LAUSANNE – FINA this morning officially announced the eight cities which will host meets in this fall’s World Cup circuit, including the addition of Chartres, France, as a new host.
Chartres will be one of the highlights of the circuit, with reports that Michael Phelps will compete there in August. The meet will be held August 15-16, less than a week after the conclusion of the long course world championships. Phelps will not compete in the world championships, but many of the top athletes from worlds will likely hop over to France from Russia for the opportunity to earn some cash.
France is returning to hosting the World Cup after a couple of decades away. Paris was a host in the 1990s during an earlier version of the World Cup that ran through the winter months.
The Chartres meet will be the second in the series. Moscow will host the first competition August 11-12, which is two days after the conclusion of worlds. Last year, the first stop of the World Cup was held three days after worlds, and brought a few gold medalists to the Netherlands.
The series will continue in six cities familiar with the World Cup series: Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo, Doha and Qatar.
2015 FINA World Cup schedule
Cluster 1
Moscow (RUS) August 11-12, 2015
Chartres-Paris (FRA) August 15-16, 2015
Cluster 2
Hong Kong (HKG) September 25-26, 2015
Beijing (CHN) September 29-30, 2015
Singapore (SIN) October 3-4, 2015
Cluster 3
Tokyo (JPN) October 28-29, 2015
Doha (QAT) November 2-3, 2015
Dubai (UAE) November 6-7, 2015
Chad Le Clos and Katinka Hosszu are likely to return to the World Cup series in an effort to defend their 2014 titles. Le Clos was a perfect 27-for-27 in 2014, winning the men’s overall title. Hosszu was untouchable once again in 2014, winning the women’s title and setting multiple world records in the individual medley events. The two were named world swimmers of the year by FINA, decided mostly from their performances in the World Cup.