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Olympic star swimmers to compete at FINA World Cup in Beijing

Xinhua, September 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu of Hungary and a group of Olympic medalists including South African Chad Le Clos, along with Chinese swimmers Xu Jiayu and Fu Yuanhui, will compete in the fourth leg of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2016 to be held in Beijing from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1.

At the opening press conference here on Thursday at the Water Cube, Hosszu, who snatched three gold medals this year in Rio and continued competing in all of the World Cup legs after the Olympic Games, said that Beijing has a special meaning for her.

"Beijing plays a very important role in my career. The first time I came to Beijing was for the 2008 Olympic Games as a 19-year-old. After London Olympic Games, I came to Beijing and got my nickname the Iron Lady. Now, coming back to again as the three-time Olympic champion, I am really happy to be here and happy to race again in the Water Cube," Hosszu said.

Discussing why she kept competing in all of the FINA World Cup editions after the Olympic Games, even as some swimmers took long vacations, Hosszu said: "I really love racing, so for me I don't need to go away from swimming. I do what I like. And the long course and short course competition is different. I just take rest in between."

Le Clos, runner-up in the men's 200 meter freestyle and 100m butterfly in Rio, said he was somewhat upset at his performance there, but he expects to do better going forward.

"I was disappointed that I got two silver medals in very close games in Rio. But it was not too bad that our country South Africa had four medals. For me the most important is to go back to water to preparing for the next Olympic Games. I will be back with more golds in Tokyo," he said.

Fu Yuanhui, Olympic bronze medal winner in the women's 100m backstroke, who became a worldwide hit on social media with her eccentric personality and exaggerated facial expressions, said she is looking forward to competing in some new events in Beijing.

"I will not change my favorite backstroke, but I will try the 50m butterfly, 50m freestyle and 100m medley as a start after the Rio Olympic Games," she said.

But Fu also appeared to temper expectations somewhat as to her expected performance in Beijing. "Don't expect me to win something because I did not train these days," Fu said.

The FINA Swimming World Cup kicked off on Aug. 26 in Paris-Chartres, France shortly after the Rio Olympic Games. It concludes on Oct. 30 in Hong Kong, China. Endit