Abu Dhabi (Etihad)
Abu Dhabi, the “capital of world sports”, celebrates from 16-21 December 2021, hosting the World Championships in short-distance swimming (25 meters), which will be held at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
The expected version bears the “number 15” in the history of the tournament, which has been about 28 years since the launch of the first edition in the Spanish city of Palma de Mallorca in 1993, until Abu Dhabi 2021, which hosts the tournament for the first time.
The journey of the world short-distance swimming championship (25 meters) tells of 15 cities representing 11 countries hosting the championship over its 15 editions, including the UAE, including Spain, Brazil, Sweden, China, Greece, Russia, the United States, England, Turkey, Qatar, Canada.
Abu Dhabi, which received the flag of hosting the World Swimming Championships at the end of the last edition 2018 in Hangzhou, China, is looking forward to being at the forefront of the world’s leading cities in hosting international sporting events in various games and sports, as it is a destination for visitors and tourists from all over the world, as sport is an active element in Development of economic, tourism and social resources.
The Spanish city of Palma de Mallorca witnessed the birth of the first edition of the World Swimming Championships for short distances in 1993, a year after the Olympic Games in Barcelona, with the participation of 313 swimmers from 46 countries. The beaches of the world “Copacabana” with the participation of 350 swimmers.
The tournament returned in the third edition to Europe, where Gothenburg, Sweden, hosted the tournament in 1997, before moving in the next edition in 1999 to Hong Kong with the participation of 501 swimmers, and with the start of the fifth edition in Athens, Greece, 2000, the United States emerged as the best participant with 9 medals. Gold, with a total of 25 colored medals.
The tournament moved in the following editions between Moscow 2002 (the sixth edition), Indianapolis 2004 (the seventh edition), the Chinese city of Shanghai 2006 (the eighth edition), and Manchester 2008, which hosted the ninth edition, with the participation of 607 swimmers representing 116 countries.
In 2010, the UAE and Dubai hosted the first edition of the World Championships for short distance swimming (25 meters), to be held in the Middle East from 15 to 19 December 2010, before in the next edition 2012 (the 11th edition) to Istanbul, Turkey, followed by Doha 2014, Windsor Canada 2016, and Hangzhou, which hosted the last 14 editions in 2018.
And the year 2015 witnessed the announcement of Abu Dhabi winning the hosting of the 15th edition, after a strong competition with countries with a long history in the world of swimming, during the meeting of the General Assembly of the International Swimming Federation, which was held on the sidelines of the World Championships in Kazan, Russia in 2015, to outperform Abu Dhabi over Madinaty files Lima in Peru, and Almaty in Kazakhstan to host the upcoming event.
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