Emma McKeon, Lydia Jacoby, Maggie MacNeil Lead Field Slated for FINA World Cup in Berlin
Emma McKeon is among the leading names entered in the first FINA World Cup stop in Berlin, which will run from Oct. 1-3.
In all, some 240 swimmers are entered in the short-course meet, which kicks off the season series. A total prize pool of $1.452 million is up for grabs. That purse includes $224,000 for the top 20 athletes at each of the three preliminary stages as well as $556,000 for the top 10 athlete at the end of the series. The full scoring system is available here.
McKeon is Australia’s most decorated Olympian, having won seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics. She leads an impressive contingent of Australian entrants to the meet, including Zac Incerti, Matthew Temple, Madison Wilson, Kyle Chalmers, Leah Neale and Minna Atherton. (Wilson is currently recovering from a bout of COVID-19.)
McKeon will be joined at the Berlin Europasportpark indoor swimming arena by fellow Olympic gold medalists Maggie MacNeil of Canada and Lydia Jacoby of the United States. Kylie Masse, Michelle Coleman, Yuliya Efimova and Kira Toussaint are also among those entered in the FINA World Cup.
On the men’s side, Tokyo open-water gold medalist Florian Wellbrock is set to swim before home crowds for the first time since his medal win. Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos and American Blake Pieroni are also among the entrants. Many of the swimmers will arrive in Berlin straight from six weeks spent in Naples, Italy, for the International Swimming League season.
The meet will run from Oct. 1-3, with 12 events each day for both men and women. Athletes collect points at each step on the circuit, with various prize pools available for individual and cumulative accolades. The FINA World Cup series will make stops in Budapest from Oct. 7-9, Doha Oct. 21-23 and Kazan Oct. 28-30, with their circuit’s champions will be crowned.
