FINA World Cup, Dubai: Katinka Hosszu on Fire With Eight Golds

DUBAI, UAE, October 3. THE coronation of Katinka Hosszu as the early FINA World Cup Queen came to completion during the second night of action in Dubai. The Hungarian went five-for-five in gold medal opportunities tonight, collecting four individual wins and a relay triumph en route to an $11,000 payday.

Meanwhile, four other swimmers cracked $4,000 in two days. Japan's Daiya Seto, Sweden's Therese Alshammar and Hungary's Zsuzsanna Jakabos each finished their time in Dubai with $4,500, while 2011 FINA World Cup men's champion Chad Le Clos tallied $4,000.

For a quick refresher course, the FINA World Cup is a global circuit of two-day meets all swum in short course meters (25m) setups. Swimmers vie for cash earnings with first-place individual winners earning $1,500, while second place wins $1,000. Third place in each event also takes home $500. Relays are not money races.

The overall circuit winners for the men and women by the end of the eight-meet series next month will win $100,000 each. Chad Le Clos and Therese Alshammar both banked six-figure paydays last year with Le Clos topping out at $145,500, including nearly $50k in just race winnings alone.

Men's 1500 free
Hungary's Gergo Kis, representing a local Dubai club, overtook Austria's David Brandl down the stretch with an amazing final 500 meters. Brandl had built an initial lead of more than five seconds before Kis turned on the afterburners in the final third of the race to clip Brandl by a second, 15:00.65 to 15:01.70. Ukraine's Sergii Frolov completed the top three in 15:02.98.

Women's 100 free
Germany's Britta Steffen won her first gold medal of the meet with a sterling time of 53.39 for the win. She already collected second-place cash last night, and now has $2,500 for her efforts in Dubai. Sweden's Michelle Coleman raced to second in 54.00, her second podium of the meet, while Hong Kong's Sze Hang Yu checked in with a third-place 54.48 for her third podium check in Dubai. Steffen has a lot more in the tank, as she clocked a second-ranked time of 51.94 last season at the Euro Short Course Championships. Coleman's best a year ago proved to be a 52.96 from Swedish Juniors in January, while Hang Yu did not crack the top 25.

Men's 200 free
South Africa's Darian Townsend earned his first win of the meet with a sterling time of 1:42.71 to win the 200 free. Townsend smashed his season-best from a year ago of 1:43.38 that had him ranked seventh in the world. Australia's Robert Hurley turned in a second-place time of 1:43.37, his second silver of the meet, while Australia's Tommaso D'Orsogna picked up a third-place time of 1:44.65.

Women's 50 breast
The women's sprint breaststroke went like the 100 breast from yesterday with Sweden's Jennie Johansson winning her second title of the meet. Johansson topped the sprint event in 30.62, while Japan's Fumiko Kawanabe touched second in 31.61. Sweden's Joline Hostman snagged a spot on the podium with a third-place 31.62. Johansson finished just more than half-a-second off her third-ranked season best of 30.05 from last season in Stockholm, while Kawanabe did not break the top 25. Hostman's best last year came with a 30.95 at the Sweden Short Course Championships in November.

Men's 100 breast
World-record holder Cameron van der Burgh touched out New Zealand's Glenn Snyders from outside in lane one with a 58.33 to 58.42 triumph. Van der Burgh won his second title of the meet en route to $3,000 in winnings thus far. Germany's Marco Koch completed the podium with a third-place time of 58.90, just edging South Africa's Neil Versfeld, who placed fourth in 58.91. Van der Burgh is coming off a controversial victory at the 2012 London Olympic after which he admitted to using illegal dolphins kicks claiming that everyone else was doing it as well.

Women's 400 IM
Hungary's Katinka Hosszu returned to the water after an amazing first day that witnessed her win three titles and claim a fourth paycheck with a bronze. This evening, she started off in a successful manner with a dominant time of 4:31.34 in the distance medley giving her a fourth win, and pushing her winnings to $6,500. Hosszu will likely continue to drop her time throughout the circuit, having already posted the fastest time last season with a 4:24.37 at the Duel in the Pool in December last year. Her teammate Zsuzsanna Jakabos raced into second with a 4:36.93 for her second silver of the meet, and third medal overall. Jakabos also has more to come after clocking a seventh-ranked 4:27.86 last season. Meanwhile, South Africa's Kathryn Meaklim cracked into the money for the first time with a third-place time of 4:38.92.

Men's 100 fly
London Olympic gold medalist and 2011 FINA World Cup champion Chad Le Clos snatched his second win of the meet with a blazing time of 49.82 in the men's 100 fly. Russia's Evgeny Korotyshkin (50.67) and USA's Tom Shields (50.97) each earned their first podiums of the meet with second and third-place finishes, respectively. Le Clos' sterling time would have put him second in the world last season behind only Konrad Czerniak's 49.62. His best time a year ago was a 50.63 at the Singapore stop on the World Cup circuit. He has now moved to 13th all time in the event's history, joining just 15 other swimmers to ever break 50 seconds. Incidentally, his time also broke Lyndon Ferns' South African record of 50.19.

Women's 100 back
Australia's Rachel Goh won her second crown of the meet, blistering the 100 back time in 57.67 after already topping the 50 back yesterday. Ukraine's Darya Zevina grabbed second-place honors in 58.07, giving her a medal of each color in Dubai, while Japan's Noriko Inada raced to third in 59.29. Goh's effort is near her sixth-ranked season best of 56.99 from last season, posted at the Berlin stop of the World Cup. Zevina has been much faster with a 56.71 from the Duel in the Pool last December, while Inada did not crack the top 25 last season.

Men's 50 back
Russia's Stanislav Donets earned his second victory in Dubai with a 23.47 in the sprint backstroke event. Meanwhile, Australia's Robert Hurley won his third silver-medal thus far with a 23.61, while compatriot Ashley Delaney snared third-place honors with a 23.77. Donets eclipsed his season-best from a year ago of 23.56 with his victory tonight. That swim took place at the Russian Short Course Nationals in November last year.

Women's 200 fly
The superstar of this meet thus far, Hungary's Katinka Hosszu scored her fifth gold medal of the meet after doubling off her 400 IM with a 200 fly triumph. She dropped a 2:10.43 to push her prize winnings to $8,000 after the distance fly event. Compatriot Zsuzsanna Jakabos touched second in 2:11.57 for her third silver medal of the meet, while Slovenia's Spela Bohinc podiumed for the first time with a third-place 2:17.74. The times are obviously dropping off world-class pace with the meters piling up for Hosszu and Jakabos. Neither time would have cracked the top 25 last year, while Jakabos had an 11th-ranked 2:05.11 last year and Hosszu never broke into the top 25 a year ago.

Men's 200 IM
South Africa's Darian Townsend doubled up off his 200 free win earlier in the night with a 200 IM triumph, pushing his medal tally to three in Dubai after a bronze yesterday. Townsend topped the medley tonight in 1:53.25, while Japan's Daiya Seto turned in a second-place time of 1:53.90 for his third silver of the meet and fourth medal overall. Australia's Kenneth To tracked down his third medal of the meet with a third-place 1:54.86. Townsend is on fire as his time would have ranked him fourth in the world last season. Seto bettered his time from a year ago of 1:54.65 from the Stockholm stop, while To nearly clipped his season-best last year of 1:54.38.

Women's 400 free
Hungary's Katinka Hosszu kept on rolling with her sixth gold medal of the meet, and seventh overall. This evening, she completed an astonishing triple with wins in the 400 IM, 200 fly and 400 free. In the middle distance free, Hosszu posted a 4:04.43 for the win. New Zealand's Melissa Ingram collected her second silver of the meet with a 4:04.91, while Ukraine's Darya Zevina, a backstroke specialist, raced to third in 4:05.64 for her fourth medal. Hosszu is demonstrating remarkable stamina throughout this first meet, but the times are definitely falling behind. At the World Cup, however, it is all about the podium finishes and the money collected with the international wins.

Men's 50 free
Olympic gold medalist, and 2012 London Games finalist, Anthony Ervin of the United States dropped the hammer in the men's splash-and-dash with a scorching time of 21.18 for the win. The win is Ervin's first of what will be an eight-meet spectacle for the comeback kid. He's already on record as stating that he will be competing on every leg of the meet. Trinidad and Tobago's George Bovell raced to second in the sprint with a 21.23, while Australia's Kyle Richardson clipped South Africa's Roland Schoeman, 21.58 to 21.65, for the final podium spot. Ervin's prelim time of 21.07 pushed him to 19th all time in the event, and would have put him fourth in the world last season.

Women's 200 breast
Japan's Fumiko Kawanabe raced to her first victory of the circuit with a 2:23.01 in the distance breaststroke event. That's her third medal of the meet, pushing her cash tally to $3,500. She has much more potential in the event, having ranked second last season with a 2:19.05 at the Beijing stop of the World Cup. Sweden's Joline Hostman, meanwhile, took second in 2:23.87 for her third medal of the meet as well. Ukraine's Anna Dzerkal rounded out the top three in 2:24.60. Hostman's season-best last year was a 2:22.25.

Women's 100 IM
Katinka Hosszu clipped teammate Zsuzsanna Jakabos down the stretch for her stunning fourth victory of the night, and seventh of the meet in Dubai, with a 1:00.75 to 1:00.99 triumph. The sprint medley conquest pushed Hosszu to $11,000 in just two days of work with 2500 meters worth of finals swimming in two days. Jakabos also swam nearly the same schedule as Hosszu, picking up $4,500 in prize money herself with four silvers and a bronze. Germany's Britta Steffen snuck on the podium with a 1:01.95 to give her a medal of each color in Dubai for $3,000 in prize money.

Men's 200 back
By the slimmest of margins, Poland's Radoslaw Kawecki tripped up Japan's Kosuke Hagino for the win, 1:51.03 to 1:51.04. Japan's Kazuki Watanabe then nipped Ashley Delaney of Australia for third-place, 1:52.20 to 1:52.53. The win is the first for Kawecki on the circuit, while Hagino finished with a first and second place medal in Dubai. Kawecki finished second in the world last season with a 1:49.15 behind Ryan Lochte's 1:48.90.

Women's 50 fly
2011 FINA World Cup champion Therese Alshammar of Sweden, 35, earned her third gold in Dubai with a 25.56, while The Netherlands' Inge Dekker took home second in 26.08. Hong Kong's Sze Hang Yu closed out a successful breakout meet with a third-place 26.83 for her fourth medal overall in Dubai (a silver and three bronzes). Alshammar is just getting geared up, as she ranked second in the event last season with a 25.01 at the Singapore stop with Jeanette Ottesen being the only swimmer under 25 with a 24.92 at the Euro Short Course Championships last December.

Mixed 200 free relay
Hungary and Ukraine had opposite strategies with Hungary's Katinka Hosszu clinching her eighth gold medal in two days by holding off Andrii Govorov on the anchor leg, 1:35.44 to 1:35.85. Hungary opened with the men as Krisztian Takacs and Laszlo Cseh pushed out to an early lead with a 44.78 at 100 meters as Ukraine's Darya Zevina and Anna Dzerkal had their team third in 51.17. Sergii Frolov and Govorov, however, nearly overhauled Zsuzsanna Jakabos and Hosszu down the stretch. Hong Kong's Hang Yu Sze, Chun Nam Derick Ng, Kin Lok Chan and Kai Wai David Wong placed third in 1:37.91.

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