Victorian Marieke Guehrer, who won gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay and silver in the 50m butterfly at the Commonwealth Games, will plunge back in the pool this weekend to spearhead a team of 13 Telstra Dolphins competing across Asia and Europe, in this year’s FINA Arena Swimming World Cup.

The 24-year-old Guehrer, who landed the single biggest payday in the history of Australian Swimming, when she won the 2008 World Cup Series will be competing in the freestyle, butterfly and backstroke 50m and 100m events.

The reigning 50m butterfly world and Pan Pac champion secured the $US100,000 women’s overall first prize by finishing the series with 23 medals – 12 gold, 10 silver and one bronze, winning over $US135,000. 
 
This year a total of US$360,000 will be distributed to the winners, while an additional maximum of US$50,000 is reserved for world record breakers. The overall men’s and women’s SWC winners receive US$100,000, while those placing second and third receive US$50,000 and US$30,000 respectively.
 
Joining Guehrer on the Singapore and Tokyo leg of this year’s FINA World Cup will be fellow Commonwealth Games silver medallist Hayden Stoeckel from South Australia, Victorian trio Rachael Goh, Kotuku Ngawati and Shane Ashbury, West Australian Travis Nederpelt and national short course 50m freestyle champion Kyle Richardson.
 
Contesting the Berlin and Stockholm legs of the seven-leg tour will be AIS swimmers Craig Calder Belinda Hocking, Sally foster, Merindah Dingjan, Angie Bainbridge, while 100m freestyle short course Commonwealth record holder Matt Abood, who set the record at last year’s Singapore leg of the series, will be out to impress after narrowly missing Commonwealth Games selection this year.   
 
Swimmers were selected for the various legs of the series based on their performances at this year’s Telstra Australian Short Course Championships, which were held in Brisbane, in July.

Swimming Australia