World Aquatics unveils Silk Road tour for Swimming World Cup 2026

Following a record-breaking Swimming World Cup 2025 season throughout North America, subsequent 12 months’s Swimming World Cup tour heads again east to Asia for a great aggressive lead-in to the 18th version of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) within the Chinese capital of Beijing as athlete chase private bests, World Records, triple crown bonuses and the coveted titles for the highest female and male swimmers on the 2026 World Cup. 

The tour opens in Baku, a gateway metropolis on the western fringe of the Silk Road alongside the Caspian Sea. Historically a hub for caravans transporting silk, spices, and different items to Europe, Baku’s vibrant historical past of commerce and cultural trade mirrors the worldwide nature of the Swimming World Cup.

Baku stands as greater than the place to begin of the Swimming World Cup 2026 circuit: it additionally marks the primary time Azerbaijan has held a World Aquatics occasion. That doesn’t imply that Baku’s Aquatic Palace is a stranger to elite-level aquatics, although, because it hosted the 2015 European Games, 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games and the 2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival.

“Baku’s selection as the opening stop of the Swimming World Cup 2026 is a remarkable milestone for aquatics in our country,” mentioned Azerbaijan Swimming Federation President Zaur Aliyev. “The Aquatic Palace has welcomed several major international events over the past decade, and hosting a World Aquatics competition for the first time elevates our ambitions to a new level. We look forward to welcoming the world’s strongest swimmers to Azerbaijan and showcasing our commitment to growing the sport, inspiring young athletes, and strengthening our partnership with World Aquatics.”

Tashkent, on the coronary heart of the Silk Road, has lengthy been a hub for commerce and cultural interplay throughout Central Asia. Its bustling bazaars, caravanserais, and historic websites mirror centuries of connection between East and West, making it a becoming venue for the second cease of the tour, the place athletes from across the globe will come collectively in competitors.

Tashkent returns to the worldwide aquatics stage after having hosted two consecutive editions of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup from 2017 to 2018.

The upcoming Swimming World Cup marks the primary time Uzbekistan has hosted a world swimming competitors. The Uzbek capital is nicely outfitted for its starring position in subsequent 12 months’s Swimming World Cup, having the lately constructed “Aquatic Palace” inside its famend Olympic-town improvement.

In current years, Tashkent has additionally been a well-liked host of a various vary of elite sports activities occasions, together with the Judo Grand Prix and Grand Slam occasions, numerous World and Asian Cups in karate and different martial arts, and the Tashkent Marathon.

The tour concludes in Astana, Kazakhstan’s fashionable capital, set in a area traditionally crossed by northern Silk Road routes. Astana represents each the legacy of Central Asian commerce and town’s up to date position as a hub of worldwide connection, offering a hanging finale for the three-week Silk Road Tour of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup.

The Swimming World Cup will mark the fourth time Kazakhstan has hosted a World Aquatics occasion, following three international water polo tournaments within the 2010s. With the Barys Arena Pool located within the Kazakhstan capital, Astana, town is well-equipped to host main worldwide occasions, having lately hosted the Modern Pentathlon World Cup Finals, the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, and the UCI Track Cycling World Cup. In 2026, Astana may even host the Games of the Future.

“Welcome to Kazakhstan — your first step into the steppe, where the spirit of the Silk Road meets the flow of our waters,” mentioned Rio 2016 Olympic 200m breaststroke champion and secretary basic of the Kazakhstan Swimming Federation, Dmitriy Balandin. “We greet every swimmer as warmly as travellers once welcomed one another along this ancient Silk Road.”

Perhaps nobody had a extra dominant run by means of the 2025 Swimming World Cup than Hubert Kos of Hungary. The World and Olympic champion swept by means of the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke occasions for consecutive wins. He additionally set two World Records – within the 100m and 200m backstroke – on his strategy to successful the Men’s Overall Swimming World Cup honours for the primary time in 2025.

“The 2025 tour was an incredible experience for me, and I’m proud of the way I raced throughout the season, from the Singapore Worlds through to an undefeated Swimming World Cup tour,” mentioned Kos. “Next year’s Silk Road route is something completely new, and that’s exciting. While my schedule for the upcoming year is still being finalised, competing in three cities with such deep history will definitely add a different and unique dimension to the World Cup.”

World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam additionally welcomed the Silk Road Tour announcement, saying:

“We are thrilled and deeply honoured to be bringing the Swimming World Cup to such historic and culturally related cities as Baku, Tashkent and Astana. The Silk Road Tour will likely be a departure from business-as-usual World Cups, opening up the world’s greatest swimmers to new areas the place their performances will likely be celebrated and even cherished by the native patrons. One of the beauties of getting a compact Swimming World Cup in recent times has been seeing the closeness and camaraderie among the many swimmers competing on tour.

“We look forward to welcoming swimming fans from around the globe and providing an unforgettable experience for all.”

The Swimming World Cup 2026 tour is about to function a formidable prize pool of $1.2 million USD, excluding bonuses for World Records and different efficiency incentives. Over 750 athletes from greater than 50 nations will compete for a slice of this substantial prize pool. Notably, World Record-setters and coveted Crown winners will obtain $10,000 USD for every distinctive efficiency.

In the earlier season, opponents seized the chance to showcase their skills by breaking 12 World Records, equalling one, and reaching 23 crowns. This resulted in a complete prize payout of $1.57 million USD, illustrating the stakes and pleasure surrounding the occasion.