From 2015 to 2022 when the World Aquatics was still known as FINA (French: Fédération internationale de natation; English: International Swimming Federation|link=yes), neutral athletes have competed under the designation Independent FINA Athlete (IFA) either due to their national federation's suspension of their governing body or as refugees.
Refugees have competed under the designation Athlete Refugee Team (ART) under the World Aquatics banner at the World Championships since 2023.
See main article: Swimming at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, Sri Lanka's national federation was suspended from recognition and therefore not allowed to be represented at the championships. Consequently, athletes from Sri Lanka swam under a "FINA" banner at the championships as independent athletes.[1] The 2015 World Championships were 24 July to 9 August 2015 in Kazan, Russia.
Four swimmers from Sri Lanka competed in nine different events, including two medley races.[2] [3]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| Matthew Abeysinghe | 100 m freestyle | 50.93 | 54 | Did not advance | ||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Cherantha de Silva | 50 m freestyle | 24.32 | 64 | Did not advance | |||
| 100 m butterfly | 57.79 | 60 | Did not advance | |||||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Kimiko Raheem | 100 m backstroke | 1:05.61 | 49 | Did not advance | |||
| 200 m backstroke | 2:21.18 | 41 | Did not advance | |||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Machiko Raheem | 50 m freestyle | 27.49 | 63 | Did not advance | |||
| 100 m freestyle | 59.50 | 64 | Did not advance | |||||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| Matthew Abeysinghe Machiko Raheem Cherantha de Silva Kimiko Raheem | 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | 3:42.94 | 17 | Did not advance | ||
| Kimiko Raheem Machiko Raheem Matthew Abeysinghe Cherantha de Silva | 4 × 100 m medley relay | 4:19.24 | 22 | Did not advance | ||
See main article: Swimming at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, FINA allowed refugees to participate under the FINA banner as independent athletes. The competition took place in Budapest, Hungary from 14 July to 30 July. The two swimmers partook in two events each.[4] [5]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Rami Anis | Men's 100 m butterfly | 55.66 | 58 | Did not advance | |||
| Men's 200 m butterfly | 2:06.02 | 40 | Did not advance | |||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Yusra Mardini | Women's 200 m freestyle | 2:15.80 | 47 | Did not advance | |||
| Women's 100 m butterfly | 1:07.99 | 41 | Did not advance | |||||
See main article: Swimming at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, FINA allowed refugees to participate under the FINA banner as independent athletes. The competition took place in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July. The two swimmers partook in two events each.[6] [7]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Rami Anis | 50 m butterfly | 26.24 | 68 | Did not advance | |||
| 100 m butterfly | 57.26 | 60 | Did not advance | |||||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Yusra Mardini | 100 m freestyle | 1:01.75 | 73 | Did not advance | |||
| 100 m butterfly | 1:08.79 | 47 | Did not advance | |||||
See main article: Swimming at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, FINA allowed refugees to participate under the FINA banner as independent athletes. The competition took place in Budapest, Hungary from 18 June to 3 July. The three swimmers partook in two events each.[8] [9] [10]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Alaa Maso | 50 m freestyle | Did not start | Did not advance | ||||
| 100 m freestyle | 52.45 | 66 | Did not advance | ||||
| Eyad Masoud | 50 m butterfly | 25.27 | 53 | Did not advance | |||
| 100 m butterfly | 59.78 | 58 | Did not advance | ||||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Yusra Mardini | 50 m freestyle | 28.95 | 65 | Did not advance | |||
| 50 m butterfly | 30.08 | 50 | Did not advance | ||||
See main article: Swimming at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships. At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, World Aquatics allowed refugees to participate under the World Aquatics banner as independent athletes (code:ART). The competition took place in Fukuoka, Japan from 14 to 30 July. The two swimmers partook in two events each.[11] [12]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | |||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Alaa Maso | 50 metre freestyle | 23.74 | 67 | Did not advance | |||
| 100 metre freestyle | 51.76 | 68 | Did not advance | |||||
| align=left rowspan=2 | Eyad Masoud | 50 metre butterfly | 25.73 | 64 | Did not advance | |||
| 100 metre butterfly | 58.91 | 64 | Did not advance | |||||