Fina/Arena Swimming Cup 2011: Chad Le Clos (RSA) gets six gold medals in Dubai (UAE)

Chad Le Clos (RSA) was the athlete in evidence in the first leg of the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup, organised in Dubai (UAE) on October 7-8, 2011. The South African star got six gold medals in the superb Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex, site of the 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) last December in the exciting metropolis of the United Arab Emirates.

Le Clos was the best in the 200m backstroke, 100m and 200m butterfly, and in the 100m, 200m and 400m individual medley. In the 200m butterfly, he established the best male performance of the meet, clocking 1:52.55 (911 points). Other successful athletes in Dubai included Marco Koch (GER), winner of the three breaststroke events, and Jason Dunford (KEN), the fastest in the 50m free, 100m free and 50m butterfly. Samuel Pizzetti (ITA) dominated the longest events in the programme (400m and 1500m free), while Japan’s Masafumi Yamaguchi won in the 50m and 100m backstroke.

Among women, Asian swimmers appeared in great shape in Dubai: China got five victories, Japan triumphed in three races, and Hong Kong’s Hang Yu Sze got the gold in the 100m individual medley. Dutch stars Marleen Veldhuis (50m free 50m butterfly) and Ranomi Kromowidjojo (100m free) also swam fast in Dubai. Petra Granlund (SWE, 400m free and 200m butterfly) and Daryna Zevina (UKR, 100m and 200m back – in the latter event, she got the best female performance of the event, 2:02.94, corresponding to 934 points) were the remaining athletes with two victories in the United Arab Emirates