South African Chad le Clos  (L) and Hungarian Katinka Hosszu pose with their trophies after they were named the male and female Swimmers of the Year at a gala hosted by FINA on Monday evening.  In a year, where long course world meet were at minimal, FINA went with the winners of the top male and female at the World Cup Series. Hosszu broke 5 World Records of her own. She also won 6 medals at the 2014 European Aquatics Championships. At bottom, Ryan Lochte of the US.

 
By Sahan Bidappa/Doha

Doha will add another feather to its cap as one of the top sporting destinations of the world when it hosts the 12th FINA World Swimming Championship (short course) from today at the Hamad Aquatic Centre.
The World Swimming Championship will be contested over five days and will feature the world’s best swimmers competing in the 25m pool in 46 events (34 individual and 12 relays). More than 1,100 swimmers from 171 countries are scheduled to compete for the 138 medals up for grabs at the biennial event.
Heading the field is Ryan Lochte, the 11-time Olympic medallist known for his short-course dominance. The American has won a gold medal at the past five Short Course World Championship meets, and is gunning to make it six in a row this week. Lochte is expected to make waves and has entered six events -- 200 freestyle, 100, 50 butterfly, 200, 100 Individual medley and 200 backstroke – besides spearheading a 36-strong United States team which features four women who are still at high school.
“Team USA – we are just going to do what we always do and go out there and try to prove to the world we are the best and just get it done so I am excited to go,” said Lochte ahead of the event.
Lochte returned to competition this year after a knee injury caused by a run-in with an over-excited fan that kept him off the circuit last season. But the 30-year-old has recovered well, posting some nice finishes at the U.S. Nationals and Pan Pacific Championships.  Lochte won six gold at the 2012 World Championship in Istanbul and is confident of matching that haul in Doha.  
“I feel alright, it’s hard for me to tell until after the race when I get out of the pool, but I am confident in how I will do. Doha is beautiful, I have been to the Middle East before so it feels familiar to me which is good,” he said.
South Africa’s rising star Chad le Clos is another one to look out for. The World Cup champion was on Monday night named as Male Athlete of the Year at a gala hosted by FINA and will be keen to steal the limelight from Lochte. Le Clos will be chasing the 100-metre butterfly record. He’s been just off the world record all of the World Cup series and could take the super-suited 48.48 off the books if he can drop less than a tenth off his season-best.
The other star attraction will be Hungary’s golden girl Katinka Hosszu. The 23-year-old labelled as ‘Iron Lady’ for her entering practically any race she has a shot at medal, will swim in 10 different events in Doha, with up to 29 total swims between prelims, semi-finals and finals.
Hosszu has had fantastic 2014 so far and was named as Female Athlete of the Year by FINA. Hosszu has been successful in short course metres, earning over $300,000 in the World Cup series but in a big event as the World Championship she will be pushed to the limit by other top swimmers.
Elizabeth Beisel, the backstroke and individual medley specialist, who took home a silver and bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, enters the 400m individual medley as one of the favourites alongside Hosszu, and Spain’s double World Record holder Mireia Belmonte Garcia.
Speaking ahead of that race, she said: “I am excited! I’m just aiming to get in the top eight and make the final as I know the top three will have to work so hard given how deep the talent is in that event. We’ll see how it goes. For me it’s just about getting in there and having fun.”
The 17-year-old Olympic breaststroke champion Ruta Meilutyte will be looking to avenge her World Cup losses to Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson. Atkinson beat the England-based Lithuanian in three of their last four World Cup meetings.
“I am a pretty bad loser, but it was a kick in the butt and gave me more focus in training,” Meilutyte said. “My form’s definitely improved through the season and I’m ready to race.”
Meilutyte, who won 100m gold at London 2012, also won Youth Olympic gold in China this summer and is the reigning short course world champion at her chosen disciplines of 50m and 100m breaststroke.
“It’s harder to stay at the top than to get to the top. It is really hard but I’m just trying to stay focused and am trying to improve myself as much as I can,” said Meilutyte, a long course world record holder and world champion in 100m breaststroke.
The other World Record holders to compete in Doha include Italy’s Federica Pellegrini (200m Butterfly), Agnel Yannick of France (400m Freestyle), South Africa’s Roland Schoeman (50m Freestyle) and Sweden’s Malin Therese Alshammar (50m Butterfly) to name a few.
Meanwhile, the world governing body FINA yesterday announced Hangzhou, China as the host for the 2018 World Short Course Swimming Championships.
The eastern Chinese city beat bids from the Peruvian capital Lima and the United Arab Emirates in a vote.
 “The city of Hangzhou will offer optimal conditions for the organisation of these Championships. There is a very strong commitment from the local authorities to have this event in this dynamic metropolis”, said the FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione, in the Press Conference announcing the FINA Bureau decision.