Brent Hayden set to compete with Eamon Sullivan and Matthew Abood at Arena World Cup - Swimming News
Canadian freestyle veteran and 2011 World Championships silver medallist, Brent Hayden is ready to take on his Australian rivals, Eamon Sullivan and Matthew Abood on the European legs of the 2011 Arena World Cup series.
The Arena series is organised by the international water sports governing body, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA). The initial stop of the series is scheduled in Dubai, while the next three stops are in Europe and last three stages in Asia. The Canadian team will not participate in the opening stage of the championships, whereas, the European legs of the series will be held in Stockholm, Mexico and Berlin.
Earlier, Swimming Australia disclosed its squad to the European stops of World Cup, which includes Sullivan and Abood, who will represent their country in freestyle disciplines. Sullivan, who is the former Australian champion, is likely to face stiff competition from the Canadian swimmer, who just made his breakthrough in Shanghai.
Hayden won the silver medal of 100m freestyle at the Shanghai World Championships and will take charge of the Canadian team to Europe. The Canadian squad includes Hayden, Mike Brown, David Dimitrov, Paul Kornfeld, Andrew Poznikoff, Sean Nugent, Paige Kremer, Erica Morningstar, Annamay Pierse, Breanna Siwicki, Brooklynn Snodgrass and Chantal Vanlandeghem.
National Coach and CEO to Swimming Canada, Pierre Lafontaine considers it a valuable break for their swimmers as this World Cup gives a chance to compete with the giants of swimming in a series of competition.
Lafontaine said, “This is a great opportunity for these swimmers to get excited about fast short course [25m] racing early in the Olympic year. We’re expected to see some strong competition from these World cups.”
He added, “Our swimmers have had a solid block of training and it’s great to have them in a world class racing environment.”
The CEO articulated that with the presence of elite swimmers, FINA World Cup will have a profound effect to flourish the skills of their athletes. In addition, Lafontaine believes that participation of Canadian athletes at this series will provide them with a chance to overcome their shortcomings before the 2012 London Olympics.
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