Rio stars look for short course glory

Los Angeles, Dec. 5: A scattering of Rio Olympic medalists and a bevy of youngsters already looking toward the 2020 Tokyo Games will battle this week as the Short Course World Championships close out the swimming year in Windsor, Canada.

With superstar Michael Phelps retired — this time, he says, for good — and many more of the sport’s big names opting to take a breather after the rigours of the Olympic season, the championships that start on Tuesday at Windsor’s WFCU Centre are a perfect opportunity for up-and-comers to establish themselves on the international stage.

After a 16-gold haul in Rio, the United States brings a 35-strong team featuring four individual medalists from Brazil.

That includes women’s 100m breaststroke winner Lilly King, but King won’t get a showdown with Russian Yulia Efimova, who has announced she will miss the championships with tonsillitis.

Russia’s team of 29 is headlined by 2014 individual short course world champions Kirill Prigoda and Vladimir Morozov — who broke his own short-course world record for the 100m individual medley in August.

Other marquee swimmers aiming to close out the year with a bang include South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu, Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri, Canadians Penny Oleksiak and Kylie Masse, Japan’s Daiya Seto, and Spain’s Mireia Belmonte.