Michael Phelps competes in the men's 200m backstroke final during the Santa Clara International Grand Prix on June 18 in California. Ezra Shaw / AFP

The world's best swimmers will battle it out for glory at the FINA World Championships, but they will also have an eye on a greater prize next year, Tym Glaser reports

It's not all about the star-studded cast of swimmers that will line up in Shanghai for the 14th FINA World Championships.

There will be diving, led by Chinese diva Wu Minxia, water polo, synchronized swimming and open water events OK, so it will probably be all about the mighty fish of the pond and all eyes will be on the biggest fishy of them all, Michael Phelps, the United States superstar, who has a record 16 Olympic gold medals draped around his neck and is looking for more next year at the London Games.

The lanky Yankee took a lengthy hiatus after the World Championships in Berlin two years ago and struggled to find his stroke upon his return to the pool, but he appears to be rounding into form now and could take part in as many as seven events at the worlds, including the 200m freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, 200 individual medley and the three sprint relays.

He leads a very strong US contingent, which also includes his medley and 200m freestyle rival Ryan Lochte, breaststroke star Amanda Beard and 100 free and backstroke great Natalie Coughlin.

"We are extremely excited about the depth of talent on the 2011 World Championships roster," said USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus.

"As the best possible indicator of our performance at the 2012 Olympic Games, we are anxious to see fast swimming and strong performances from both the veteran leadership and young talent on the team," he said after the national trials.

The Americans are unlikely to have it all their own way in the pool though, as traditional rival Australia has also named a top-notch squad with one eye on worlds glory and the other on London.

The antipodean team looks particularly strong on the women's side with breaststroke champion Leisel Jones, triple gold medal winner at the Bejing Olympics, Stephanie Rice, butterflier Jessicah Schipper and versatile teenager Emily Seebohm.

The two squads appear a class above the rest of the teams and should share a fair portion of the medals, although you can expect Italy's Federica Pellegrini to have a major say in the women's 200 and 400 frees, Germany's Britta Steffen in the women's 100 and South Korea's Park Tae-hwan will be a threat in the freestyle events.

Meanwhile, local hopes appear strangely muted for a home event in a pre-Olympic year.

"We will try to win three to four gold medals in Shanghai. Sun Yang is expected to win one or two, hopefully in the men's 800m and 1,500m freestyles. The 400m freestyle on the first day is also a good chance for him," said Yao Zhengjie, head coach of China's swimming team.

"In the women's 200m butterfly, Liu Zige and Jiao Liuyang have a good chance to win the gold. The other gold opportunities are in the relay races.

"But according to information we have received, Australia and the US are also strong in those two relay races, so it's difficult for China to defend the titles."

(China Daily 07/10/2011 page8)