Tuesday Talk - FINA President on Phelps, London 2012, World Aquatics Convention

(ATR) Julio Maglione tells Around the Rings the FINA family "must do even better" from 2013 to 2017, a period for which he will seek re-election next year.

The IOC member and Uruguayan Olympic Committee president spoke to ATRahead of FINA's 2nd World Aquatics Convention beginning Tuesday in Moscow.

Read on as Maglione discusses some of the issues now facing FINA in this wide-ranging interview with ATR Editor Ed Hula, and also be sure to checkout ATR's special edition magazine for Moscow.

Around the Rings: How will this week in Moscow differ from last time around?

Julio Maglione: After the first edition of the Convention in Punta del Este, we have conducted a post-event survey in which we asked the participants their feedback and their wishes for the next editions. We have received many comments and suggestions, and we try this year in Moscow to meet these expectations. They were namely the introduction of workshops, more time to interact outside the Conference period, and more practical discussions on National Federations’ development and administration issues. To give more value to the Convention, we have also added the FINA Gold Medal Swimming Coaches Clinic, to which we invited many of the coaches with gold medallist athletes at the recent 2012 Olympic Games in London.

ATR: What are FINA's hopes and expectations for the Coaches Clinic?

JM: Taking into account the level of the lecturers and the successful trajectory of the coaches invited to the clinic, I am sure that this initiative will be a huge milestone. With their experience and their knowledge, these coaches will be able to share their winning strategies with all the delegates. In order to ensure that the message is spread all around the world, FINA covers all the expenses for one coach from each National Federation to attend the clinic, as it is the case for one delegate during the Convention.

ATR: What are the big issues for FINA at the moment?

JM: Our action is driven by two main pillars: the organization of outstanding competitions in prestigious locations and, naturally, all the issues related with the development of our 202 national member federations in the five continents.

Concerning the first point, FINA is proud to announce that our calendar is fulfilled for the years to come. After our 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Istanbul in mid-December and the 15th FINA World Championships next July in Barcelona, the subsequent editions of our major competitions are already awarded: in 2015, Kazan, Russia, and in 2017, Guadalajara, Mexico will host our World Championships, while in 2014 Doha will organize our short course main rendezvous. Besides that, the Qatari capital will welcome, with the occasion of these championships, the third edition of the FINA World Aquatics Convention.

Conscious that this scheduling brings benefit both to FINA but also to the organizers – with whom we have more time to work and prepare these major events – we are ready in Istanbul to award the 2016 and possibly the 2018 edition of our FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), and in Barcelona, next year, we will unveil the 2019 and possibly the 2021 hosts of our main event.

In terms of development, we continue implementing our programs for coaches, officials and administrators worldwide and we maintain our policy of reinvesting the commercial and TV rights revenues of our annual events – Swimming World Cup, Diving World Series, Water Polo World League, Synchro World Trophy and 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup – back to the sport, either directly to the organizers or to increase the prize money paid to our stars.

Furthermore, we continue supporting the participation at our main events, with the travel and full-board accommodation expenses provided for more than 2,500 athletes and officials at the FINA World Championships and to more than 800 competitors and officials at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m).

Finally, we have launched a partnership with the United Nations, IOC and World Health Organization to promote a "Swimming for All" program aimed at attracting the maximum number of children to our sport. Swimming is not only a "sport for life", but it is also a sport that saves lives.

ATR: What's on tap for the FINA Bureau in Moscow?

JM: The main issue will be the analysis of the proposals coming from our Committees and National Federations to be presented at the 2013 Technical Congresses in Barcelona. Other issues will naturally include the follow-up of our other competitions, and the establishment of the rules for our new discipline – high diving – which will make its entry in the program of the 2013 FINA World Championships, after a 2013 world series’ circuit organized in partnership with Red Bull.

ATR: What is your evaluation of the aquatics competition at the London 2012 Olympics?

JM: Superb, at all levels – the performances, the venues, the organization, the enthusiasm of the fans, the exposure of aquatics. FINA disciplines demonstrated once more that they are a pillar of the Olympic program and bring an outstanding added value to the Games.

I can recall the nine world records in swimming, the end of the brilliant career of the best Olympian ever, Michael Phelps, the Aquatics Center and the Water Polo Arena sold out for most of the sessions, the emergence of new stars, the thrilling games in the water polo tournaments, the expectations surrounding the performance of national hero Tom Daley in diving, the beauty of the synchro events, and the superbly well organized marathon swimming races at Hyde Park.

ATR: What about the Paralympics?

JM: FINA is not directly involved with the Paralympic Games. Therefore, as an IOC member, I must also underline the success of this competition, in a fantastic atmosphere, capable of delivering great results and memorable examples of how adversity in life can be sublimated through sport.

This is the best message of the Paralympic Games.

ATR: Whose idea was the trophy presented to Michael Phelps, and why?

JM: Michael Phelps is already a worldwide legend in swimming. His 22 Olympic medals (including 18 gold) will be the target to beat, and the one that will last, in my opinion, for many decades. His career is unique, his performances are magnificent and his versatility in the pool will long be remembered. Besides that, he is a great human being, ready to share his charisma with the children. He is a true inspiration to all sportsmen and his legacy to swimming is enormous. He is the greatest Olympic athlete ever, and FINA decided to thank and congratulate him after his announcement of retirement in London. The trophy ceremony in London was modest if compared with the magnitude of Phelps’ feats in over one decade of incomparable success.

ATR: What's behind the recent rise in participation numbers at the short-course worlds, and how do they fit into FINA's overall vision?

JM: Over the years, the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) has become an essential rendezvous in our calendar. The fixation of its organization in December on every even year culminates the short-course season with a great competition, attended by many stars of the pools. Great champions and superb performances are now part of the history of these championships, and this tradition will certainly continue. The financial assistance provided by FINA for the participation at this event – with over 800 athletes and officials being provided travel and full-board accommodation expenses – certainly contributed to the increase in numbers, which registered a new record in the previous edition (2010) of the Championships in Dubai: 786 swimmers from 153 nations.

ATR: How ready is Istanbul for the short-course worlds in December?

JM: We will have these championships in a superb complex – the Sinan Erdem Dome, one of the largest facilities in Europe – and we are expecting a new record of participation (more than 800 competitors from over 160 countries). Our Turkish friends are doing fantastic work in preparing this event, and I am sure that athletes, coaches, officials, and media representatives will have optimal conditions to deliver great performances in Istanbul. This exciting metropolis is used to hosting major international sport events, and the entire FINA Family will certainly keep the best possible memories from these championships.

ATR: What about Barcelona for the 2013 World Aquatics Championships?

JM: After a fantastic organization in 2003, Barcelona is again ready to become the "city of water". Very experienced, the Organizing Committee is ready to deliver an outstanding championship, where sport, culture and social events will be gathered to once more make our main event a true "Aquatic Festival". Despite the economic challenges that Spain is facing, the authorities in charge of the Championships have assured FINA that this organization is their main priority for 2013. The venues will be excellent and the promotion around the event has started already in 2011. Everyone in the city is aware of the championships, and we will surely have full-house venues to witness the performances of our pool and open water swimmers, divers, water polo players and synchronized swimmers. TVE, the Host Broadcaster, is also preparing a superb TV production and we hope to do better than in the previous two editions of the FINA World Championships – Rome 2009 and Shanghai 2011 - where we reached 3.5 billion accumulated TV viewers in the five continents.

ATR: Will you stand for re-election as FINA president next year?

JM: After having received the support of many continental associations and many National Federations, I decided to run for a second term as FINA President in 2013. It is a great honor for me to see that our work since 2009 has been widely appreciated. It is also an enormous responsibility to know that in the period 2013-2017, we must do even better. But we are ready to work, as always, for the benefit of FINA and its National Member Federations, and for the enhancement of the popularity and importance of our five aquatic disciplines on a global scale.

Interview by Ed Hula

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