Doha hosts a World Swimming Championship overshadowed by absences, but boosted by the chances of Olympic qualification

The COVID-19 pandemic left some chaos in sports calendars and swimming is one of the most evident sports. The one that starts tomorrow in Doha is the third World Championship to be held in three consecutive years: Budapest 2022, Fukuoka 2023 and Doha 2024. Added to this is the overlap with the Olympic year and the already confirmed world cup event for next year in Singapore. There will then be four World Cups in four years.

The context removed several figures from the billboard, but the Qatari capital will also be the focus of attention for the aquatic community starting tomorrow, less than six months before the Olympic Games. More than 2500 athletes from 197 nations, including Tom Daley and Adam Peaty, will compete in 75 events.

The event will open with artistic swimming and diving, will continue with the two water polo tournaments, the open water events, the spectacular high altitude jumps - a test that is not Olympic - and will close with the big swimming week.

When it comes to pool racing, one of those absent will be the Romanian sprinter David Popovici, who together with his team decided on another schedule for the Paris 2024 preview.

The one who will be present is the British Olympic champion Adam Peaty, after some moments of turbulence in his career, due to stress and concern for his mental health, as he himself confessed.

Among the women, there will be no Emma McKeon, Mollie Callaghan or Ariarne Titmus. The stage in women’s freestyle will be very open, although Shayna Jack and Siobhan Haughey emerge as candidates amid so many absences.

The female figure in the world cup will be the Swedish five-time world champion Sarah Sjostrom, who will only participate in the 50 freestyle, a test that does not appear in the Olympic program.

In artistic swimming, with five countries that have already secured their Olympic places for team competition - Mexico, China, France, Australia and Egypt - the stage is set for an exciting competition in the capital of Qatar. It will be the last chance for countries to secure the last five places, excluding nations already ranked. Duet classifications will also be defined.

The U.S. team narrowly lost its place in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago at the hands of Mexico. The head coach of the United States, Andrea Fuentes, explained that the difference could have been as small as a leg that was one inch higher or lower for a single second in one of the three routines.

For open water, there will be 13 Olympic places up for grabs in Doha. In Fukuoka, home of the last World Championship, German swimmers dominated the 10-kilometer open water events, which is included in the Olympic program. Florian Wellbrock was gold and Oliver Klemet bronze among men. They were accompanied on the podium by the Hungarian Kristof Rasovski. The three of them have already secured their ticket to Paris 2024. France, as the organizer, also has a reserved place, in both branches.

For women, the winner was Germany’s Leonie Beck, ahead of Australia’s Chelsea Gubecka and American Katie Grimes. In both events, the best placed swimmers from Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania will qualify for the Olympic Games, other than those already qualified.

Water polo will award four men’s and two women’s Olympic places. From February 4 to 9, the matches between the teams classified in four groups will be played. The first in each zone will qualify for the quarterfinals.

The diving competition will feature an interesting mix of Olympic and world champions, as well as emerging stars of the discipline. The Chinese team will compete with no less than six Olympic champions, while Mexico and Great Britain will also participate with an outstanding roster, led by Osmar Olvera and Tom Daley, respectively. At least 12 divers and four teams will win Olympic places at the Hamad Aquatic Center.