FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) underway in 2020 Candidate City

Istanbul: Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will gather further impetus this week as the 2012 European Capital of Sport underlines its host city credentials with its 12th major international sports event of the year: the 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m).

Over 160 National Federations have sent more than 900 of the sport’s top athletes, including Olympic icons like Ryan Lochte and Federica Pellegrini, to compete in the world’s premier short course swimming competition. The event is being staged at the Sinan Erdem Dome – Europe’s largest multi-purpose indoor sports arena. The dome has already played host to Serena Williams’ WTA Championships victory this winter; its transformation into an elite swimming arena, complete with demountable pool, took just seven days.

Hasan Arat, leader of the Istanbul 2020 bid, said:

"The FINA World Championships is going to be another elite sports competition that combines world-class conditions for athletes and their teams with the unique flavour of Istanbul. Our major events so far this year have been hugely successful: the WTA Championships set record aggregate and average attendances and the IAAF World Championships was a total sell-out. Turkey is building up a strong pool of event-hosting capacity, and Istanbul 2020 is tapping into it. Time and again, we are proving ourselves trusted, effective hosts of world sport’s top properties."

Swimming is one of a number of Olympic sports experiencing a boom in Turkey at the moment, from grass roots right through to elite level. At the European Short Course Championships in Chartres, France, in November, Turkish swimmers reached 13 finals and set 22 national records. With the home athletes spurred on by a capacity crowd of over 16,000, hopes are high that more records will tumble for the host nation this week.

Professor Erdener, IOC member and President of the Turkish NOC, said:

"In recent years, and especially since London 2012, we are seeing a huge surge in uptake and popularity in sports not usually considered traditional in Turkey. That is having an impact at both ends of the spectrum, with more and more young people playing and staying in sport, and more and more of our top athletes making their mark on the international stage. Recent years have also seen female participation in Turkish sport increase dramatically – at London 2012, there were more female than male athletes representing Turkey – this is something we are very proud of. Our dream is an Olympic and Paralympic Games that channels all that energy and that love for sport of Turkey’s young, dynamic population into a single unforgettable celebration of sport."

Bob Bowman, the coach of Michael Phelps, is attending the 11th FINA Swimming Championships in Istanbul and said:

"I have been really impressed with these world class Championships here in Istanbul; the level of organisation and support from the crowds and media has been fantastic. There is no doubt that Istanbul has a real appetite and passion for international sports events and I am convinced that this iconic city would make an outstanding host of the Olympic Games."

As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

20 Years at #1: