Multiple-time Olympic and world champion and world record holder Katinka Hosszu headlines a marquee field at the FINA/airweave Swimming World Cup leg in Dubai, taking place at the Hamdan Sports Complex (HSC) on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hosszu, who captured an incredible three gold medals and one silver at the Rio Olympics two months ago, comes to the UAE at the top of the World Cup series standings, having already impressed in the opening four legs in Paris-Chartres, Berlin, Moscow and Berlin.

The 27-year-old Hungarian, nicknamed Iron Lady for her ability to race heavy schedules at every meet, had never won an Olympic medal prior to Rio this year, but redeemed herself with a stellar performance in the pool in Brazil and is now happy to be competing without any pressure.

Asked if she has given herself anytime off after Rio, Hosszu told reporters in Dubai yesterday: “For me, the World Cup is the rest.

“For me it’s the fun part, no pressure, I get up, I race a lot, and I just really enjoy swimming short course and traveling around with all the swimmers and racing.”

Hosszu has won the overall World Cup title in the past four years and with four stops out of nine already done in the 2016 series, She looks well on her way to grab another.

Others in action this week in Dubai include four-time Olympic medallist Chad Le Clos, world champion James Guy, and threetime Olympic medallist Yulia Efimova.

A total of 216 swimmers from 33 countries will be competing at the HSC. To celebrate the event, the UAE Swimming Federation is hosting a Children’s Fun Festival each day from 16:30 to 17:30 pm, offering local children aged 7-12 the opportunity to swim at the state-of-the art facility just before the finals.