2,361 athletes, 191 Countries and the
World Aquatics Refugee Team, 75 medal events and 10 World Records in Fukuoka,
Japan
FUKUOKA (Japan) – Marking the 20th
edition since the inaugural event was held 50 years ago, 2,361 athletes from a
record-tying 191 countries and the World Aquatics Refugee Team competed in
front of 135,000 spectators over the course of the championships.
The event again showed its global
appeal as 320 hours of live video coverage and 17 hours of highlights
programmes were distributed worldwide.
“Fukuoka has been an exceptional home
for our athletes and our aquatics family. I will remember this city for its
beauty. I will remember it for the wonderful friendly welcome that we have all
received from every single person that we have met. But above all, I will
remember Fukuoka for the incredible performances of our athletes,” said World
Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam.
“Fukuoka is very special. Arigatou
Japan, Arigatou Fukuoka.”
Swimmers set a stunning 10 World
Records in Fukuoka, including France’s Leon Marchand in the men’s 400m
Individual Medley as he surpassed the record Michael Phelps owned for 5110 days
– the longest-held World Record in swimming history.
Mollie O’Callaghan added five world
titles and four World Records – one individual in the women’s 200m Freestyle
and three in the relays with her dominant Australian Dolphin teammates.
USA’s Katie Ledecky further cemented
herself as the greatest freestyle swimmer in history by winning her 15th and
16th individual world titles, surpassing Phelps for the most career individual
golds at the world championships. In the all-time individual world medal table,
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom won her 20th and 21st medals to pass the 20 medals
Phelps earned in his legendary career.
The depth and performance have never
been higher in swimming as 38 Continental Records, 14 Championship Records and
4 World Junior Records were also set in Fukuoka.
In artistic swimming, a stunning week
of competition saw Japan score the most points throughout the week to receive
the overall winner award. Yukiko Inui of Japan repeated her double gold
performance from last year in Hungary by winning both the women’s solo free and
technical events.
"I am very happy that many
people have come to support swimming today - even from my hometown of Shiga
Prefecture,” Inui said. “I'm glad that I was able to deliver bright news to
everyone who has been supporting me."
In diving, China continued its
dominance as the country’s divers won gold in nearly all diving events. It took
until the last round in the last diving event in Fukuoka, but Cassiel Rousseau
– an ex-gymnast from Brisbane, Australia – broke China’s six-year streak of
winning every global diving championship event they’ve contested in the men’s
10m Platform.
Athletes from 50 nations performed
over 3,400 dives during the eight-day competition in a field that included nine
Olympic medallists from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Tension was in the lofty air of high
diving as Romania’s Constantin Popovici held onto his day one lead to the win
from the men’s 27m tower.
Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland again
showed she’s still the class of women’s high diving, winning her third
consecutive world title from the 20m tower.
Germany asserted their dominance in
open water swimming as Florian Wellbrock and Leonie Beck each won the men’s and
women’s 5km and 10km events at Fukuoka’s Seaside Momochi Park. While Germany
came in winning all four individual open water titles here, it was Olympic and
World champion Gregorio Paltrinieri anchoring Italy to gold in the Mixed
4x1500m Relay that concluded the open water events in Fukuoka.
Women’s water polo saw the
Netherlands return to the top step of the podium for the first time in 32 years
as the Dutch scored a 17-16 penalty shootout win over Spain.
Regulation time wasn’t enough in the
men’s water polo tournament, either, as Hungary overcame Greece in a 14-13
sudden-death penalty shootout. For Hungary, the 2023 title is their fourth
overall title and their first since Barcelona hosted the World Aquatics
Championships in 2013.
As part of World Aquatics’ ongoing
commitment to the global development of aquatic sports, athlete programmes were
held alongside the competitions in Fukuoka. These included athlete workshops on
training, nutrition and mental health. Additional athlete-focused content
included cultural exchanges such as sumo wrestlers visiting the athletes,
taking them through their flexibility and training routines, and then watching
the competitions.
Eighty-seven World Aquatics
Scholarship holders competed in Fukuoka and for the third time in history the
event also saw the participation of a World Aquatics Refugee Team comprised of
Alaa Masoo and Eyad Masoud.
The World Aquatics General Congress
was held during the second half of the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka
and saw the election of Husain Al Musallam as President and Dale Neuburger as
Treasurer.
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