Beijing wins 2029 World Aquatics bonanza

Article posted by Coliseum, February 15^th, 2024

Image: World Aquatics

World Aquatics has picked Beijing to host the 2029 World Championships.

Swimming World Magazine said the games will be organized by the China Swimming Association and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports. It will also include the World Aquatics Masters Championships later that year.

The flagship World Aquatics event will welcome more than 2,500 world-class athletes from over 200 countries and regions to compete in the six aquatic sports of swimming, diving, water polo, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving.

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Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and the 2022 Winter Games.

World Aquatics, formerly known as the International Swimming Federation (FINA), is the international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in water sports. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

An aquatics hotspot, Beijing has hosted 15 editions of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, along with multiple World Cup events in swimming, diving, artistic swimming and water polo. China also hosted both the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Hangzhou in 2018 and the World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai in 2011.

World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam said, “Beijing has repeatedly welcomed major aquatics events, providing excellent conditions that enable our athletes to perform at their very best. For this, we are deeply grateful.

“Thanks to our longstanding collaboration with our friends in China, we know the global aquatics community can look forward to world-class sporting action and entertainment in one of the world’s most iconic cities. We are also very thankful to the other cities that expressed an interest in hosting. The World Aquatics Championships have become a compelling event for participants, spectators, viewers, partners and organisers alike.”

Swimming World further stated that Beijing 2029 will be the fourth time in the last five installments and fifth in the last seven that Worlds is held in Asia. World Aquatics will visit China three times in 2024, with the Artistic Swimming World Cup in Beijing and the Diving World Cup Super Final in Xi’an in April, then a Swimming World Cup stop in Shanghai in October.

Beijing has hosted meets in World Aquatics’ Swimming World Cup on 15 occasions as well numerous events in other aquatic disciplines.

China Swimming Association President Zhou Jihong said, “The People’s Republic of China is deeply passionate about aquatic sports. We have a very proud history of welcoming the best aquatics athletes to our country.

“We are therefore very honoured with Beijing being awarded the opportunity to host the world’s largest aquatics event, the World Aquatics Championships, in 2029.”

A proven host with a strong record of successfully delivering World Aquatics events, the People’s Republic of China has organised over 100 major aquatics competitions, 37 of which have taken place in Beijing.

With the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024 currently taking place in Doha, Team China had a dominant first week in the Qatari capital, taking 16 golds out of 29 events to top the medal table.

Following the current event in Doha, the 2025 and 2027 editions of the World Aquatics Championships will be hosted in Singapore and Budapest, respectively.

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