The 2026 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup will be staged in three Eurasian cities next October on a Silk Road-themed route, the global governing body for swimming announced on Tuesday.

Zhang Yufei of China competes during the women's 200m butterfly final at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, on Oct. 20, 2023. (Photo by Attila Volgyi/Xinhua)

World Aquatics said the series will make stops in Baku, Azerbaijan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Astana, Kazakhstan, over three consecutive weeks.

The three-leg World Cup will serve as build-up for the 18th World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), which will be held in Beijing, China, from Dec. 1 to 6.

Hubert Kos, Hungary's reigning World Cup overall winner, described the Silk Road tour as "new" and "exciting".

"The 2025 tour was an incredible experience for me, and I'm proud of the way I raced throughout the season, from the Singapore worlds through to an undefeated Swimming World Cup campaign," said Kos, who swept all nine gold medals in the men's 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke across three North American World Cup stops. He also set two world records in the 100m and 200m backstroke.

"Next year's Silk Road route is something completely new, and that's exciting. Competing in three cities with such deep history will definitely add a different and unique dimension to the World Cup," said the Olympic champion in the men's 200m backstroke.

World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam also welcomed the announcement of the Silk Road tour.

"We are thrilled and deeply honored to be bringing the Swimming World Cup to such historic and culturally significant cities as Baku, Tashkent and Astana. The Silk Road Tour will be a departure from business-as-usual World Cups, opening up the world's best swimmers to new regions where their performances will be celebrated and even cherished by local fans," Al Musallam said.

The 2025 Swimming World Cup season saw 12 new world records broken and one world mark equalled.