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Kitajima vs van der Burgh rematch in Singapore

SINGAPORE — Kosuke Kitajima (picture), Japan’s most celebrated swimmer, will be heading to the Republic to compete in the Singapore Swim Stars (Sept 5-7) at the S$1.33 billion Sports Hub after confirming his appearance yesterday.

Kosuke Kitajima of Japan. 
Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Kosuke Kitajima of Japan.
Photo: GETTY IMAGES

SINGAPORE — Kosuke Kitajima (picture), Japan’s most celebrated swimmer, will be heading to the Republic to compete in the Singapore Swim Stars (Sept 5-7) at the S$1.33 billion Sports Hub after confirming his appearance yesterday.

Dubbed the “Frog King” in his home country, the 31-year-old breaststroke specialist headlines the eight finalists for the men’s 100m breaststroke event, with the inaugural Singapore Swim Stars setting itself up as a glamour event at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.

Kitajima will be joined by South Africa’s reigning 100m breaststroke Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh — who clocked the world record time of 58.46s at the London Games in 2012 — Australian world champion Christian Sprenger, 2012 Olympic champion (200m breaststroke) Daniel Gyurta of Hungary, and Italy’s Fabio Scozzoli.

At the London Games, Kitajima was denied a three-peat in the 100m event after the South African swimmer stormed ahead of the field to clinch gold and erase Kitajima’s world record. The final also proved controversial after Van Der Burgh later admitted to taking extra illegal dolphin kicks to win the gold.

Kitajima — who recently welcomed a baby girl with pop star wife Chisa Maekawa — is expected to make a bid for his fifth Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 after a disappointing showing in London where he finished fifth in the 100m and fourth in the 200m before winning silver in the 400m medley relay. He will also miss out on this year’s Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and Incheon Asian Games after failing to qualify for both events.

The three-day Singapore Swim Stars, which boasts a prize purse of S$200,000, will see a new format of racing with eight of the best athletes competing in a straight final over 100m across the four disciplines, while head-to-head races will be held to determine the fastest man and woman in the 50m freestyle.

Australian stars James Magnussen, Eamon Sullivan and Brittany Elmslie, South African veteran Roland Schoeman and Lithuania’s Ruta Meilutyte are also expected to be in town for the event, which kicks off with swimming action on Sept 5 before the weekend of activities which includes clinics, Swim Stars VIP cocktail, and open water event.

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