Star-Studded Field Set To Compete At Opening Leg Of FINA World Cup In Berlin

2021 FINA World Cup – Berlin

• October 1-3, 2021
• Europasportpark Pool (SSE), Berlin, Germany
• Short course meters (25m)
• Entries/Results

A loaded field is set to descend upon Berlin for the first of four stops on the 2021 FINA World Cup circuit, with the three-day meet set to kick off on Friday.

The field is headlined by a strong group of Australians who are fresh off of competing in the International Swimming League (ISL) regular season and will use the competition as a bridge between rounds as they await the ISL playoffs in mid-November. Due to strict quarantine rules in Australia, it seems all of the Aussie’s intent on racing the remainder of the ISL season have remained in Europe.

While official psych sheets aren’t yet live, a strong pool of names has been released by FINA that will be competing, including Emma McKeon, one of the stars of this summer’s Olympic Games after her record four gold, seven medal haul in Tokyo.

Other Australian swimmers confirmed to be in action are Kyle Chalmers, Minna Atherton, Zac Incerti, Matthew Temple, Leah Neale and Madi Wilson.

Wilson was hospitalized with COVID-19 just over a week ago, but did tell SwimSwam last Thursday that she was feeling much better and was planning on competing at the World Cup. While it’s possible Wilson is entered but won’t compete in Berlin, she did provide an update on Monday saying that she tested negative and is back in the water.

Some of the other noteworthy names competing include fellow ISL combatants Arno Kamminga, Chad Le Clos, Kylie Masse and Kira Toussaint, while some intriguing swimmers slated to race that haven’t been getting on the blocks the last several weeks in Naples include 2020 Olympic champions Maggie MacNeil, Lydia Jacoby and Florian Wellbrock.

CONFIRMED SWIMMERS COMPETING (PER FINA)

• Emma McKeon (AUS)
• Madi Wilson (AUS)
• Leah Neale (AUS)
• Minna Atherton (AUS)
• Kyle Chalmers (AUS)
• Zac Incerti (AUS)
• Matthew Temple (AUS)
• Kylie Masse (CAN)
• Maggie MacNeil (CAN)
• Florian Wellbrock (GER)
• Kira Toussaint (NED)
• Arno Kamminga (NED)
• Chad Le Clos (RSA)
• Yuliya Efimova (RUS)
• Michelle Coleman (SWE)
• Lydia Jacoby (USA)
• Blake Pieroni (USA)

There will be a total of $1,452,000 up for grabs over the course of the series, including $224,000 to the top 20 athletes of each stage (per gender) and an additional $556,000 available to the top 10 athletes at the end of each meet based on overall ranking.

For a full prize money breakdown, click here.

COMPETITION SCHEDULE

All four stops of the circuit will be raced in 25-meter pools, and will serve as qualifying events for the 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi (UAE) from December 16-21, 2021.

After the Berlin meet, the series will shift to Budapest (Oct. 7-9) before a two-week break that leads into the final two stops in Doha (Oct. 21-23) and Kazan (Oct. 28-30).

2021 FINA Swimming World Cup Schedule

• Berlin (GER) – October 1-3
• Budapest (HUN) – October 7-9
• Doha (QAT) – October 21-23
• Kazan (RUS) – October 28-30

The 2021 series was initially supposed to have six stops, but August dates in Jinan, China and Singapore were canceled in May.