New World Cup Rules Take Effect With 1st Stop In Moscow August 2nd

Now that the FINA World Championships have concluded we turn our eyes towards competition in Moscow, the first stop of the 2017 World Cup Series. Taking place at the JSC Olympisky Sports Complex, Moscow marks the first of 3 stops in cluster #1, which also includes Berlin on August 6th and 7th as well as Eindhoven on August 10th and 11th. The entire series schedule is seen below:

2017 FINA World Cup Schedule:

• Cluster 1:
  • Moscow, August 2-3
  • Berlin, August 6-7
  • Eindhoven, August 11-12
• Cluster 2:
  • Hong Kong, September 30-October 1
  • Doha, October 4-5
• Cluster 3:
  • Beijing, November 10-11
  • Tokyo, November 14-15
  • Singapore, November 18-19

Moscow marks the first meet in which we’ll see the newly defined FINA World Cup rules in action. We’ll see Olympic and World medalists bypassing prelims and instead having direct access to finals, while the controversial rule of limiting swimmers to 4 individual races per leg will also be in place.

Below are a few other notable changes to this year’s World Cup parameters:

• Olympic and World medallists will have direct access to finals;
• Maximum of 25 events per leg – over a three-leg cluster, each event (i.e. 50m breast, 200m back, 400m IM, 1500m free…) is swum twice and up to six times during the Series;
• Increased awards for each race, with the first six ranked swimmers getting prize money (total per race: US$ 3’900). Relays will also be entitled to prize money. The overall amount for prize money will ascend to over US$ 2 million;
• Enhanced sport presentation and TV production in all legs;
• Additional promotional activities on-site, involving the participating Stars;
• The medal ceremonies will be held at the end of each day, in the form of a Parade of Champions.

In terms of the prize money, an individual gold is worth $1500, silver $1000 and bronze $500 as has been the case in the past. However, this time around we’ll also see the next 3 finishers also cash in, with $400 going to 4th place, $300 for 5th and $200 for 6th, giving a total prize purse of $3900 per individual event. Relays will have a monetary prize of $3,000 for first; $2,000 for second; and $1,000 for third.

Here are the links specific to the Moscow stop taking place on Wednesday, August 2nd and Thursday, August 3rd:

• Meet Site
• Results

The 2016 edition of the Moscow World Cup saw domestic aces Vlad Morozov, Yuliya Efimova and Kliment Kolesnikov take to the pool along with American Katie Meili, Aussie Mitch Larkin and South African Chad Le Clos.

Although the start lists have yet to be published for Moscow, World Championship gold medalists Emily Seebohm of Australia and Katinka Hosszu of Hungary are expected to compete.