FINA 2022: Swimming world championships in Fukuoka postponed

FINA 2022: Swimming World Championships in Fukuoka postponed.

THE 2022 FINA World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka has been postponed due to rising Covid fears.
The 19th FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, which were initially scheduled for May 13-29, 2022, have been rescheduled, according to the event’s organisers.
FINA, which organises the World Championships for aquatics sports – swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming and water polo – released the following statement:
“Following close consultation with key stakeholders of the Fukuoka 2022 Organising Committee, all parties have agreed to reschedule the competition to 14-30 July 2023 to ensure a safe and successful event for everyone involved. Subsequently, the 20th FINA World Championships in Doha, Qatar, originally scheduled for November 2023, will be held in January 2024.”
Citing the “current health impacts of the Omicron COVID-19 variant”, FINA said its goal is to minimise the impact on athlete preparation and performance during the pandemic and “is in constant dialogue with athletes and coaches regarding the upcoming international aquatics competition calendar.”
FINA President Husain Al-Musallam said: “Given the current pandemic situation and the measures currently in place in Japan, FINA and key stakeholders of the Fukuoka 2022 Organising Committee have agreed to reschedule the 19th FINA World Championships to 14-30 July 2023. The 20th FINA World Championships in Doha, Qatar, will now take place in January 2024. These decisions have been taken in the best interests of everyone involved.”
“FINA will continue to prioritise the welfare of competition participants and take decisions as early as possible given the circumstances, in order to provide a measure of certainty to aquatics athletes and those who support them,” Al-Musallam concluded.
Revised dates for the FINA General Congress, FINA Technical Congresses and the 19^th FINA World Masters Championships 2022 will be announced as soon as possible, the statement said.

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