PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The Swedish national team is furious about the new decision.
Now the national swimming team is forced to go to Qatar and compete before the Olympics after the new announcement.
– They are not unsmart, in that way they force us to go to Qatar, says union captain Martina Aronsson to DN.
Due to the corona pandemic, the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, were postponed until 2023. While the World Swimming Championships in Doha, which were to be held then, were moved to 2024 instead, just a few months before the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Swedish anger
Now that means a lot for the sport of swimming. At the same time that the rules have changed to qualify for the Olympics with a team race in swimming and the WC in Doha in February 2024 will thus be a kind of Olympic qualification.
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A decision that arouses great anger in the Swedish national swimming team.
– It was a messy spring. First it was going to be the WC in Fukuoka, then not in Fukuoka, then there was a WC in 2022 in Budapest, Fukuoka was moved to 2023 and then they squeezed in this February WC in Doha. It was proudly presented by Fina (International Swimming Federation) as “now there will be four WCs in five years”. We weren’t as happy with that, says the Swedish national team captain Martina Aronsson annoyed to Dagens Nyheter.
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“It’s a shame”
Sweden had decided to forego the World Swimming Championships in Doha, but when the qualifying rules have now changed, they are forced to rethink.
– It is a great pity. The year before the Olympics, the teams should know who is qualified to compete in order to prepare in a good way. But it’s not the worst for us in Sweden, we have a simple flight to Doha and no time difference to speak of. It’s worse for those far away, such as the nations that have many college swimmers in the United States. We have spoken to the Canadian swimming federation, who are incredibly annoyed, and together with them brought forward our views to Fina, says the federation captain in the interview.
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Aronsson is absolutely sure that it is the organizers in Qatar who have put pressure on Fina to change the rules so that as many swimmers as possible are forced to go to Doha in 2024.
– I am completely convinced of that. They are smart. If they choose to host a WC in February, they have of course thought about how to get the best there, she tells the daily newspaper.
READ MORE: Sarah Sjöström is now changing sports completely – the swimming queen surprises everyone with the new message: “Is really big”
Sweden’s big star Sarah Sjostrom currently has a break from swimming and it is highly unclear how the swimming queen will do with the next two WC tournaments. But the 29-year-old has decided to make a bet towards the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and then she may be forced to compete in Doha to help the Swedish swimming team reach the Olympics in team competition.
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