Katinka Hosszu has always been the star attraction at the Doha leg of the Swimming World Cup. The ‘Iron Lady’, as she is called for pushing the endurance level to the extreme by entering practically into any race she has a shot at medal, will once again hog the limelight over the next two days at the Hamad Aquatic Centre.
After failing to win a medal at three Olympics, the Hungarian went on a mission to redeem herself after the London Games in 2012. She broke many World Records, won four World Championship medals and a clutch of silverware at the World Cups.
But it was her superlative performance at the Rio Olympics in August that has made her a global superstar and also fulfilled her long-cherished dream. The 27-year-old won three gold and one sliver in Rio, and along with Katie Ledecky of United States was the most successful female swimmer at the 2016 Games.
Since then, Hosszu has not been resting on her laurels as she has jumped right back into the pool. The Hungarian has arrived in Doha, after bagging an astonishing 12 medals (9 of which are gold) in the last week’s Dubai leg of the World Cup.
Hosszu will be expected to dominate the pool again today and tomorrow at the Hamad Aquatic Centre, with her eyes firmly set on Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
“Even before the Rio Olympics I had decided to compete at the World Cup events. So nothing changed even after I won three gold medals in Rio. The next World Championship is in my home city Budapest and so it’s a huge motivation to do well in front of my home crowd,” Hosszu said.
“It will be lot more exciting and people are saying they are excited too to see me compete. So that’s a huge motivation for me. I have been able to win all the medals that are available in swimming. But I definitely want to go to Tokyo, I’m really motivated,” she added.  
On the men’s side, South African Chad le Clos is the marquee swimmer in action in Doha. At the World Cup in Dubai on Wednesday, Le Clos, with his victory in the 100m butterfly, now has an incredible 107 gold medals on the World Cup circuit. Two stops ago in Moscow, he became the first man to ever crack 100 golds.
The 24-year-old had a disappointing Olympics in Rio, winning just two silver medals. In London 2012, he had won a gold and silver – including an upset win over Michael Phelps in the 200 butterfly.
Le Clos has already made his intention of regaining the glory in Tokyo and will be keen to banish the disappointment of Rio.
“I have come to Doha many times and I love it. I have been training here a lot so it is a special place for me, like a second home. Personally I use the World Cup to get back to shape in between the Olympics and the Short Course World Championships,” Le Clos said.
Meanwhile, 16 promising young Qatari swimmers will compete over the next two days. The majority of the Qatari swimmers are still teenagers and also include Olympians fresh from Rio — Noah al-Khulaifi, 17, and Nada Arakji, 21.
Arakji became the first ever Qatari female athlete to compete in two Olympic Games after her debut in London 2012. Al-Khulaifi, whose two younger brothers Yacob, 15, and Yousef, 11, are also taking part in the World Cup, competed in the Men’s 100m backstroke in Rio 2016, marking his first ever Olympic appearance. The 2016 edition of the Doha event marks the second participation of al-Khulaifi, who competed in the 2015 in the 50m breaststroke and 400m freestyle events.
Other members of Team Qatar that will take part in the World Cup include teenagers Mohamed Mohamed, 13, Abdulrahman al-Kuwari, 17, Naser Yaser, 17, Yousef Mohamed, 14, Abdulaziz al-Obaidly, 15, and Mesalam al-Nabet, 15.
Morning heats will kick-off at 10am, while the finals will be raced from 6pm. The World Cup Swimming Series is divided into three clusters. Under cluster 1 is Paris-Chartres, Berlin, and Moscow. Under cluster 2 is Beijing, Dubai, and Doha and the final cluster 3 is Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. The World Cup Series will award over $2 million in prize money for the top three finishers in each event as well as world record bonuses of $10,000. Each individual winner is awarded $1,500 per event.
 
Today’s Schedule: 100m Freestyle Men; 200m Freestyle Women; 50m Breaststroke Men; 100m Breaststroke Women; 100m Butterfly Women; 100m Backstroke Men; 50m Backstroke Women; 200m Butterfly Men; 200m IM Women; 400m Freestyle Men; 50m Freestyle Women; 200m Breaststroke Men; 100m IM Men; 200m Backstroke Women; 50 m Butterfly Men; 800m Freestyle Women; 4x50 m Medley Mixed