The World Aquatics Championships (known as the FINA World Championships until 2022) are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. The championships are staged by World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (Fédération internationale de natation), the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in water sports. The championships are World Aquatics' largest and main event traditionally held biennially every odd year, with all six of the aquatic disciplines contested every championships. Dr. Hal Henning, FINA's president from 1972 through 1976, and their first American President, was highly instrumental in starting the first World Aquatics Championships, and in retaining the number of swimming events in the Olympics, which gave an advantage to nations with larger, more balanced swim teams.[1]
| World Aquatics Championships | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Global sporting event |
| Date(s) | Two weeks (usually mid-year) |
| Frequency | Usually biennial |
| Location(s) | Various host cities |
| Years active | 50 years |
| Inaugurated | 1973 |
| Most recent | Doha 2024 |
| Previous event | Fukuoka 2023 |
| Next event | Singapore 2025 |
| Activity | Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic Swimming, Open Water Swimming, High Diving |
| Organised by | World Aquatics |
| Sponsor | Myrtha Pools Nongfu Spring Omega Yakult |
| Editions | 21 (including 2024) |
| Website | worldaquatics.com |
 2024 World Aquatics Championships | |
The championships were first staged in 1973 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, with competitions held in swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo.[2] In 1991 open water swimming was added to the championships as a fifth discipline.[3] In 2013 high diving was added to the championships as a sixth discipline.[4] In 2017 the synchronised swimming discipline was renamed to artistic swimming.[5]
Prior to the 9th World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka in 2001, the championships had been staged at various intervals of two to four years. From 2001 to 2019 the championships were held biennially in odd years. Due to interruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions, host venues withdrawing from hosting championships and World Aquatics' withdrawing the rights to host championships, the championships will be staged in every year from 2022 to 2025 until resuming to biennial from 2025 onwards.
The World Open Water Swimming Championships (also known as 'Open Water Worlds') is part of the World Aquatics Championships. Additional standalone editions of the Open Water Championships were also held in the even years from 2000 to 2010. The World Masters Championships (also known as 'Masters Worlds) is open to athletes 25 years and above (30+ years in water polo) in each aquatics discipline excluding high diving and has been held as part of the World Aquatics Championships since 2015. Prior to this, the Masters Championship was held separately, biennially in even years.
Athletes from all current 208 World Aquatics member federations are eligible to compete at the championships, along with athletes considered 'Neutral Independent Athletes' under the rules of World Aquatics and athletes from the 'World Aquatics Refugee Team'. The 2019 championships set the record for the most athletes participating (2,623).[6] At the recent 2024 championships athletes participated from 199 nations: 197 member federations, 1 suspended member federation and 1 Athlete Refugee Team.
Championships
editMember federations referred to as winners, second, and third, in the table below, are the top three nation's listed on the medal tally based on the standard method of ranking (being total gold medals, followed by total silver medals, and then total bronze medals).
| Year | Dates | Edition | Location | Nations | Athletes | Events | Events details | Winner | Second | Third | Most medals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 31 August – 9 September | 1 |  Belgrade, Yugoslavia
|
47 | 686 | 37 | 18 (M), 19 (W) |  United States
|
 East Germany
|
 Italy
|
United States
|
| 1975 | 19–27 July | 2 |  Cali, Colombia
|
39 | 682 | 37 | 18 (M), 19 (W) | United States
|
East Germany
|
 Hungary
|
United States
|
| 1978 | 20–28 August | 3 |  West Berlin, West Germany
|
49 | 828 | 37 | 18 (M), 19 (W) | United States*
|
 Soviet Union
|
 Canada
|
United States
|
| 1982 | 29 July – 8 August | 4 |  Guayaquil, Ecuador
|
52 | 848 | 37 | 18 (M), 19 (W) | United States
|
East Germany
|
Soviet Union
|
United States
|
| 1986 | 13–23 August | 5 |  Madrid, Spain
|
34 | 1,119 | 41 | 19 (M), 22 (W) | East Germany
|
United States
|
Canada
|
United States
|
| 1991 | 3–13 January | 6 |  Perth, Australia
|
60 | 1,142 | 45 | 21 (M), 24 (W) | United States
|
 China
|
Hungary
|
United States
|
| 1994 | 1–11 September | 7 | Rome, Italy
|
102 | 1,400 | 45 | 21 (M), 24 (W) | China
|
United States
|
 Russia
|
China
|
| 1998 | 8–17 January | 8 | Perth, Australia
|
121 | 1,371 | 53 | 24 (M), 27 (W), 2 (X) | United States
|
Russia
|
Australia
|
United States
|
| 2001 | 16–29 July | 9 |  Fukuoka, Japan
|
134 | 1,498 | 61 | 29 (M), 32 (W) | Australia
|
China
|
United States
|
United States
|
| 2003 | 12–27 July | 10 | Barcelona, Spain
|
157 | 2,015 | 62 | 29 (M), 33 (W) | United States
|
Russia
|
Australia
|
United States
|
| 2005 | 16–31 July | 11 | Montreal, Canada
|
144 | 1,784 | 62 | 29 (M), 33 (W) | United States
|
Australia
|
China
|
United States
|
| 2007 | 18 March – 1 April | 12 | Melbourne, Australia
|
167 | 2,158 | 65 | 29 (M), 36 (W) | United States
|
Russia
|
Australia
|
United States
|
| 2009 | 17 July – 2 August | 13 | Rome, Italy
|
185 | 2,556 | 65 | 29 (M), 36 (W) | United States
|
China
|
Russia
|
United States and China
|
| 2011 | 16–31 July | 14 | Shanghai, China
|
181 | 2,220 | 66 | 29 (M), 36 (W), 1 (X) | United States
|
China
|
Russia
|
China
|
| 2013 | 19 July – 4 August | 15 | Barcelona, Spain
|
181 | 2,293 | 68 | 30 (M), 37 (W), 1 (X) | United States
|
China
|
Russia
|
United States
|
| 2015 | 24 July – 9 August | 16 | Kazan, Russia
|
190 | 2,400 | 75 | 30 (M), 37 (W), 8 (X) | China
|
United States
|
Russia
|
China
|
| 2017 | 14–30 July | 17 | Budapest, Hungary
|
182 | 2,360 | 75 | 30 (M), 37 (W), 8 (X) | United States
|
China
|
Russia
|
United States
|
| 2019 | 12–28 July | 18 |  Gwangju, South Korea
|
192 | 2,623 | 76 | 30 (M), 38 (W), 8 (X) | China
|
United States
|
Russia
|
United States
|
| 2022 | 18 June – 3 July | 19 | Budapest, Hungary
|
183 | 2,034 | 74 | 29 (M), 37 (W), 8 (X) | United States
|
China
|
Italy
|
United States**
|
| 2023 | 14–30 July | 20 | Fukuoka, Japan
|
195 | 2,392 | 75 | 31 (M), 33 (W), 11 (X) | China
|
Australia
|
United States
|
United States
|
| 2024 | 2–18 February | 21 |  Doha, Qatar
|
199 | 2,603 | 75 | 31 (M), 33 (W), 11 (X) | China*
|
United States
|
Australia
|
China
|
| 2025 | 11 July – 3 August | 22 |  Singapore[7]
|
75 | |||||||
| 2027 | 23 | Budapest, Hungary[7]
|
|||||||||
| 2029 | 24 | Beijing, China[8]
|
* Record by number of gold medals – 
United States (23 gold medals, 1978) and China (23 gold medals, 2024)
** Record by number of total medals – United States (49 medals in total, 2022)
All-time medal table
editUpdated after the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 302 | 246 | 190 | 738 |
| 2 | China | 207 | 124 | 96 | 427 |
| 3 | Australia | 117 | 127 | 90 | 334 |
| 4 | Russia | 105 | 73 | 62 | 240 |
| 5 | Italy | 51 | 62 | 75 | 188 |
| 6 | East Germany | 51 | 44 | 27 | 122 |
| 7 | Hungary | 43 | 34 | 33 | 110 |
| 8 | Germany | 42 | 64 | 73 | 179 |
| 9 |  Great Britain | 36 | 37 | 65 | 138 |
| 10 |  France | 33 | 37 | 34 | 104 |
| 11 | Canada | 30 | 55 | 72 | 157 |
| 12 |  Netherlands | 24 | 42 | 34 | 100 |
| 13 |  Sweden | 21 | 21 | 18 | 60 |
| 14 | Japan | 19 | 49 | 79 | 147 |
| 15 |  Brazil | 17 | 15 | 19 | 51 |
| 16 | Soviet Union | 16 | 28 | 28 | 72 |
| 17 | Spain | 14 | 42 | 35 | 91 |
| 18 |  Ukraine | 13 | 19 | 30 | 62 |
| 19 |  South Africa | 13 | 7 | 17 | 37 |
| 20 | West Germany | 8 | 7 | 12 | 27 |
| 21 |  Poland | 6 | 11 | 12 | 29 |
| 22 |  Greece | 5 | 7 | 9 | 21 |
| 23 |  Lithuania | 5 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 24 |  Romania | 5 | 2 | 8 | 15 |
| 25 |  Denmark | 4 | 9 | 8 | 21 |
| 26 |  Zimbabwe | 4 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| 27 |  Tunisia | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| 28 | South Korea | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| 29 |  Serbia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 30 |  Croatia | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 31 |  Finland | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 32 |  Mexico | 2 | 14 | 19 | 35 |
| 33 |  New Zealand | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
| 34 |  Belarus | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| 36 |  Portugal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 37 |  Ireland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 38 |  Austria | 1 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
| 39 |  Switzerland | 1 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| 40 |  North Korea | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 41 |  Hong Kong | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
 Norway | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
| 43 |  Malaysia | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 |
| 44 |  Bulgaria | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 45 |  Belgium | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Colombia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
 Costa Rica | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
 Serbia and Montenegro | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 49 |  Kazakhstan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 50 |  Suriname | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 51 |  Slovakia | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 52 |  Czech Republic | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 53 |  Cuba | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Czechoslovakia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Iceland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 Jamaica | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 57 |  Ecuador | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Israel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Montenegro | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 60 |  Egypt | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 61 |  Argentina | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Neutral Independent Athletes [a] | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Singapore | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 64 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Venezuela | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (67 entries) | 1,234 | 1,243 | 1,231 | 3,708 | |
Multiple gold medalists
editBoldface denotes active athletes and highest medal count per type.
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Gender | Discipline | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Phelps | United States |
M | Swimming | 2001 | 2011 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 33 |
| 2 | Katie Ledecky | United States |
F | Swimming | 2013 | 2023 | 21 | 5 | – | 26 |
| 3 | Svetlana Romashina | Russia |
F | Artistic swimming | 2005 | 2019 | 21 | – | – | 21 |
| 4 | Natalia Ishchenko | Russia |
F | Artistic swimming | 2005 | 2015 | 19 | 2 | – | 21 |
| 5 | Ryan Lochte | United States |
M | Swimming | 2005 | 2015 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 27 |
| 6 | Svetlana Kolesnichenko | Russia |
F | Artistic swimming | 2011 | 2019 | 16 | – | – | 16 |
| 7 | Caeleb Dressel | United States |
M | Swimming | 2017 | 2022 | 15 | 2 | – | 17 |
| 8 | Sarah Sjöström | Sweden |
F | Swimming | 2009 | 2024 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 25 |
| 9 | Alla Shishkina | Russia |
F | Artistic swimming | 2009 | 2019 | 14 | – | – | 14 |
| 10 | Anastasia Davydova | Russia |
F | Artistic swimming | 2001 | 2011 | 13 | 1 | – | 14 |
Disciplines, events & medalists
editExcept where specified below, there are male and female categories for each event.
Swimming (since 1973)
edit| Distance | Free | Back | Breast | Fly | I.M. | Free relay | Medley relay | Mixed free relay | Mixed medley relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50m | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
| 100m | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||||
| 200m | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ||||
| 400m | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |||
| 800m | ● | ● | |||||||
| 1500m | ● |
Diving (since 1973)
editMen's and women's events:
- 1 m springboard
- 3 m springboard
- 10 m platform
- synchronized 3 m springboard
- synchronized 10 m platform
Mixed events:
- synchronized 3 m springboard
- synchronized 10 m platform
- 3 m springboard / 10 m platform team
Artistic swimming (since 1973)
editExcept for Acrobatic routine, all events include technical and free routines, with medals awarded separately.
- Solo, including men's solo since 2023
- Duet, including mixed pair (male-female) since 2015
- Team (since 2023 open event to men and women)
- Acrobatic routine since 2023 (open event to men and women)
Water polo (since 1973)
edit- Men's tournament
- Women's tournament
Open water swimming (since 1991)
edit- 5 km
- 10 km
- Mixed relay
High diving (since 2013)
edit- 27m (men only)
- 20m (women only)
See also
edit- World Aquatics
- FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
- FINA World Junior Swimming Championships
- FINA Swimming World Cup
- FINA World Masters Championships
- FINA Marathon Swim World Series
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
- List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
- List of World Championships records in swimming
- Major achievements in swimming by nation
Notes
edit- ^ At the 2024 World Championships, in accordance with sanctions imposed following by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, athletes from Belarus were not permitted to use the name, flag, or anthem of Belarus. They instead participated as "Neutral Independent Athletes (NIA)" and under the World Aquatics flag.
References
edit- ^ "North Central Cardinals Athletic Hall of Fame, Dr. Harold Henning". northcentralcardinals.com.
- ^ "Overview". World Aquatics. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Overview". World Aquatics. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Overview". World Aquatics. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Overview". World Aquatics. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "18th FINA World Championships: Entry List by Event" (PDF). Omega Timing. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ a b "World Aquatics Championships 2025 awarded to Singapore". World Aquatics. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "Beijing announced as World Aquatics Championships 2029 host". World Aquatics. 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
External links
edit- 1973 World Aquatics Championships results
- 1975 World Aquatics Championships results
- 1978 World Aquatics Championships results
- 1982 World Aquatics Championships results
- 1986 World Aquatics Championships results
- 1991 World Aquatics Championships results
- 1994 World Aquatics Championships results
- 1998 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2001 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2003 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2005 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2007 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2009 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2011 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2013 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2015 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2017 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2019 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2022 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2023 World Aquatics Championships results
- 2024 World Aquatics Championships results
- Results from Omegatiming (archived)
- Results from sports123 (Swimming) (archived)
- Results from sports123 (Diving) (archived)
- Results from sports123 (Synch swimming) (archived)
- Results from sports123 (Waterpolo) (archived)
- Results from TheSports.org
- Results from Swimrankings
Media related to World Aquatics Championships at Wikimedia Commons