The 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) were held from 16 to 21 December 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2][3] It was previously scheduled for 13 to 18 December but moved back three days on 24 February 2021.[4] Originally scheduled to be held in 2020, the championships were pushed back one year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Competition took place in a 25-metre (short course) temporary pool installed at Etihad Arena.[3][5]
| 2021 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) | |
|---|---|
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| Venue | Etihad Arena |
| Location | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
| Dates | 16–21 December 2021 |
| Competitors | 943[1] from 183[1] nations |
In September 2021, it was announced the Championships would be part of a larger aquatics program, called the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival, which includes competition in open water swimming, diving, and high diving.[6][7][8]
Qualification
editThe qualification period for competing at the 2021 World Swimming Championships ran from 1 December 2019 through 28 November 2021.[9] On 23 November 2021, FINA announced it would take into consideration times swum as part of the 2021 International Swimming League and allow them to count towards qualification for the 2021 World Championships.[10] In addition to country-specific selection procedures, competitors were required to achieve a qualifying "A" or "B" time in an event to qualify for the individual or a relay event with individual entries capped at two competitors per country and relay entries capped at one team per country.[11][12]
Below are the qualifying times for the 2021 World Championships as determined by FINA:[11]
| Event | Men | Women | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "A" | "B" | |||
| 50 m freestyle | 21.40 | 24.60 | 22.15 | 25.46 |
| 100 m freestyle | 47.23 | 53.78 | 48.88 | 55.66 |
| 200 m freestyle | 1:44.88 | 1:55.60 | 1:48.55 | 1:59.65 |
| 400 m freestyle | 3:44.09 | 4:06.95 | 3:51.93 | 4:15.59 |
| 800 m freestyle | — | 8:35.69 | — | 8:53.74 |
| 1500 m freestyle | 14:49.29 | — | 15:20.42 | — |
| 50 m backstroke | 23.79 | 26.81 | 24.62 | 27.75 |
| 100 m backstroke | 51.30 | 58.08 | 53.10 | 1:00.11 |
| 200 m backstroke | 1:52.66 | 2:07.19 | 1:56.60 | 2:11.64 |
| 50 m breaststroke | 26.57 | 30.69 | 27.50 | 31.76 |
| 100 m breaststroke | 57.63 | 1:06.18 | 59.65 | 1:08.50 |
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:06.23 | 2:24.30 | 2:10.65 | 2:29.45 |
| 50 m butterfly | 23.08 | 26.14 | 23.89 | 27.05 |
| 100 m butterfly | 51.35 | 58.22 | 53.15 | 1:00.26 |
| 200 m butterfly | 1:54.10 | 2:09.76 | 1:58.09 | 2:14.30 |
| 100 m individual medley | 53.57 | 1:01.21 | 55.44 | 1:03.35 |
| 200 m individual medley | 1:55.25 | 2:11.51 | 1:59.28 | 2:16.11 |
| 400 m individual medley | 4:09.19 | 4:37.54 | 4:17.91 | 4:47.25 |
Schedule
editAn opening ceremony preceded the start of pool swimming competition on 16 December, was followed by competition from 16 December to 21 December, and concluded with a closing ceremony on 21 December.[13] A total of 46 events were held.[14][15]
| H | Heats | SF | Semifinals |  |
Finals |
| Date → | Thu 16 | Fri 17 | Sat 18 | Sun 19 | Mon 20 | Tue 21 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 50 m freestyle | H | SF | |
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| 100 m freestyle | H | SF |
| |||||||||
| 200 m freestyle | H | |
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| 400 m freestyle | H | |
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| 1500 m freestyle | H |
| ||||||||||
| 50 m backstroke | H | SF | |
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| 100 m backstroke | H | SF | |
|||||||||
| 200 m backstroke | H |
| ||||||||||
| 50 m breaststroke | H | SF |
| |||||||||
| 100 m breaststroke | H | SF | |
|||||||||
| 200 m breaststroke | H | |
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| 50 m butterfly | H | SF | |
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| 100 m butterfly | H | SF | |
|||||||||
| 200 m butterfly | H | |
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| 100 m individual medley | H | SF | |
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| 200 m individual medley | H | |
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| 400 m individual medley | H | |
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| 4 × 50 m freestyle relay | H | |
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| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | H | |
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| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | H | |
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| 4 × 50 m medley relay | H | |
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| 4 × 100 m medley relay | H |
| ||||||||||
| Date → | Thu 16 | Fri 17 | Sat 18 | Sun 19 | Mon 20 | Tue 21 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 50 m freestyle | H | SF |
| |||||||||
| 100 m freestyle | H | SF | |
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| 200 m freestyle | H | |
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| 400 m freestyle | H | |
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| 800 m freestyle | H | |
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| 50 m backstroke | H | SF | |
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| 100 m backstroke | H | SF | |
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| 200 m backstroke | H | |
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| 50 m breaststroke | H | SF | |
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| 100 m breaststroke | H | SF | |
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| 200 m breaststroke | H |
| ||||||||||
| 50 m butterfly | H | SF | |
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| 100 m butterfly | H | SF |
| |||||||||
| 200 m butterfly | H | |
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| 100 m individual medley | H | SF | |
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| 200 m individual medley | H | |
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| 400 m individual medley | H | |
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| 4 × 50 m freestyle relay | H |
| ||||||||||
| 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | H | |
||||||||||
| 4 × 200 m freestyle relay | H | |
||||||||||
| 4 × 50 m medley relay | H | |
||||||||||
| 4 × 100 m medley relay | H |
| ||||||||||
| Date → | Thu 16 | Fri 17 | Sat 18 | Sun 19 | Mon 20 | Tue 21 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event ↓ | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E | M | E |
| 4 × 50 m freestyle relay | H | |
||||||||||
| 4 × 50 m medley relay | H | |
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Medal summary
editMedal table
edit* Host nation (United Arab Emirates)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 9 | 9 | 12 | 30 |
| 2 |  Canada | 7 | 6 | 2 | 15 |
| 3 |  Italy | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| 4 |  Russian Swimming Federation | 4 | 7 | 4 | 15 |
| 5 |  Sweden | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 6 |  China | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 7 |  Netherlands | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 8 |  Hong Kong | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 |  Israel | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
 Japan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 11 |  Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 |  Brazil | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 13 |  Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 Poland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 15 |  Austria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Belarus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 South Korea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 |  Ireland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Lithuania | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 South Africa | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 22 |  France | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Norway | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Tunisia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 26 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Romania | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Ukraine | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (28 entries) | 48 | 45 | 45 | 138 | |
Results
editMen's events
edit
a Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Women's events
editb Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Mixed events
edit| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4×50 m freestyle relay |
Canada Joshua Liendo (20.94) Yuri Kisil (20.99) Kayla Sanchez (23.51) Maggie Mac Neil (23.11) Rebecca Smith[c] Katerine Savard[c] |
1:28.55 | Netherlands Jesse Puts (21.33) Thom de Boer (20.35) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (22.97) Kira Toussaint (23.96) Kenzo Simons[c] |
1:28.61 | Russian Swimming Federation Vladimir Morozov (21.17) Andrey Minakov (20.95) Maria Kameneva (23.17) Arina Surkova (23.68) Daniil Markov[c] Rozaliya Nasretdinova[c] |
1:28.97 |
| 4×50 m medley relay |
Netherlands Kira Toussaint (26.21) Arno Kamminga (25.40) Ranomi Kromowidjojo (24.36) Thom de Boer (20.23) Tessa Giele[c] Nyls Korstanje[c] Kim Busch[c] |
1:36.20 CR |
United States Shaine Casas (23.16) Nic Fink (25.82) Claire Curzan (24.85) Abbey Weitzeil (23.21) Kate Douglass[c] Katharine Berkoff[c] |
1:37.04 | Italy Lorenzo Mora (23.28) Nicolò Martinenghi (25.60) Elena Di Liddo (24.91) Silvia Di Pietro (23.50) Michele Lamberti[c] Benedetta Pilato[c] Leonardo Deplano[c] |
1:37.29 |
c Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.
Coverage
editMore than 180 countries provided viewing opportunities through television broadcast and online streaming mediums.[16] One of the broadcasting agencies providing coverage of pool swimming competition internationally is the Olympic Channel.[17][18] Additional international coverage was provided by Eurovision Sports.[19]
Variations in country representation
editDue to a multi-year ban of Russian representation at World Championships by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, competitors from the country were not allowed to compete using their flag, anthem, nor country name during competition, instead competing with the name Russian Swimming Federation.[20][21][22]
Issues related to COVID-19
editOn 14 December 2021, it was announced that South African swimmers residing in South Africa would not be able to compete in the championships, due to travel bans resulting from the prevalence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which is the World Health Organization's latest “variant of concern.”[23]
On 16 December 2021, FINA informed the Singapore Swimming Association that its entire squad will not be able to compete in the championships due to contact tracing protocols, after four of the country's swimmers tested positive for COVID-19 while in Abu Dhabi.[24]
On 17 December 2021, FINA confirmed seven accredited participants with positive COVID-19 results, which included at least one administrator from Nigeria, and that in turn knocked out all four of Nigeria's swimmers from the meet. This raised questions about its protocols, as some swimmers from other nations such as Great Britain and the United States were allowed to continue competing despite members of those teams testing positive for COVID-19.[25]
By the end of the championships on 21 December 2021, FINA provided a cap number of 40 individuals who tested positive in the duration of the meet.[26] Later the exact number of COVID-19 positive accounts was provided, 37 cases total out of all 5,000 individuals involved with the competition, 15 of which were athlete cases.[27][28]
References
edit- ^ a b "Stage is set for 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) as FINA Aquatics Festival gets underway in Abu Dhabi". FINA. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "Abu Dhabi receives FINA flag to host 2020 Short Course World Championship". Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ a b "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2021: Overview". Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "FINA World Swimming Championship (25m) – New dates confirmed". 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ "Four Olympic Champions Lead World Short Course Team". British Swimming. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ "Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival is revealed!". FINA. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ De George, Matthew (8 September 2021). "FINA Reveals Aquatics Festival in Abu Dhabi, Expanded Scholarship Program". Swimming World. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ Penland, Spencer (8 September 2021). "FINA Announces "Aquatics Festival" That Will Run Parallel To SC World Champs". SwimSwam. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2021: Competition Info". FINA. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "FINA reinforces support to athletes aim to qualify for the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m)". FINA. 23 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Qualifying Times". FINA. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ Edmund, Emma (17 September 2021). "USA Swimming Releases 2021 World Championships Selection Criteria". SwimSwam. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "Just under a week to go! FINA Aquatics Festival in Abu Dhabi". FINA. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Event Schedule". FINA. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Competition Schedule". Omega Timing. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Where to Watch Guide | FINA Abu Dhabi 2021". FINA. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Broadcast Information for the 2021 FINA World Championships (25m)". USA Swimming. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Swimming | World Championships | Abu Dhabi: Overview". Olympics.com. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Sutherland, James (14 December 2021). "British Swimming Teams Up With Eurovision For SC Worlds Live Stream". SwimSwam. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Dunbar, Graham (17 December 2020). "Russia can't use its name and flag at the next 2 Olympics". The Associated Press. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ Wamsley, Laurel; Kennedy, Merrit (17 December 2020). "Russia Gets Its Doping Ban Reduced But Will Miss Next 2 Olympics". NPR. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ FINA (14 December 2021). "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) Abu Dhabi (UAE): Entries Book". Omega Timing. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ "SCHOENMAKER, MATT SATES OUT OF WORLD SC CHAMPIONSHIPS AMID OMICRON SURGE". SwimSwam. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ "Singapore out of World Swimming Championships after 4 test positive for COVID-19". Yahoo News. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
- ^ "FINA CONFIRMS 7 POSITIVE TESTS FOR COVID; NIGERIAN SWIMMERS QUESTION PROTOCOLS".SwimSwam Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Rieder, David (21 December 2021). "FINA: "Fewer Than 40" Positive COVID Tests at Short Course Worlds; Many in Isolation Until After Christmas". Swimming World. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
- ^ Sutherland, James (22 December 2021). "FINA Confirms 15 Athletes Tested Positive For COVID-19 At SC Worlds". SwimSwam. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- ^ Rieder, David (22 December 2021). "FINA Confirms 37 Positive COVID Tests, Including 15 Athletes, at Short Course Worlds". Swimming World. Retrieved 22 December 2021.