Approximately 250 divers from 50 National Federations arrived in Rio de Janeiro (BRA) for arguably the most important competition on the road to the 2016 Olympic Games, the 20th edition of the FINA Diving World Cupto be held from February 19-24 in the Brazilian city.
The six-day competition, which features all eight Olympic events, will take place at the Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre, the venue proposed for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio, and will double up as the Rio 2016 test event for the sport.
The event will not only provide athletes with a chance to compete at the Olympic venue, it will also offer an additional opportunity to qualify for the Games, with 88 places up for grabs.
British star Tom Daley, Canada’s best divers such as Vincent Riendeau and Maxim Bouchard, China’s ace Qiu Bo and World Champion He Chao will be among the divers who will battle for Olympic places at renovated Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre.
In the women’s field, Australia’s Melissa Wu, Ren Qian and Best athlete of the year (2015) Shi Tingmao from powerhouse China, Lois Toulson of Great Britain and Canadian pair Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion are also set to make a splash.
Built for the 2007 Pan-American Games, the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre – which will also stage the synchronised swimming competition and group stages of the water polo tournament during the Olympic Games in August – has undergone renovations ahead of the test event. The new facilities include a dry training room and a new warm-up pool that is connected to the competition pool.
Swimming news courtesy of FINA.
