The Baku leg of the Swimming World Cup, which gets underway today, will bring some of the biggest names in world swimming to the Azerbaijani capital. Among them are several athletes with special memories of Baku, where they achieved some of the first major results of their careers before going on to become Olympic and world champions.
As reported by İdman.Biz, Dutch star Marrit Steenbergen is returning to Azerbaijan 11 years after her breakthrough appearance in Baku.
Steenbergen, the 100m freestyle world record holder with a time of 51.68 seconds and a multiple world and European champion, began her rise on the international stage in the Azerbaijani capital. At just 15, she won gold in the 100m freestyle and five silver medals at the inaugural European Games in Baku in 2015.
She will now compete in seven events in Baku: the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, 50m and 100m backstroke, and 100m and 200m individual medley.
Her compatriot Tes Schouten will also compete in Baku. The 2024 Olympic bronze medallist and 200m breaststroke world champion has her own history in Azerbaijan. Steenbergen and Schouten were part of the Dutch team that claimed silver in the 4x100m medley relay at the 2015 European Games.
British swimmer Abbie Wood is another former Baku 2015 participant returning to the city. The European champion and World Championships medallist won gold in the 400m individual medley and bronze medals in the 200m individual medley and relay events at the European Games.
Ireland’s Mona McSharry is also returning to Baku years after competing here as a 14-year-old in 2015. She left the European Games without a medal, but now returns to Azerbaijan as the 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in the 100m breaststroke.
The Baku field also features several other major international stars.
Among them is Australia’s Cameron McEvoy, the reigning Olympic champion in the 50m freestyle and the current world record holder in the event. McEvoy clocked 20.88 seconds at the Chinese Open in March this year, breaking the long-standing record previously held by Brazil’s Cesar Cielo.
Another headline name is China’s Qin Haiyang. The 27-year-old won Olympic relay gold at Paris 2024 and became the first swimmer in history to sweep the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke titles at a single World Championships in 2023. He retained his world titles in the 100m and 200m breaststroke in 2025.
Qin recently lost one of his world records, however, after 17-year-old Japanese swimmer Shin Ohashi broke his 200m breaststroke mark last week.
Hong Kong’s four-time Olympic medallist Siobhan Haughey will also compete in Baku. One of the world’s leading 100m and 200m freestyle swimmers, Haughey is a multiple short-course world champion. She made history as Hong Kong’s first Olympic medallist and later became the first athlete representing the territory to win two Olympic medals.
Another decorated Dutch swimmer on the start list is Caspar Corbeau. The Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in the 200m breaststroke became the first swimmer to complete the event in under two minutes in a short-course pool in 2025. His world-record time of 1:59.52 surpassed Russian swimmer Kirill Prigoda’s previous mark of 2:00.16.
And this is far from the complete list of stars Azerbaijani spectators will be able to see in the coming days. The strength of the field promises high-level competition at the Baku Aquatics Palace.
The Baku leg of the Swimming World Cup will run until October 3 and forms part of the Silk Road series. Following Baku, the series will continue in Tashkent from October 8-10 before concluding in Astana from October 15-17.
