World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Explained

Swimming World Cup
Status:	Active
Genre:	Sports Event
Date:	Midyear
Frequency:	Annual
First:	1988
Last:	2023
Organised:	World Aquatics
Website:	World Aquatics

The World Aquatics Swimming World Cup (formerly known as the FINA Swimming World Cup) is an international series of swimming meets organized by World Aquatics (the international governing body formerly known as FINA). Launched in 1988, the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup is staged between August and November every year and attracts a high level of athletes due to the considerable prize money on offer. The event is traditionally held in short course (25m pool) format, with a switch to long course (50m pool) format in pre-Olympics years.

Prior to the COVID hiatus in 2020 the event was being held in three clusters, totaling seven three day meets across seven different locations with prize money reaching US$2.5 million.^[1] The event resumed in 2021 as four meets each of three days duration, and the 2023 edition was staged as three meets each of three days duration.

The event is popular with prominent swimmers due to the prize money on offer. In 2022, a total of US$1.2 million was awarded. For each meet the top 20 male and female athletes shared US$224,000 prize money ($112,000 per gender). At the end of the meet series an additional US$262,000 per gender was awarded to the top eight men and women athletes based on their overall ranking using a point score incorporating placings and performance.^[2]

The 2023 event is notable for a number of reasons including a switch to long course (50m) format as a pre-Olympics year event, the event acting as a qualifying meet for both the forthcoming World Aquatics Championships in 2024 and Olympic Games in 2024, and the introduction of an “open” category in 50m and 100m events for transgender swimmers.^[3] However, there were no entries and the "open" category was shelved.^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

Events

Traditionally the events are the same for all meets but the competition order may vary, although this has varied from the 2021 resumption of the meet. All events are swum prelims/finals, with the exception of the 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle which are swum as timed finals (fastest heat in the finals session). The meets are held over two or three days, with preliminary heats in the morning and finals in the evening. A noted exception to this style are the meets held in Brazil, where prelims have been in the evening with finals the following morning.

On most years, the races are held in short course pools; the exception recently being the season leading up to an Olympic year where events are swum in long course venues.

Current 2023 series events (to be swum in 50m pools):

Freestyle: 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500
Backstroke: 50, 100 and 200
Breaststroke: 50, 100 and 200
Butterfly: 50, 100 and 200
Individual Medley: 200, and 400
Relays: 4 × 100 m freestyle (men and women), 4 x 200m freestyle (men and women), 4 × 100 m medley (men, women and mixed) ^[7] ^[8] ^[9]

An 'open' category was created in 2023 after World Aquatics announced that trans women were banned from competing in the women's category if they had “experienced any part of male puberty beyond tanner stage two, or before [the] age [of] 12, whichever is later". The category was shelved after receiving "no entries."^[10]

Winners

Source:^[11]

One stage in 1979^[12] ^[13]

Season		Name	Nationality
1988–89
	men	Winners in six events^[14]
	women	Winners in six events
1989–90
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1991
	men	Winners in six events^[15]
	women	Winners in six events
1991–92
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1993
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1994
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1995
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1996
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1997
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1998
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1998–99
	men	Winners in six events
	women	Winners in six events
1999–2000
	men	Winners in 17 events
	women	Winners in 17 events
2000–01
	men	Winners in 13 events
	women	Winners in 11 events
2001–02
	men
	women
2002–03
	men
	women
2003–04
	men	Ed Moses (2)
	women	Martina Moravcová (2)	(2)
2004–05
	men
	women
2005–06
	men	Ryk Neethling (2)
	women
2007
	men
	women
2008
	men
	women
2009
	men
	women
2010
	men
	women
2011
	men
	women	Therese Alshammar (4)
2012
	men
	women
2013
	men
	women
2014
	men
	women
2015
	men	Cameron van der Burgh (3)
	women
2016
	men
	women	Katinka Hosszú (5)	(5)
2017
	men	Chad le Clos (4)
	women
2018
	men
	women	Sarah Sjöström (2)	(7)
2019
	men	Vladimir Morozov (3)	(3)
	women
2021^[16] ^[17]
	men		(10)
	women
2022
	men
	women		(5)
2023
	men
	women		(5)

Most wins

^[18]

Active swimmers*
r = relays

No.	Wins	Wins
1	151*	305 + 3(r)*^[19]
2	109 + 14(r)*	105
3	64	93
4	59	73
5	55*	72*
6	54	60
7	53	52
8	53	52
9	43	45
10	42	42

Medals table (1988-2016)

Source:^[20]

Some silver and bronze medals since 1988 to 1993 are missing.

Venues

Country	City	88----89	89----90	91	91----92	93	94	95	96	97	98	98----99	99----00	00----01	01----02	02----03	03----04	04----05	05----06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	21	22	23	24	Total
												●	●																								2
													●	●	●	●	●																			5
										●	●	●						●	●	●																6
																	●	●	●	●	●																5
										●	●	●	●	●	●						●	●														7
												●	●	●	●																						4
		●		●																																2
	●																																●			2
			●																																	1
						●	●		●	●	●	●											●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●						15
	Jinan																															●					1
	Shanghai					●							●	●	●	●																				●	6
	Espoo							●	●	●																											3
	Chartres-Paris																											●	●								2
	Paris	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●																					14
	Berlin	●^[21]	●										●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●			●	●		●	●	●	●		22
	Bonn	●	●	●	●																																5
	Gelsenkirchen					●	●	●	●	●	●	●																									7
	Rostock			●																																	1
	Glasgow									●																											1
	Leicester		●		●																																2
	London	●																																			1
	Sheffield			●		●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●																							9
																																			●		1
	Hong Kong						●	●	●	●	●	●	●														●	●	●	●							11
	Budapest																														●	●	●		●		4
	Desenzano		●				●																														2
	Imperia								●	●	●	●	●	●	●																						7
	Milan			●	●	●																															3
	Saint-Vincent							●																													1
	Venice	●																																			1
	Tokyo																						●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●					10
	Eindhoven																									●				●	●						3
	Doha																								●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●				9
	Moscow																●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●							14
	Saint Petersburg			●^[22]	●																																2
	Kazan																														●	●	●				3
	Singapore																			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●				●	13
	Durban																●	●	●	●	●	●															6
	Daejon																●	●	●																		3
	Incheon																																			●
	Palma de Mallorca				●																																1
	Gothenburg	●	●																				●														3
	Malmö			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●																								10
	Stockholm													●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●												12
	Dubai																						●		●	●	●	●	●								6
	College Station, TX											●																									1
	Indianapolis, IN	●																																●			2
	New York, NY (East Meadow)														●	●	●	●	●																		5
	Orlando, FL		●																																		1
	Washington, D.C.												●	●																							2
Total		8	8	7	8	7	7	7	8	8	9	12	12	10	9	7	8	8	8	7	7	5	7	7	8	8	7	8	9	8	7	7	4	3

External links

Web site: Fina-Arena-Worldcup Berlin 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20091019062849/http://www.fina-arena-worldcup.com/competition/wcseries.html. dead. 19 October 2009. 19 October 2009. 8 April 2018.
Web site: Swimrankings - Swimming Rankings and Results - Worldwide, International Swim Sport. Swimrankings.net. 8 April 2018.
Web site: Katinka Hosszu Becomes First Swimmer to 200 World Cup Wins. 10 October 2016. Swimswam.com. 8 April 2018.
https://intersportstats.com/competition_types/54
https://intersportstats.com/competition_types/55
https://intersportstats.com/competition_types/88
https://intersportstats.com/competition_types/57

See main article: world cups.

Notes and References

Web site: FINA Swimming World Cup 2019 | fina.org - Official FINA website . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190421075731/http://www.fina.org/event/fina-swimming-world-cup-2019/details . 2019-04-21 . 2019-04-23.
Web site: 2022-08-24 . Swimming World Cup 2022 - Prize money . 2023-09-16 . World Aquatics . en.
Web site: 2023-08-16 . World Aquatics Debuts Open Category at Berlin Swimming World Cup 2023 . 2023-09-16 . World Aquatics . en.
Web site: October 3, 2023 . No entries received for new 'open category' in World Cup meet . Reuters.
Web site: October 3, 2023 . No 'open category' entries at WC swimming event . ESPN.com . en.
Web site: October 3, 2023 . Plans to allow for transgender swimmers at World Cup meet scrapped due to no entries . CBC.ca.
Web site: Competition Info FINA Official . 2023-09-16 . World Aquatics . en.
Web site: Competition Info FINA Official . 2023-09-16 . World Aquatics . en.
Web site: Competition Info FINA Official . 2023-09-16 . World Aquatics . en.
Web site: Noyce . Eleanor . 2023-10-04 . Not one person signed up for the 'open' category at the Swimming World Cup . 2023-10-04 . PinkNews . en-US.
Web site: World Aquatics .
Web site: InterSportStats .
Web site: InterSportStats .
Web site: FINA Swimming World cup : Golden Book. 2015. Fina.org. 8 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20161019095722/https://www.fina.org/sites/default/files/fswc-goldenbook2015_v2b.pdf. 19 October 2016. dead.
http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/2161.asp Moravcova Tops Final FINA World Cup Rankings; Balcerzak is Top American – January 29, 2001
Kamardina, Olga (30 October 2021). "Sates and McKeon topped overall ranking". FINA. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
Dornan, Ben (31 October 2021). "McKeon, Sates, Toussaint, Shields Earn Over $100K From FINA 2021 World Cup". SwimSwam. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
Web site: Archived copy . 2018-03-30 . 2017-08-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170822163931/http://www.fina.org/sites/default/files/general/swc_2017_final.pdf . dead .
Web site: Katinka Hosszu Wraps up 300th World Cup Gold with 200 Fly Win in Kazan. November 2019.
Web site: InterSportStats .
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