• Tashkent to welcome athletes for the second stop on the tour 

• Netherlands' Marrit Steenbergen tops the women's rankings with 58.2 points, while Russia's Egor Kornev leads the men with 59.3 points after gold-medal-winning exploits in Baku 
• Rights-free content available on Media Pool throughout competition 

The World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2026 heads to Tashkent, Uzbekistan from 8-10 October for the second stop of the three-stop Silk Road Tour, with the world's leading swimmers continuing their journey east towards the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing this December. 

The competition will take place at the Palace of Water Sports within Tashkent's Olympic City complex, as the city returns to the global aquatics spotlight after previously hosting two editions of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup in 2017 and 2018. 

The Uzbek capital has long been a crossroads of trade and cultural exchange between East and West, and its modern sporting infrastructure will now provide the stage for three days of elite international swimming.

Tashkent – another opportunity to "race hard" 

Baku provided a spectacular opening to the Silk Road Tour, with a World Cup record, continental records and a world-record-equalling performance among the highlights. 

Egor Kornev was one of the stars of the opening stop, winning three gold medals and matching the World Record in the Men's 100m Freestyle with 44.88. He also claimed the 50m Butterfly title in 21.64 to finish the weekend as the leading man in the overall World Cup rankings. 

The 22-year-old now heads to Tashkent with 59.3 points, followed by Australia's Luke Barr on 57.4 and South Africa's Pieter Coetze on 55.6. 

The women's rankings are equally closely contested. 

Marrit Steenbergen leads the way on 58.2 points after Baku, where she won the 100m Freestyle and 100m Backstroke and added silver in the 200m Individual Medley. Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk sits second on 54.2, with China's Yu Titing third on 53.7. 

Steenbergen arrives in Tashkent looking to continue a remarkable start to the tour. 

But there's still a long way to go, and Tashkent is another opportunity to race hard, enjoy the competition and see where I can improve. I'm excited to experience a new city," said Steenbergen.  

Roos Vanotterdijk will aim to maintain the pressure at the top of the rankings after an impressive opening stop. 

"I'm happy with how Baku went and to be so close to my best times gives me a lot of motivation for Tashkent. The World Cup is such a good environment to race in, every race is a chance to challenge myself," Vanotterdijk said. 

The race for Beijing 

The overall leaders will face strong competition from Olympic medallists, World Champions, and Swimming World Cup stars.  

Among the contenders is Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey, a four-time Olympic medallist and winner of the 200m Freestyle in Baku. Australian sprinter Cameron McEvoy will look to continue his great form from Baku, having set a Swimming World Cup record in the 50m Freestyle. 

The Silk Road Tour then concludes in Astana, Kazakhstan from 15-17 October, with USD $ 1.2 million in prize money across the series and wildcard places for the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (35m) in Beijing up for grabs. 

Schedule  

Morning heats begin at 10:00 local time across all three days of competition. 

Finals begin at 18:00 on all three days. 

The full schedule can be found here 

Where to watch 

Racing will be shown live and on demand through World Aquatics broadcast partners around the world, and on the World Aquatics Recast channel in other markets. 

Full details are available here . 

Rights-free content on Media Pool 

Media covering the Silk Road Tour can find the latest rights-free content from each stop on the World Aquatics MEDIA POOL. This includes rights-free imagery, highlights and b-roll footage, which will be made available throughout the event. 

The Silk Road Tour concludes in Astana from 15-17 October.