Abu Dhabi will welcome the best swimmers in the globe for a six-day show between December 16 to 21 for the 15th edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships, according to a statement by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. The competition will take place in the iconic Etihad Arena, which for the occasion will be transformed into a 25m temporary pool.
Further, an Aquatics Festival will now take place in parallel with the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) which will feature three additional FINA disciplines (diving, high diving and open water). Yas Island will host the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) as well as the FINA High Diving Qualifier, the ultimate leg of the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series 2021, a brand new Open Water Swimming Mixed Relay and a FINA Diving Team Exhibition.
The FINA High Diving event will serve as the final qualifying event for the 19th FINA World Championships, scheduled to take place in Fukuoka (JPN) in May 2022. The FINA Diving Team Exhibition, meanwhile, will feature a Mixed Team event, with those alternating dives from 3m springboard and 10m platform.
The final leg of the annual circuit of the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series will see competitors complete a 10km race, while an innovative Mixed Relay event will be staged for the first time ever. In the Mixed Relay, each team’s four competitors (two male and two female) will be challenged with completing a 1500m swim for a total of 6km.
With the new competitions added to what was already an action-packed swimming schedule, the event will represent a true aquatics celebration right in the heart of Yas Island. The United Arab Emirates will play host to the prestigious short-course showcase for the second time, after a successful edition in 2010 in Dubai, while Hangzhou (CHN) and Windsor (CAN) hosted the two previous editions in 2018 and 2016 respectively.