Budapest Swimming Celebration for Japan, Qatar

(ATR) The southern Japan city of Fukuoka is picked to host the 2021 FINA aquatics world championships. Doha will host the 2023 edition.

The two cities were among a group of three campaigning for the nod from the leadership of the aquatics federation, the FINA Bureau, which met this weekend in Budapest.

FINA secretary general Cornel Marculescu tells Around the Rings that the Fukuoka bid was aided by the coming of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which he says will generate domestic interest.

Fukuoka also has experience, hosting the 2001 world championships, he noted.

"The venues are excellent. Everything is in a compact area. It’s well-connected to China, Korea. There is a big local population. And Japan is a strong partner with FINA," says Marculescu.

According to a source who saw the results of the voting by the 23-member bureau, Fukuoka was the unanimous choice for 2021. For 2023 Doha out paced Nanjing, China 15 to 8. Nanjing was host of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

FINA President Julio Cesar Maglione proclaimed that he was "proud" for a Federation which could generate what he called "exceptional bids" for the biannual event.

Maglione’s delight with the new championship cities is tempered by his dismay over the suspension of the Mexico federation from the FINA membership. The FINA Bureau took that step as it seeks to recover a $5 million penalty that FINA says is due as a result of Mexico canceling the 2017 world championships in Guadalajara. The Mexican government announced last year that it could not afford to stage the championships.

Maglione tells Around the Rings that until the payment is made the Mexican aquatics federation is barred from participating in FINA activities. That means being cut off from events such as the meeting in Budapest. And for Mexican swimmers, divers and water polo teams, they will lose their national recognition and international events, but not their ability to compete.

"They will compete under the flag of FINA," he says.

But there is uncertainty over what this means for Mexican athletes qualifying for the Rio Olympics. Maglione admits he does not know how this will be handled when the Games open in August.

He says discussions are underway with the Ministry of Sport but he vows no negotiation for the damages FINA seeks.

The abrupt cancellation by Mexico forced the international federation to quickly seek a new host city, which it found literally within days when Budapest came to the rescue, fully backed by the national government headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The city of two million on the Danube is in the midst of constructing a new aquatics center, one of three venues to be used to host the championships in August 2017. The championships may also benefit the Budapest bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, to be decided a month later in 2017, among three other candidate cities: Los Angeles, Paris and Rome.

In a briefing for FINA preparations for the world championship, Balasz Furjes, the deputy who handles sports matters for the prime minister said the aquatics world champs will be the biggest sport event ever held in Hungary. Furjes, as a leader of the 2024 bid, knows all must go perfectly. Hosting FINA this weekend is part of the Hungarian sport strategy.

The weekend grand finale was a two hour gala at one of Budapest’s historic venues, Pesti Vigado. Titled "A Night of Stars", the gala honored the top competitors of 2015.

Winners included Katie Ledecky of the U.S. andAdam Peaty of Great Britain, neither of whom could make the trek to Budapest due to training obligations. Most of the other winners were similarly unavailable, with many of them sending their thanks in a video message.

A notable exception was male diver of the year Chao He who played a rapturous piece on a grand piano at the ceremony as he was named the winner.

FINA may have better luck snaring the champions at its next gala which is set for December, past the Olympic hubbub and at a quiet time on thecompetition schedule. The event will take place in Windsor, Ontario as part of the FINA Aquatics Convention and the FINA 25m Swimming World Championships, Dec. 6-11.

IOC member and Association of National Olympic Committees president Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahd Al Sabah was among the guests along with two federation presidents who call Budapest home: Marius Vizer of judo and Tamas Ajan of weightlifting. Other IOC members included Pal Schmitt of Hungary and Sam Ramsamy of South Africa, a FINA Bureau member.

Written and reported in Budapest by Ed Hula.

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