2021 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) explained

2021 World Championships
Location:	Abu Dhabi, UAE
Dates:	16–21 December 2021
Venue:	Etihad Arena
Competitors:	943^[1]
Nations:	183
Previous:	2018 Hangzhou
Next:	2022 Melbourne

The 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) were held from 16 to 21 December 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.^{[2] [3]} It was previously scheduled for 13 to 18 December but moved back three days on 24 February 2021.^[4] Originally scheduled to be held in 2020, the championships were pushed back one year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Competition took place in a 25-metre (short course) temporary pool installed at Etihad Arena.^{[3] [5]}

In September 2021, it was announced the Championships would be part of a larger aquatics program, called the Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival, which includes competition in open water swimming, diving, and high diving.^{[6] [7] [8]}

Qualification

The qualification period for competing at the 2021 World Swimming Championships ran from 1 December 2019 through 28 November 2021.^[9] On 23 November 2021, FINA announced it would take into consideration times swum as part of the 2021 International Swimming League and allow them to count towards qualification for the 2021 World Championships.^[10] In addition to country-specific selection procedures, competitors were required to achieve a qualifying "A" or "B" time in an event to qualify for the individual or a relay event with individual entries capped at two competitors per country and relay entries capped at one team per country.^{[11] [12]}

Below are the qualifying times for the 2021 World Championships as determined by FINA:^[11]

Event	Men	Women	Men	Women
	"A"		"B"
50 m freestyle	21.40	24.60	22.15	25.46
100 m freestyle	47.23	53.78	48.88	55.66
200 m freestyle	1:44.88	1:55.60	1:48.55	1:59.65
400 m freestyle	3:44.09	4:06.95	3:51.93	4:15.59
800 m freestyle	—	8:35.69	—	8:53.74
1500 m freestyle	14:49.29	—	15:20.42	—
50 m backstroke	23.79	26.81	24.62	27.75
100 m backstroke	51.30	58.08	53.10	1:00.11
200 m backstroke	1:52.66	2:07.19	1:56.60	2:11.64
50 m breaststroke	26.57	30.69	27.50	31.76
100 m breaststroke	57.63	1:06.18	59.65	1:08.50
200 m breaststroke	2:06.23	2:24.30	2:10.65	2:29.45
50 m butterfly	23.08	26.14	23.89	27.05
100 m butterfly	51.35	58.22	53.15	1:00.26
200 m butterfly	1:54.10	2:09.76	1:58.09	2:14.30
100 m individual medley	53.57	1:01.21	55.44	1:03.35
200 m individual medley	1:55.25	2:11.51	1:59.28	2:16.11
400 m individual medley	4:09.19	4:37.54	4:17.91	4:47.25

Schedule

An opening ceremony preceded the start of pool swimming competition on 16 December, was followed by competition from 16 December to 21 December, and concluded with a closing ceremony on 21 December.^[13] A total of 46 events were held.^{[14] [15]}

Men

Date →	Thu 16		Fri 17		Sat 18		Sun 19		Mon 20		Tue 21
Event ↓	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E
					H	SF
									H	SF
			H
	H
									H
					H	SF
	H	SF
											H
									H	SF
	H	SF
					H
							H	SF
			H	SF
	H
					H	SF
	H
									H
							H
	H
							H
									H
											H

Women

Date →	Thu 16		Fri 17		Sat 18		Sun 19		Mon 20		Tue 21
Event ↓	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E
									H	SF
			H	SF
	H
							H
			H
							H	SF
	H	SF
					H
	H	SF
							H	SF
											H
					H	SF
									H	SF
			H
					H	SF
									H
	H
											H
	H
									H
			H
											H

Mixed

Date →	Thu 16		Fri 17		Sat 18		Sun 19		Mon 20		Tue 21
Event ↓	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E	M	E
			H
					H

Medal summary

Medal table

Results

Men's events

50 m freestyle		20.45		20.70		20.76
100 m freestyle		45.57		45.63		45.82
200 m freestyle		1:41.60		1:41.63		1:41.73
400 m freestyle		3:35.90		3:36.23		3:36.83
1500 m freestyle		14:06.88		14:10.94 AF		14:11.47
50 m backstroke		22.66		22.90	Not awarded
100 m backstroke		49.23		49.46		49.60
200 m backstroke		1:48.68		1:48.81		1:48.97
50 m breaststroke		25.53 AM		25.55		25.80
100 m breaststroke		55.70 CR		55.80		55.87
200 m breaststroke		2:02.28		2:02.42		2:02.84
50 m butterfly		21.93		21.98		22.02
100 m butterfly		48.87		49.04		49.21
200 m butterfly		1:49.06		1:49.81		1:49.84
100 m individual medley		51.09		51.35		51.40
200 m individual medley		1:51.15		1:51.35		1:51.54
400 m individual medley		3:56.26		3:56.47 ER, WJ		3:57.99
4×50 m freestyle relay	valign=top	Leonardo Deplano (21.37) Lorenzo Zazzeri (20.42) Manuel Frigo (21.21) Alessandro Miressi (20.61)	1:23.61	valign=top		1:23.75	valign=top		1:23.78
4×100 m freestyle relay	valign=top		3:03.45	valign=top		3:03.61	valign=top		3:05.42
4×200 m freestyle relay	valign=top		6:47.00	valign=top		6:49.12	valign=top		6:49.60
4×50 m medley relay	valign=top		1:30.51 =CR	Not awarded		valign=top		1:30.78
4×100 m medley relay	valign=top		3:19.76 CR	valign=top		3:20.50	valign=top		3:20.65

Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Women's events

50 m freestyle		23.08 CR		23.31		23.40
100 m freestyle		50.98 CR		51.31		51.64
200 m freestyle		1:50.31		1:52.24		1:53.01
400 m freestyle		3:55.83		3:57.87		3:58.12
800 m freestyle		8:02.90 CR		8:06.44		8:07.99
50 m backstroke		25.27		25.62		25.86
100 m backstroke		55.20		55.22		55.40
200 m backstroke		2:01.58		2:02.07		2:02.20
50 m breaststroke		29.34		29.50		29.55
100 m breaststroke		1:03.47 AS		1:03.50		1:03.92
200 m breaststroke		2:17.85		2:17.88		2:17.96
50 m butterfly		24.44 CR		24.51		24.55 WJ
100 m butterfly		55.04		55.10		55.39 WJ
200 m butterfly		2:03.01		2:04.35		2:04.88
100 m individual medley		57.80		57.96		58.15
200 m individual medley		2:04.29		2:04.48 =WJ		2:04.68
400 m individual medley		4:25.55		4:26.52		4:26.63
4×50 m freestyle relay	valign=top		1:34.22	valign=top		1:34.54	valign=top		1:34.89
4×100 m freestyle relay	valign=top		3:28.52	Not awarded		valign=top		3:28.80
4×200 m freestyle relay	valign=top		7:32.96 AM	valign=top		7:36.53	valign=top	Li Bingjie (1:53.42) Cheng Yujie (1:54.91) Zhu Menghui (1:55.73) Liu Yaxin (1:55.86)	7:39.92
4×50 m medley relay	valign=top		1:42.38 =	valign=top		1:43.61	valign=top		1:44.03
4×100 m medley relay	valign=top		3:46.20 ER	valign=top		3:47.36	valign=top		3:47.41 AS

Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Mixed events

4×50 m freestyle relay	valign=top		1:28.55	valign=top		1:28.61	valign=top		1:28.97
4×50 m medley relay	valign=top		1:36.20 CR	valign=top		1:37.04	valign=top		1:37.29

Swimmers who participated in the heats only and received medals.

Coverage

More than 180 countries provided viewing opportunities through television broadcast and online streaming mediums.^[16] One of the broadcasting agencies providing coverage of pool swimming competition internationally is the Olympic Channel.^{[17] [18]} Additional international coverage was provided by Eurovision Sports.^[19]

Variations in country representation

Due to a multi-year ban of Russian representation at World Championships by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, competitors from the country were not allowed to compete using their flag, anthem, nor country name during competition, instead competing with the name Russian Swimming Federation.^{[20] [21] [22]}

Issues related to COVID-19

On 14 December 2021, it was announced that South African swimmers residing in South Africa would not be able to compete in the championships, due to travel bans resulting from the prevalence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which is the World Health Organization's latest “variant of concern.”^[23]

On 16 December 2021, FINA informed the Singapore Swimming Association that its entire squad will not be able to compete in the championships due to contact tracing protocols, after four of the country's swimmers tested positive for COVID-19 while in Abu Dhabi.^[24]

On 17 December 2021, FINA confirmed seven accredited participants with positive COVID-19 results, which included at least one administrator from Nigeria, and that in turn knocked out all four of Nigeria's swimmers from the meet. This raised questions about its protocols, as some swimmers from other nations such as Great Britain and the United States were allowed to continue competing despite members of those teams testing positive for COVID-19.^[25]

By the end of the championships on 21 December 2021, FINA provided a cap number of 40 individuals who tested positive in the duration of the meet.^[26] Later the exact number of COVID-19 positive accounts was provided, 37 cases total out of all 5,000 individuals involved with the competition, 15 of which were athlete cases.^{[27] [28]}

External links

• Official website
• Results book

Notes and References

1. https://www.fina.org/news/2417205/stage-is-set-for-15th-fina-world-swimming-championships-25m-as-fina-aquatics-festival-gets-underway-in-abu-dhabi "Stage is set for 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) as FINA Aquatics Festival gets underway in Abu Dhabi"
2. Web site: Abu Dhabi receives FINA flag to host 2020 Short Course World Championship. 2021-01-01. 2019-12-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20191216194059/https://www.adsc.ae/en/media-center/press-releases/finaswimming2020/. dead.
3. Web site: 15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2021: Overview . 1 January 2021.
4. Web site: FINA World Swimming Championship (25m) – New dates confirmed. 24 February 2021 . 24 February 2021.
5. https://www.britishswimming.org/news/latest-swimming-news/four-olympic-champions-lead-world-short-course-team/ "Four Olympic Champions Lead World Short Course Team"
6. https://www.fina.org/news/2246245/abu-dhabi-aquatics-festival-is-revealed "Abu Dhabi Aquatics Festival is revealed!"
7. De George, Matthew (8 September 2021). "FINA Reveals Aquatics Festival in Abu Dhabi, Expanded Scholarship Program". Swimming World. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
8. Penland, Spencer (8 September 2021). "FINA Announces "Aquatics Festival" That Will Run Parallel To SC World Champs". SwimSwam. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
9. https://www.fina.org/competitions/2/15th-fina-world-swimming-championships-25m-2021/info "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) 2021: Competition Info"
10. https://www.fina.org/news/2366717/fina-reinforces-support-to-athletes-aim-to-qualify-for-the-fina-world-swimming-championships-25m "FINA reinforces support to athletes aim to qualify for the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m)"
11. https://resources.fina.org/fina/document/2021/03/08/7fb1015b-512b-4afa-9bc9-0211a0f29118/qualifyingtimes_abu_dhabi_2021_.pdf "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Qualifying Times"
12. Edmund, Emma (17 September 2021). "USA Swimming Releases 2021 World Championships Selection Criteria". SwimSwam. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
13. https://www.fina.org/news/2408461/just-under-a-week-to-go-fina-aquatics-festival-in-abu-dhabi "Just under a week to go! FINA Aquatics Festival in Abu Dhabi"
14. https://resources.fina.org/fina/document/2021/04/23/5eddbb82-d803-404b-b676-ea96f8ed40d3/FINA-World-Swimming-Championships-25m-AbuDhabi-2021-competition-scheduleL-rev.25.2.2021.pdf "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Event Schedule"
15. https://www.omegatiming.com/File/0001150019FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF1E.pdf "15th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m): Competition Schedule"
16. https://www.fina.org/news/2408793/where-to-watch-guide-fina-abu-dhabi-2021-aquatics-festival "Where to Watch Guide | FINA Abu Dhabi 2021"
17. https://www.usaswimming.org/news/2021/12/14/broadcast-information-for-the-2021-fina-world-championships-(25m) "Broadcast Information for the 2021 FINA World Championships (25m)"
18. https://olympics.com/en/sport-events/fina-swimming-world-championships-abu-dhabi-2021/ "Swimming | World Championships | Abu Dhabi: Overview"
19. Sutherland, James (14 December 2021). "British Swimming Teams Up With Eurovision For SC Worlds Live Stream". SwimSwam. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
20. Dunbar, Graham (17 December 2020). "Russia can't use its name and flag at the next 2 Olympics". The Associated Press. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
21. Wamsley, Laurel; Kennedy, Merrit (17 December 2020). "Russia Gets Its Doping Ban Reduced But Will Miss Next 2 Olympics". NPR. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
22. [FINA]
23. https://swimswam.com/matt-sates-schoenmaker-out-of-world-sc-championships-amid-omicron-surge// "SCHOENMAKER, MATT SATES OUT OF WORLD SC CHAMPIONSHIPS AMID OMICRON SURGE"
24. https://ph.news.yahoo.com/singapore-out-world-swimming-championships-positive-covid-19-133612463.html// "Singapore out of World Swimming Championships after 4 test positive for COVID-19"
25. https://swimswam.com/fina-confirms-7-positive-tests-for-covid-nigerian-swimmers-question-protocols/// "FINA CONFIRMS 7 POSITIVE TESTS FOR COVID; NIGERIAN SWIMMERS QUESTION PROTOCOLS"
26. Rieder, David (21 December 2021). "FINA: "Fewer Than 40" Positive COVID Tests at Short Course Worlds; Many in Isolation Until After Christmas". Swimming World. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
27. Sutherland, James (22 December 2021). "FINA Confirms 15 Athletes Tested Positive For COVID-19 At SC Worlds". SwimSwam. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
28. Rieder, David (22 December 2021). "FINA Confirms 37 Positive COVID Tests, Including 15 Athletes, at Short Course Worlds". Swimming World. Retrieved 22 December 2021.