LAUSANNE, Switzerland, November 5. SHORTLY after the completion of the fifth stop in Singapore, FINA released the overall standings for the FINA World Cup circuit. South Africa's Chad Le Clos is easily in the lead amongst the men based on superior performance and consistency. Meanwhile among the women, Sweden's Therese Alshammar caught up to USA's Missy Franklin, who would turn down any winnings anyway to maintain her college eligibility.
Le Clos has a total of 111 points with two more meets to go, and is well ahead of Japan's Hidemasa Sano's second-ranked tally of 70 points. Germany's Marco Koch is still hanging around primarily due to consistent attendance, with 43 points. Alshammar, meanwhile, has matched Franklin's 70 points in the women's race, while USA's Allison Schmitt remains third with 40 points. Schmitt will also forgo cash winnings to maintain college eligibility.
These swimmers are vying for the $100,000; $50,000 and $30,000 prizes for first, second and third place in the overall circuit standings. With $30,000 already won, Le Clos is looking at a likely payday of anywhere from $140-160,000, while Alshammar's $18,000 earned thus far will likely result in a second straight year of a payday in the area of $130-150,000.
The last event of the year in Tokyo will feature double points, so Le Clos hasn't mathematically clinched the win among the men yet, but could after the Beijing stop.