Michael Phelps confirms his participation in Berlin: 2011 Swimming World Cup – Swimming News
14-time Olympic champion, Michael Phelps has confirmed his participation in the fourth leg of the 2011 Swimming World Cup in Berlin, Germany from October 22-23.
Phelps, the most elegant athlete of USA swimming, is ready to take on his rivals at the German stage of World Cup. The world cup is being supervised by the international aquatics sport governing body, Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) and is a seven-stop event.
North Baltimore’s Phelps is the most dominant swimmer as he won fourteen Olympic gold medals and two bronze medals. He won six gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics, which were his first Olympic Games.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 26-year-old American clinched eight gold medals and thus made the world record of winning most gold medals in a single Olympic Games. By far, he is the only American athlete to win sixteen medals in Olympic Games while he is just two medals away from overwhelming the mark of eighteen Olympic medals held by a Russian Gymnast, Larisa Latynina.
The first leg of World Cup concluded in Dubai on October 8 while the next three stops of the series are scheduled in Stockholm, Moscow and Berlin. The next stop of the series is expected to be a tougher one, as the Australian and Canadian teams have also confirmed their participations in the European legs and they are now headed for the second stage of series in Stockholm from October 15-16.
South African swimmer, Chad Le Clos dominated the first stage by winning six gold medals in two-day event. Now, with Phelps’s participation in Berlin, the competition is expected to grow stronger.
Phelps, who specialises in butterfly and Individual Medley (IM) discipline, has competed in the World Cup in 2009. Participation of American veteran has given a surprise to everyone and has increased the intensity of competition in Berlin.
The 26-year-old was unable to make an impressive appearance at the 2011 World Championships, but he is hoping to make a splash at the World Cup.
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