FINA
Doha (QAT), 09.11.2019: Cate Campbell (AUS), Katinka Hosszu (HUN), Chad Le Clos (RSA) and Michael Andrew (USA) excelled in last session of heats at the FINA Swimming World Cup Doha 2019, setting the stage for exciting finish to the three-day event at Hamad Aquatic Centre on Saturday.
Leading the overall rankings in women’s field, Campbell was in good form as she topped the women's 100m freestyle heats, clocking 54.91. She will be fighting for a gold medal with Kira Toussaint (NED) and Michelle Coleman (SWE).
Team-mates Hosszu (59.43) and Zsuzsanna Jakabos (59.83) will aim for a gold medal in the women's 100m butterfly final after finishing second and third in the heats. Jeanette Ottesen (DEN) was fastest with a time of 59.36.
The Hungarian stars will also compete in women's 200m IM final, with Hosszu dominating the heat in 2:14.32. The Iron Lady did not swim in the women's 200m backstroke heat, which was won by Jiayin Wang (CHN) in 2:12.46.
American star Andrew topped the men's 50 butterfly heats finishing the distance in 23.53. Qatar's Nour Eddine Kheddache took 30.60 to complete the heat while his team-mate M. Al Khanji touched the wall in 31.55.
Andrew was also the quickest swimmer in 100m backstroke heats, touching the wall in 55.54.
Cluster 3 leader Anton Chupkov (RUS) will be aiming for a gold medal in men's 200m breaststroke after he clocked 2:11.63 to finish second in the heats. Arno Kamminga (NED) was fastest, clocking 2:09.50.
Qatari star Abdulaziz Al Obaidly took 2:24.18 while his team-mate Mohamed Abdelrahman finished the heat in 2:38.16. Kareem Salama Salah (2:49.06) and Abdulla AlKhaldi (2:53.22) also competed.
After victories in 100m and 200m butterfly events, South African star Le Clos will target his third gold medal in Doha after he advanced to the final of 200m freestyle. Danas Rapsys (LTU) dominated the heat with a time of 1:48.03. M. Hussain was the quickest Qatari swimmer in 2:05.71.
Qatar's Omar Ashraf Abouelela was also impressive in the men's 400m IM slowest heats, reaching the finish line in 5:00.33. The race was led by Matheo Mateos (PAR) in 4:29.42.
A set of 12 medals will be awarded to the winners tonight, which will wrap the FINA Swimming World Cup 2019 series with the announcement of overall champions and cluster 3 winners.