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Seven swim stars to watch out for at FINA World Cup

Teo Kai Xiang
Marquee names including Olympic champion Missy Franklin, ought to see the Americans favored for multiple gold in the meeting that will set the tone for the 2016 Rio Olympics

Missy Franklin (United States of America)

Missy Franklin is one of the world’s most recognisable faces in swimming, debuting in the 2012 Summer Olympics at age 17. As the world record holder for the 200m backstroke and holder of the most world titles by a woman (eleven titles), she is no stranger to victory. On the path to recovery from her back injury, her rankings in the 2015 World Championships have faltered but remain stellar.

Emily Seebohm (Australia)

Emily Seebohm first entered the world stage when she competed in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and she’s only gotten better since. In 2012’s Summer Olympics, she broke the Olympic record for the 100m backstroke in the qualifier and went on to clinch silver in the final. And in the 2015 World Championship in Kazan, she managed to earn two golds, in the 100m backstroke and the 200m backstroke, beating Missy Franklin in the latter for gold.

Alia Atkinson (Jamaica)

Alia Atkinson is on a personal quest to ‘put Jamaica on the world map for swimming’. And so far, she’s done a pretty good job of it, with achievements ranging from being the first black woman to win a world title (at the 2014 Short Course World Championship) to narrowly missing out on gold by a mere 0.06 seconds at the 2015 World Championship in Kazan.

Katinka Hosszu (Hungary)

One of the most versatile swimmers in the world, Hungary’s self-proclaimed ‘Iron Lady’ currently holds two-thirds of her nation’s swimming records. With an amazing performance in the FINA World Championship 2015 at Kazan, she broke the world record in the 200m IM, a record many thought would go unchallenged for years.

Kevin Cordes (United States of America)

A newcomer to the scene, Kevin Cordes’s claim to fame is being the current American record holder for 100 and 200m breaststroke. In the recent World Championship in Kazan, the Singapore-based Cordes clinched three medals, a bronze in the 50m breaststroke, silver in the 200m breaststroke and a silver in the 4x100m mixed medley relay.

Cameron van der Burgh (South Africa)

Cameron van der Burgh is Africa’s first home-trained world record holder and individual male Olympic champion. Representing South Africa, he made a splash by taking gold in the 100m breaststroke in a new world record. More recently, he has dominated at the FINA World Cup, taking gold and silver in the Beijing leg of the championship for the 50m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke respectively.

Quah Zheng Wen (Singapore)

Quah Zheng Wen has come a long way from finishing 33rd in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Rising to prominence when he represented Singapore in the 28th SEA Games, he broke six Games records and won 12 medals for Singapore. In the Moscow leg of the FINA World Cup, he took bronze in the 100m backstroke, with his performance earning him a spot at the upcoming Rio Olympics.