Big boost for Swimming World Cup in Dubai as Mellouli returns

Sport360 staff 07:36 19/08/2014
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  • Arab pioneer: Oussama Mellouli.

    Tunisian sensation Oussama Mel­louli will be one of the star attrac­tions when the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup comes to Dubai on August 31-September 1, organisers confirmed yesterday.

    Mellouli joins a stellar field which includes Olympic champion Chad le Clos and world champion Katinka Hosszu, who are set to dazzle this month at the Hamdan Sports Complex.

    The 30-year-old is no stranger to Dubai having competed here in the World Short Course Champi­onships in 2010 as well as making several visits with the Swimming World Cup series and has always been a huge hit with the crowds, as the Arab world’s most successful swimmer.

    Mellouli, who trains and lives in the United States, has established himself as one of the most remark­able distance swimmers in history.

    He first etched his name in the record books when he defeated the hot favourite Grant Hackett of Australia in the 1500m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. With this victory Mellouli became the first African male swimmer to win an individual gold medal and the first Tunisian to win an Olympic swimming title.

    The following year at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, Mellouli confirmed his world class status by winning the 1500m freestyle, and taking the silver in the 400m and 800m free­style.

    He followed up with spectacular performances in the short course Worlds in Dubai in 2010 and made history again at the 2012 Olympics when he took gold in the 10km open water marathon, and bronze in the 1500m, becoming the first swim­mer in history to take Olympic medals in both the pool and open water.

    “We are delighted to be welcom­ing Oussama Mellouli back to Du­bai, we all still remember his rem-arkable victory here in 2010, and it is fantastic for us to see such a swimming legend in action again,” said Ahmed Al Falasi, president of the UAE Swimming Association.

    Dubai is the second leg of the Swimming World Cup series which kicks off in Doha on August 27.

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