By George Aluo
World swimming governing body, FINA is confident the Hungarian city of Budapest would host a befitting show during the 19th World Swimming Championships this summer.
The competition which is billed to run from June 17-July 3 was initially slated for the Russian city of Kazan but had to be moved to the Hungarian capital, no thanks to the sporting sanctions imposed on Russia because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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FINA noted that Budapest has a deep sporting fan base and passion for aquatics sport.
While looking forward to a memorable championship, FINA stated…” Look for Budapest to shine as well. With a deep sporting fan base and passion for aquatics sport, Budapest event organisers hosted a memorable 17th FINA World Championships 2017 that set new records for ticket sales, broadcast viewers and digital audiences.”
It is recalled that close to half a million fans in 2017 saw 11 new world records, 21 championship records and 8 world junior records set.
A record 172 countries broadcast the event that featured 2,303 athletes and 29 nations represented on the podium.
FINA was also quick to add…”With an event prize pool of USD 5,720,000 and coming off a season punctuated by world records, the competition is set to feature some all-time great swimming, diving and water polo performances in the Hungarian capital.”
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