The World Swimming Championships in Qatar will be about medals from Friday (February 2, 2024). It is the first time that a World Cup will take place in an Olympic year. And the Olympics are the keyword, after all there are still tickets available. Questions and answers about a world championship that has never existed before.
The World Swimming Championships will look for title holders in six disciplines over 17 days of competition. German athletes also have opportunities. An overview.
Which sports are included in the World Cup?
In the first week of the World Championships, medals will be awarded in diving, open water swimming and synchronized swimming. The prestigious pool competitions begin on February 11th at the Aspire Dome. In the second week of the title fights, the decisions will also be made in the spectacular high diving, where the athletes jump into the water from a height of 27 meters and the female athletes from a height of 20 meters. We are also looking for world champions in water polo.
What is special about the World Swimming Championships?
For the first time, a World Swimming Championships will take place in the year of the Summer Olympics. Doha was actually supposed to host the event in 2023. However, due to the corona pandemic, the World Cup in Japan was postponed from 2021 to 2023. As a consequence, the Doha World Cup moved to 2024.
The athletes deal with the unusual scheduling differently. Some athletes, for example from the USA or Australia, are foregoing the title fights. The best in their disciplines from Germany are at the start.
Who are the Germans? Hopeful?
Florian Wellbrock is one of the big favorites in several disciplines. Like Leonie Beck, the 26-year-old wants to successfully defend the five and ten kilometer titles in open water. In the pool, freestyle swimmer Wellbrock has a good chance of winning a medal in the 800 and 1500 meters.
At the World Championships in Japan six months ago, after winning double gold in the open water, the man from Magdeburg had completely unexpectedly failed in the heats of the 800 and 1500 m freestyle and was therefore far from being recommended for Paris. The disappointments in Japan no longer played a role in the finals in Qatar, says Wellbrock. The destination in Qatar: “Fourth place and fastest German” to secure one of the Olympic tickets.
Isabel Gose wants to fulfill her dream of winning her first World Cup medal. The European champion in the 400 meter freestyle was not far away in Japan. “Taking part in the World Cup is a great thing for me and I want to take advantage of this opportunity”said the 21-year-old to the German Press Agency (DPA). “One or two athletes won’t start. This might increase my chances of winning a medal.”
The German athletes want to secure additional quota places for the Olympics in diving. “We have five out of twelve. So we want to get seven more”says national coach Christoph Bohm. The German athletes are not among the favorites in synchronized swimming. The water polo teams missed qualifying for the World Cup. In contrast, there are German starters in high diving (cliff jumping).
World Cup medals or Olympic qualification – what is more important?
“The big goal, what everything is leading to, is simply Paris”says Wellbrock in an interview with the Sport Information Service (SID). The Olympic Games will take place in Paris from July 26th to August 11th. His training partner Gose is also already looking towards the French capital. “The Olympics already play a big role, everything is designed for that”says the European freestyle champion.
The competition in Qatar was sporting “not much value”says DSV sports director Hansmann to the SID. The association is run by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) or the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). “Not measured by the World Cup, only the Olympic Games count. There is therefore no medal requirement.”
who are they international Stars?
Many familiar faces are skipping the World Cup to concentrate on the Olympics. For example, Olympic champions Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan as well as 100m freestyle defending champion and Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers are not in the Australian squad. The US stars Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel are also not taking part.
Sweden’s swimming star Sarah Sjöström, on the other hand, wants to make the trip, as does British Olympic champion Adam Peaty, who is making his World Cup comeback after a break due to mental problems.
Are there any Russian athletes at the start?
No. Although the World Aquatics Association had already allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete again from October under certain conditions, there are at least no athletes from Russia in Doha.
Only the Olympic relay runner-up Ivan Giryov was granted neutral athlete status but decided not to take part in the World Cup. According to the world association, only five athletes from Belarus registered as neutral athletes for the competitions.
Where are the competitions shown?
The competitions will not be shown live on German television. The World Cup will only be streamed on the Eurovision Sport platform.