As the 2009 FINA Swimming World Cup heads into its 3 European stops, Moscow, Stockholm, and Berlin, some notable swimming names will join the tour, including the most notable name in swimming, Michael Phelps.

Phelps plans to swim in the Stockholm Meet on November 10th-11th and the Berlin Meet on November 14th-15th. Phelps, one of the most outspoken critics of the full-body polyurethane suits that have rewritten the swimming record books over the last 2 years, has already said that he plans to swim the meets, along with the Duel in the Pool, in only a textile jammer that will comply with the 2010 suit regulations.

Phelps, despite being universally recognized as the best swimmer in the world, will have almost no chance of winning the series, given that he is only competing in 2 meets. The only opportunity he would have would be if he were to break several world records in the 2 meets in which he will compete. There are 20 bonus points awarded for each world record broken at one of the meets, which is equivalent to the number of points awarded for a second place overall finish at one of the meets. This is unlikely, considering the disadvantage Phelps will face by wearing only a jammer. See the explanation of the scoring system to learn more.

Two Australian superstars will be returning from illnesses to compete in upcoming meets. Leisel Jones, the Short-Course World Record holder in the 100m breaststroke, and 2008 Olympic champion in the event, plans to resume competition at the Moscow meet on November 6th-7th. Jones was supposed to compete at the first meet in Durban on October 23rd-24th, but pulled out at the last minute due to a virus.

Jones will be joined in Stockholm, Berlin, and Singapore (November 21st-22nd) by teammate Eamon Sullivan. Sullivan was the Olympic silver medalist in the 100m freestyle, and is the former world record holder in that event. Sullivan has experienced a long string of unusual ailments over the past year that has interrupted his training and competition cycle. Sullivan had hip surgery in January, contracted a viral infection that kept him out of training for the World Championship trials, and then was afflicted by a hormonal imbalance and fatigue that kept him out of the Rome meet. In October, Sullivan had surgery to remove his appendix. Luckily, there were no complications, and Sullivan only missed 4 days of training.

Sullivan will have the opportunity to face off against his rival Alain Bernard, with whom he has traded world records in the 100m freestyle. Bernard was the gold medal winner at the 2008 Olympics in the 100 free, but might me more infamously known as the anchor leg on the French 400m Freestyle relay whom was chased down by American Jason Lezak in one of the most exciting finishes in Olympic history. Bernard’s participation schedule has not been officially announced, but various sources seem to indicate that he will swim in the Stockholm, Berlin, and Singapore meets.