Kenneth To Pulls Out of Asian Stops of 2013 FINA World Cup

Australia’s Kenneth To, who currently sits 3rd in the overall World Cup standings, has withdrawn from the Asian Leg of the event that begins in November.

• Eindhoven, Netherlands (August 7-8, 2013)
• Berlin, Germany (August 10-11, 2013)
• Moscow, Russia (October 12-13, 2013)
• Dubai, UAE (October 17-18, 2013)
• Doha, Qatar (October 20-21, 2013)
• Singapore (November 5-6,2013)
• Tokyo, Japan (November 9-10, 2013)
• Beijing, China (November 13-14, 2013)

The series will go on in Singapore on November 5th, but it will be without To, who says he had planned to swim in Asia, saying that a “break” and some tests (he’s studying Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney) were beckoning his attention at the moment.

“It’s always difficult balancing a university degree with swimming professionally, so I am disappointed to miss out on racing the rest of this year’s World Cup,” To said on Thursday morning in Australia. “The series in general and my win last year had a huge impact on my career and I’ve enjoyed racing every one of the previous 13 stops I have been apart of. But alongside swimming well is my passion and commitment to progress in my physiotherapy degree which, at times, I have had to sacrifice in pursuit of my swimming goals. The decision to not race in Asia rebalances my time and priorities and will allow me to focus freely on my studies, upcoming exams in 3 weeks, as well as be refreshed for a big 2014 season ahead.”

After a slow start to the series, To really picked things up on the Middle Eastern leg, with a final money total that sits now north of $50,000.

To, who has always been a gracious swimmer, also used his Twitter account to wish good luck to the other 5 swimmers who finished in the top 6 of the men’s standings in the 2nd cluster (and therefore won big cluster prizes): Chad le Clos, Vlad Morozov, Tom Shields, Bobby Hurley, and Roland Schoeman.

With To bowing out, and Chad le Clos and Vlad Morozov seemingly all but out-of-reach in the overall standings presuming they swim at all three meets to finish the series, now opens things up a little more for the 3rd spot in the overall men’s standings. That position is worth $30,000.

Bobby Hurley is in a pole position to get there, but American Tom Shields is easily within reach of that position if he continues to have the kind of meets he did in Doha (and swims the series out).

The standings through two clusters are below.

R = Ranking Points (12 for a win, 9 for a 2nd, 6 for a 3rd)
P=Performance Points (top three swims in each stop, + record bonuses)