BUDAPEST (Hungary) – The 19th FINA
World Championships Budapest 2022 came to a close today after two weeks of
breath-taking action, record-breaking performances and dramatic finishes.
More than 2,000 athletes from 180
countries competed in front of more than 130,000 spectators over the course of
the FINA World Championships. The event reinforced the sport’s global appeal
with 326 broadcast hours distributed across 192 countries.
“The vibrant capital city of Budapest
has been the perfect host for the FINA World Championships. The venues and
competition have been superb, and the friendly welcome we received from the
Hungarian people will be remembered for many years to come,” said FINA President
Husain Al-Musallam. “The athletes once again shined on the world stage. We
thank you for your efforts, and for those who helped put on the showcase global
aquatics event in record time.”
Three new World Records were set in
the swimming pool with Italy’s Thomas Ceccon finishing the men’s 100m
Backstroke in 51.60 seconds, Kristof Milak of Hungary winning the men’s 200m
Butterfly with a time of 1:50.34 and Australia’s Mixed 4x100 Freestyle Relay
winning gold in 3:19.38. Several more FINA World Championship records,
continental records and world junior records were broken in what was a
fantastic swimming competition.
In artistic swimming, a stunning week
of competition saw Italy score the most points throughout the week to receive
the overall winner award. Ukraine won the largest number of medals (two golds
and five silvers) but finished second to China after China won two more gold
medals (four golds and two bronzes). Japan finished third.
In diving, China continued its
dominance as the country’s divers won gold in all 13 diving events. Over 3,000
divers from 47 nations performed during the eight-day competition including
nine Olympic medallists from the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. In a special moment,
the diving community came together to celebrate Ukraine’s mixed team narrowly
securing second place in the 10m synchro.
Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha became the
first athlete in the history of open water swimming to win a world title in the
same event five times when she claimed gold in the Women’s 25km. Italy’s Gregorio
Paltrinieri equalled history as he became only the second person (joining
Florian Wellbrock of Germany) to have won the 1,500m and 10km in the same FINA
World Championships. Paltrinieri and Wellbrock battled it out both in the pool
and open water with both swimmers winning two golds each. Netherland’s Sharon
Van Rouwendaal also joined an illustrious club of open water swimmers to have
won the 10km at both the Olympic Games and the FINA World Championships.
The women’s water polo saw USA
demonstrate why they are currently the world’s best at as they overcame Hungary
with a controlled 9-7 victory in the final, their fourth consecutive and
record-extending seventh overall title. In the men’s water polo final, Spain
won 15-14 in a penalty shootout over Italy, the defending world champions.
A total of 71 FINA Scholarship
holders competed in Budapest and for the second time in history, the event also
saw the participation of a FINA Refugee Team comprised of Yusra Mardini, Alaa
Masoo, Eyad Masoud.
As part of FINA’s ongoing commitment
to the global development of aquatics sport a number of additional programmes
were held on the sidelines of the FINA World Championships. A clinic for young
swimmers from the Tamas Darnyi swimming school in Budapest was held with
Anthony Ervin and Ranomi Kromowidjojo leading the class. There was a FINA
Ambassadors’ meeting with Budapest 2022 volunteers and two workshops on mental
wellbeing for FINA Scholarship holders. In addition, there was a mentorship
programme workshop to improve development and install good governance practice
in 10 National Federations: St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Malawi, Uzbekistan,
Faroe Islands, Philippines, Federated States of Micronesia, Gabon, Honduras,
Central African Republic
The FINA Extraordinary General
Congress was held at the beginning of the FINA World Championships which saw
the election of the Aquatics Integrity Unit members and the adoption of FINA’s
new Policy on Eligibility for the Men’s and Women’s Competition Categories. The
results of the first FINA Athletes’ Committee elections were announced with
recently-retired swimmer Alia Atkinson (JAM) to chair the Committee from
2022-2026. The composition of the new FINA Technical Committees was also
published.
The FINA World Championships continue
with a tradition of event sustainability, which included FINA and the LOC
relying on electric scooters and bicycles for travel between the two main
competition venues of Duna Arena and the Alfred Hajos National Aquatics
Complex.
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