Between the chaos of cancellations generated by the pandemic and the greed that the sports industry fuels exponentially, World Swimming, the new international swimming federation, improvised an extravagant calendar. The result was the World Cups in Budapest in 2022, the World Cups in Fukuoka in 2023, and the World Cups that begin today in Doha (until February 18 on Teledeporte and RTVE Play), marked by general absenteeism.
These championships were never organized in successive years, much less in an Olympic year. The proximity of the Paris Games (July 26-August 11) has triggered the foreseeable desertion. Many of the best swimmers on the planet prefer to wipe out. David Popovici, the record holder in the 100m and 200m freestyle, was the first to schedule his Olympic preparation outside of the Doha event, and preferred to register for the European short course event, a minor event that helps him get ready without exposing himself. Adam Peaty, Duncan Scott, Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky, Regan Smith, Bob Finke, Ryan Smith and Ariarne Titmus did something similar, all declared opponents of the Doha date. It is logical in a sport, inline swimming, in which peak fitness is only achieved following a laborious threading of biological processes that take months to complete. In order to reach your maximum potential in July, the winter months are crucial for accumulating energy, not consuming it in exhaustive races.
The Doha event will serve as an Olympic qualification tournament for artistic swimming, which in the case of Spain has a lot of work to refine in team events. Regarding online swimming, which begins next Saturday the 10th, the strange nature of the World Cup is reflected in the Spanish delegation’s file: 16 swimmers and 16 assistants, including officials and coaches.
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