2023 World Swimming World Cup – Berlin
The first leg of the 2023 World Cup is scheduled. Kayley McKeown and Qin Haiyang As the circuit moves from Berlin to Athens this weekend, it has emerged as the overall leader in the series.
The winners of the Berlin event had some interesting things to say after the race, so take a look at some of them below, with quotes courtesy of World Swimming.
Kayley McKeown: “It’s not about money.”
Australian prodigy McCune frequently visited the interview area after winning four events in Berlin, where she dominated the women’s backstroke event to move to the top of the series standings and earn $12,000 in prize money (so far).
“Coach whispered in my ear that I might be in contention for a spot, but I didn’t really think about it,” McCune said of the series lead. “Even when it comes to money, it’s not a matter of first or second.”
“If I was doing this for the money, I wouldn’t be participating in the sport of swimming, but probably not tennis.”,” she said.
With his win in Berlin, McCune is now in position to compete for the overall series title, which awards swimmers $100,000 in prize money. If she wins on her Telegraph (she won in Athens and Budapest), her net profit will be her $136,000. In theory, if she wins the same four events as Berlin, her $10,000 bonus for winning the same event in all three venues increases that amount to her $176,000. There is likely to be.
After getting back into the 100s on the second day, McCune said he didn’t feel very well before the race and didn’t expect to break 58 seconds.
“My legs felt heavy in warm-ups, and I didn’t expect to get as high as a 7.9. I thought it would be in the 8-point range,” she said. “The 200 backstroke is going to be very interesting because there’s one more lap behind it.” She took back the 200 meters in a World Cup record of 2:06.47.
The 22-year-old added that she is using the stress on the circuit to prepare for next year’s Olympics, both in terms of time changes and event schedules.
“The World Cup experience is an important training experience for Australia,” she said. “This is valuable for Australian athletes because we are far away from home like Paris, in many different time zones like Paris, and can have hectic schedules like Paris.
“If everything goes well, I will be selected for the Olympic team. I am doing a little pressure test to see if my body can withstand it during three World Cup events.”
After winning the 200 IM at the end of day three, having already won the backstroke sweep, McCune added: I’m really happy to be involved in a sport that rewards hard training. As an athlete, if you don’t learn, you don’t grow. That’s my motto. ”
Qin Haiyang I’m glad to see it adam peaty return
Hata dominated in 2023, highlighted by his dominant victory in the men’s breaststroke event at the World Championships in Fukuoka, and managed to repeat the feat in Berlin.
Although Hata repeatedly said in his post-race interview that he was “very tired,” he produced some impressive results, including tying the Asian record in the 100m chest with a score of 57.69.
The Chinese native said he was happy to see the world record holder return. adam peatyHe was the only athlete to be faster than Hata in this event, finishing in 6th place with a time of 59.85 seconds. This comes after Peaty took an extended break from international competition, including the past two world championships (although he did compete in the 2022 Commonwealth Games).
“I am happy to have won the three breaststroke events in Fukuoka. Winning again is my main goal, and I will continue to do so,” Hata said. “I’m really happy to see that adam peaty i’m back. He was very good in this event and I look forward to racing with him in many more competitions in the future. ”
After finishing the sweep in Berlin and emerging as the series leader, Hata said: I felt like I could win three events and probably be able to swim faster within the next two weeks. ”
Zhang Yufei Give Blast 200 flies
Chinese Zhang Yufei She won the women’s 100 fly and 200 fly and took second place in the 50 fly, earning her the second spot behind McCune in the Berlin rankings.
After winning the 200 fly, Zhang said something that every competitive swimmer can relate to.
“I have to say this is a really scary event,” she said. “It’s very tiring. I raced a lot in the Asian Games recently and my body is very tired. I really need a rest, but I’ll continue to race here, in Aslens and in Budapest, so I can rest completely. You can do it.”
She posted a lightning-fast opening 50 of 25.96 seconds and ultimately won the 100 fly two days later, holding off a fierce challenge with a time of 56.74 seconds.
“I feel a little tired,” Zhang said. “The 100 fly is a much better event for me. I’m still sleepy and tired on the third day of swimming, but it was a good result.”
Thomas Ceccon Explaining the US cap confusion
Some fans were left wondering what the hell was going on when the Italian said Thomas Ceccon He wore a U.S. cap en route to victory in the men’s 200 meters on the first day.
Ceccon said after the race that he simply swapped his cap with the American four years ago and wears it as much as he can (he won’t be able to fly it at higher levels of international competition).
“Today I wore a lucky hat (with an American flag on it),” he said. “At swim meets, I wear it whenever I can. I traded for an American swimmer at the 2019 World Juniors.”
Ceccon, who won three events in Berlin and is ranked second in the men’s division, also noted that he had just completed three weeks of high-altitude training and only had a few days off after the world championships. Many of the athletes said that after the world championships he took at least three weeks off. Danas Lapsis He said he had “taken the longest vacation ever” but only returned to the water a month ago.
Other notable quotes
- Isaac Cooper He expressed confidence after winning the men’s 50m free on the first day. “People may say he’s back, but I feel like he never really left,” he said. “This is my first World Cup and I love it. I stood behind the blocks and knew I could win.”
- katie grimes She called her winning time of 4:37.20 in the women’s 400 IM “terrible,” but acknowledged that she was in the middle of a tough training session. She said: “It’s a bit of a strange time of year to swim in the premier event. I don’t think times are that important right now, but I’m not too happy about it.”
- matt seitz In the men’s 200-meter fly, he was fourth with 50 meters remaining, but won by a narrow margin in 29.47 seconds. “He felt really good in the 200 fly (despite the easy win, he wasn’t too happy with the 200 IM). I knew I only had one strong 50, so I saved that for last.” Seitz’ 1:55.87 in the 200 fly was a new career best.
- Seitz added that she is fully focused on the South African Olympic trials in December, and will also compete at the 2024 World Championships in Doha in preparation for the Paris Games.
- Siobhan Hoey Although she wasn’t too happy with her winning time of 1:55.10 in the women’s 200m free, she surprised herself a day later by setting a new Asian record in the 100m with a time of 52.02. Will 51 come? “I didn’t really know what to expect. I had a personal best time in the 100 free, so this was a nice surprise. My goal is to be faster at every stop, but maybe at the end of the series. I will have swam 51 points by then.”
