Record number of athletes register for FINA Worlds

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu set records in 200m and 400m Individual Medleys in Doha in August.

By Sports Reporter/Doha

With just over a month to go before the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), Qatar is already setting records as an unprecedented 1,300 swimmers have registered their interest in competing at Hamad Aquatic Centre.

Also, more than 500 team officials have registered to participate in the event.

As of yesterday, 174 countries will be represented at this year’s event, which will be held from December 3-7, 2014. Whilst athletes are still undergoing the formal approval process in order to confirm their place at swimming’s showpiece event, all signs point towards Qatar being set to attract more swimmers to a FINA World Swimming Championship (25m) than ever before. At the 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Istanbul, 2012, 958 swimmers competed.

Speaking ahead of the 12th FINA Swimming World Championships (25m), Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) president and Doha 2014 CEO Khaleel al-Jabir said: “The excitement is building ahead of the World Championships here in December. We were delighted with the success of the FINA Swimming World Cup in August and clearly Doha has built a strong reputation as a world-class host in the swimming world, with a record number of athletes registered to compete here in December. We look forward to another spectacular event.”

Come December, the world’s best swimmers will once again take to the blocks at Hamad Aquatic Centre to compete in 46 medal events, with morning heats starting at 9:30am and finals at 6pm daily. Spectators can expect to witness exhilarating performances in the pool which has already seen three World Records broken this year thanks to the efforts of Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu. The defending FINA World Cup champion set new records in the 200m and 400m Individual Medleys at the FINA Mastbank Swimming World Cup – Doha in August.

Her compatriot, Daniel Gyurta, gold medallist at the London 2012 Olympic Games, also wrote himself into the history books in Doha this summer breaking a World Cup record in his signature 200m breaststroke. One of the 1,300 athletes hoping to compete in the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships in December, he believes his experiences at Hamad Aquatic Centre last month will give him an edge.

“I think I am very lucky that I was able to compete at Hamad Aquatic Centre before the World Championships. It has given me feedback about what the swimming is like there, and what kind of times can be fulfilled –based on my performance at the World Cup it looks positive for me,” he said.

Previous victors at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) include US Olympic gold medallist Ryan Lochte, who took home six gold medals at the last Championships in 2012. South African Olympic champion Chad Le Clos and Hosszu, are among the top athletes already looking forward to a return to Doha. In addition, Mireia Belmonte (ESP), Marieke D’Cruz (AUS), Thomas Fraser-Holmes (AUS) and other key athletes from Germany, Italy, Russia, China, Japan and the Netherlands are expected to be bringing their best to the competition.

Doha will also host the 3rd FINA Aquatics Convention at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel between November 29 and December 1, providing a platform for industry leaders and decision makers to facilitate and support sustainable growth of aquatic sports throughout the world.

Doha is also showing its commitment to the future of swimming through a Qatar Olympic Committee and FINA-organised five-day Youth Programme where nearly 400 elite young swimmers will be given the opportunity to experience the FINA Swimming World Championships first hand.