Fukuoka will be the epicenter of swimming for the next two weeks. From Thursday to Friday morning, the city in southern Japan will host for the second time in its history, after the 2001 edition, a World Cup where the United States will be the rival to beat in most of the disciplines. The country of stars and stripes won 49 medals in the previous event in Budapest, 18 of them gold, and in Japan it will once again be the ogre of the swimming pools at the Marine Messe complex. In 2022, the Americans practically tripled the second in the swimming medal table, an Australia that presents itself as the only delegation capable of taking the lead from the Americans. Italy, with nine swimming metals in Hungary, is the third in contention.
The United States goes to the World Cup with all its current world champions in individual events, with the exception of Caeleb Dressel, who failed to qualify in the trials for his country. Katie Ledecky, current quadruple world champion and double Olympic champion, leads the army of American stars, which also includes Lydia Jacoby, Olympic gold in the 100 breaststroke, and Bobby Finke, winner of the 800m and 1,500m freestyle at Tokyo 2020.
The oceanic team, for its part, has record holders such as Zac Stubblety-Cook and Kaylee McKeown, the winner of 26 medals between Games and World Cups, Emma McKeon, and Olympic champions Kyle Chalmers, Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus. The latter, absent in Budapest, will star in one of the most anticipated events in the 400m freestyle, where she will face current champion Ledecky and Canadian Summer McIntosh, who at 16 already holds the world record for the event and two gold medals. world championships (200m butterfly and 400 styles). The teenager will be the best asset for Canada, just like David Popovici for Romania and Léon Marchand for France, winners of four golds in the previous edition. Kristóf Milák, who was the great hope of Hungary, winner of two world titles in his country, confirmed his loss last June because he did not feel at an optimal “physical and mental” level.
For its part, the Spanish delegation will have 79 participants in Fukuoka, of which 45 will be women and 12 of them will be members of the artistic swimming team, which will try to return to the path of medals. Without the Russian team in competition, for the second consecutive World Cup banned due to the invasion of Ukraine, the Spanish, with a young team, could get on the podium after only scratching a bronze between Tokyo 2020 and the 2022 World Cup edition.
However, where the Spanish have more options for a medal is in water polo. The men’s team is the current champion, while the women’s team, Olympic runner-up in Tokyo 2020, continues to be in the group of favorites.
