Doha, Qatar, October 22, 2021: Japan’s Daiya Seto was the standout Asian swimmer on the first day of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2021 in Doha on Thursday, October 21.
The 27-year-old all-rounder won the gold medal in the men’s 100m individual medley with a time of 51.56 seconds in the 25m pool. Seto’s time was the fastest of this year’s World Cup series.
South Africa’s rising star, Matthew Sates, 18, was second in 51.74 seconds, 0.18 seconds behind Seto, and Korea’s Hwang Sun Woo, also 18, took the bronze in 52.30 seconds.
This is the third leg of the short-course series, following Berlin and Budapest earlier this month, with the fourth and final leg at Kazan, Russia next week. The short-course world championships will be in Abu Dhabi, UAE from December 16-21.
The Netherlands finished the first day of the three-day meet with three gold medals and one bronze, followed by South Africa (2-2-0) and the Russian Federation (2-0-1).
Seto recorded Japan’s only gold of the day, while Korea picked up one silver and two bronze medals.
Korea’s silver medal came from Lee Ju Ho in the men’s 200m backstroke and their other bronze medal was won by Back Su Yeon in the women’s 200m breaststroke.
The action continues Friday and Saturday.
A total of 50 male and 27 female swimmers are competing at the impressive Hamad Aquatic Centre within the Aspire Zone. This meet marks 10 years of organising an event leg of the FINA Swimming World Cup series in Doha.