team Singapore athletes."
The host is expected to send a contingent of 40 national swimmers, while another 160 local club swimmers will also participate.
The third edition of the Yakult Relay Challenge, a non-competitive 4x25m relay event, will introduce a corporate participation category for the first time alongside the family, schools, master and open classes.
Tickets can be purchased online at sportshubtix.com from Sept 21 and will be available at the Singapore Indoor Stadium Box Office and all SingPost Outlets.
