Sjostrom, Chupkov seal Cluster 1 wins as Hosszu dazzles with seven golds

DOHA: Three new World Cup records, another brace of titles for Sarah Sjostrom, and three more gold medals for Katinka Hosszu highlighted the eventful final day of FINA Swimming World Cup 2018 Doha edition at the Hamad Aquatic Centre, yesterday.        

Swedish sprint queen Sjostrom and Russia’s Anton Chupkov emerged as the Cluster 1 winners after the second leg as Qatar hosted the event successfully for the seventh consecutive year.

Fans who turned out in good numbers at the iconic Doha pool, couldn’t asked for more thrilling action on the last day which started with a record performance.

Hungary’s David Verraszto set a World Cup record in first race of the day, racing to victory in men’s 400m IM, clocking 4.13:44. He lowered his own record of 4:14.89 he registered at his home event in 2015.       

“I never expected that time, and I am very happy with the result. Revenge, was in my mind in the last 50 meters because I lost the last race,” Verraszto said.

Azerbaijan’s Maksym Shemberev clocked 4:13.61 for second place, while Ecuador’s Tomas Peribonto was third with a time of 4:17.02. Qatari swimmer Mohamed Mahmoud finished on a creditable 5th spot with a time of 5:04.08, while another home swimmer Omar Ashraf took 5:16.34 to complete the distance.

After setting a new World Cup record in women’s 50m butterfly on Friday, Sjostrom lowered her own Kazan record in women’s 100m butterfly, marking 56.46 to win the title. In Kazan, she posted a time of 57.42.

The Swedish star then claimed victory in women’s 100m freestyle in 43.13 for her 5th gold medal in Doha and 10th title in Cluster 1.   

“I am very much happy because I was a lot faster than a few days ago in Russia. I was targeting to be faster in Doha, than in Kazan and I am happy that I have achieved that,” said Sjostrom.

“It was very busy the last couple of weeks, 10 gold medals in two legs, I am very happy,” she said.

Ukraine’s Andrii Govorov bettered his own record to win the men’s 50m butterfly with a time of 22.82, for third World Cup record of the day. He held the record of 22.87 he recorded in Kazan.  

“It’s nice to increase your times from cluster to cluster. I’ve been really excited to be here and race fast. Next for me is to work towards long course world championships,” the Ukrainian swimmer said.

South African star Chad Le Clos, returning to action after fever, took 5th position with a time of 23.80.   

Meanwhile, Chupkov’s gold medal in men’s 200m breaststroke was enough to give him victory in the first cluster.  

“The race was very difficult and I think I did well. I enjoyed first cluster and swimming in Qatar. Thank you, Doha for your hospitality,” Chupkov said.

Hosszu finished the Doha meeting as the most decorated swimmer, winning a total of 7 gold and 3 bronze medals. ‘The Iron Lady’ also claimed a silver and a bronze medal in team events.       

She clinched her first gold medal of the last night by winning the women’s 800m freestyle, racing to victory in 8:34.58. She overcame China’s Chanzhen Zhou, who came in second with a time of 8:35.67, while Spain’s was third with a time of 8:43.99

“Twelve seconds faster than in Kazan, I’m really happy with the drop in time… and hopefully it didn’t really take too much out of me,” she said after her victory.”

The Hungarian star then claimed women’s 200m backstroke and 200m individual medley titles to complete her set of 7 gold medals in the three-day leg.    

Meanwhile, Aussie Mitchell Larkin also secured a gold medal on the last day by winning the men’s 100m backstroke, clocking 53.68. America’s Michael Andrew (54.11), and Russia’s Vladimir Morozov (55.07) were second and third respectively. Qatari swimmer Abdulaziz Al Obaidly finished 6th with a creditable time of 1:01.87.

Swimmers will return to action at the third leg of FINA Swimming World Cup 2018, which will be held in Eindhoven, Netherlands from September 28 to 30. All the remaining five meetings will feature short course events.