Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps, expected in the UAE

Top swimmers like Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are among the top swimmers expected to be here when the UAE plays host to the opening round of the Fina Arena Swimming World Cup 2011 in the first half of October. Dubai was awarded the right to host the opening round on October 7-8 of an arduous seven-round season that will conclude with the seventh round in Japan on November 12-13. "After what happened last year, we were not too keen in hosting rounds on the open water championships. And this competition is something that can take swimming in this part of the world to a different level, so we pitched in for this instead," Ayman Saad, Executive Director, UAE Swimming Association (UAESA), told Gulf News. American Francis Crippen went missing during the course of the eighth and final of the Fina 10km Marathon World Cup in Fujairah on October 24. His lifeless body was later found by divers and the American was declared dead after being rushed to hospital, forcing the cancellation of the next round on the Fina World Open Water Championships at the same venue later that week. "But the Fina Arena Swimming World Cup is a competition that can help us further in our quest to popularize swimming further," Saad added. Brazilian Thiago Pereira and Sweden's Therese Alshammar were the overall winners at the end of the 2010 Fina Arena Swimming World Cup that was also held over seven meets in three continents last year. Pereira totaled 178 points in the men's ranking, while Alshammar was unbeatable in the women's ranking with 162 points. "Maybe it is a bit too early to confirm all the top names for the two-day competition, but we have indications that Lochte and Phelps are more or less confirmed for the first round in Dubai so that they can carry forward a winning momentum for the rest of the season," Saad related. The competition will be held at the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Sports Complex situated off the Dubai-Al Ain Highway. The same complex played host to the 10th Fina World Swimming Championships (25m) held at the end of 2010. "Once again, this will be the first time that this competition is going to be held in the Arab world. While this is a huge achievement for us and the sport, we are eagerly looking forward to the cream of world swimmers coming to Dubai once again," the UAESA said. This year's World Cup, that will be concluded in little more than a month's time, also includes stops in Stockholm (October 15-16), Moscow (October 18-19), Berlin (October 22-23), Singapore (November 4-5), Beijing (November 8-9) and the final stop in Tokyo (November 12-13). 2011 Calendar: October 7-8: Dubai; October 15-16: Stockholm, Sweden; October 18-19: Moscow; October 22-23: Berlin; November 4-5: Singapore; November 8-9: Beijing; November 12-13: Tokyo. From gulfnews.