The swimming community is in mourning after the loss of one of its most renowned coaches, Don Talbot. At 87, the Australian legend passed away on November 3, 2020 after a coaching career that included many Olympic and world medals from the 1960s until the beginning of the 21st century.

Two of his most recent trajectory’s highlights included a very successful participation of his swimmers at the home 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, and at the 2001 FINA World Championships, where Australia led the medal chart, namely beating the US team.

FINA learnt with great sadness about the loss of Gennadi Touretski, from Russia, who passed away at the age of 71 on August 7, 2020.

Touretski will be remembered to be responsible for guiding the careers of some of the greatest swimmers the sport has ever produced.

FINA is pleased to announce a global COVID-19 support plan in excess of $6 million USD to assist athletes who will compete in the Tokyo Olympic Games next summer, through three distinctive programmes:

•    $4 million USD in grants for a minimum of 160 National Federations to provide support to athlete training, competition, and living expenses.

•    $460,000 USD in grants to the five Continental Organisations to enable supplemental resources to athletes.

In a shocking series of events, Hungary lost two of its greatest-ever water polo players in 24 hours. Both belonged to the elite club of three-times Olympic champions: Gyorgy Karpati, 85, was the last living member of the legendary team winning the title in Melbourne 1956 – he was also part of the 1952 and 1964 gold medallist sides. A left-handed icon of the 90s and the new millennium, winner in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, Tibor Benedek was only 48 but a dreadful disease terminated his wonderful life way too soon.

Given the uncertainty related with the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the safeguard of the athletes’ health and safety, and in accordance with the request of the UAE authorities, FINA has decided to re-schedule the upcoming edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), initially programmed to take place in December 2020 in Abu Dhabi.

The new dates of this competition are December 13-18, 2021, with the FINA World Aquatics Convention taking place also in Abu Dhabi, from December 10-12, 2021.

FINA learnt with great sadness about the loss of Coaracy Nunes Filho, from Brazil, who passed away at the age of 82 on May 14, 2020.

Mr Nunes Filho (a lawyer by profession) was a FINA Bureau Member from 2000 to 2017 and former President of the Brazilian Swimming Confederation (CBDA) from 1988, being successfully re-elected for that position on six occasions. He had been also a former President of UANA (the continental association in the Americas).

Following consultation with the city of Fukuoka, Japan Swimming Federation, organisers, athletes, coaches, technical committees, TV partners and sponsors, FINA is pleased to announce that the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka (JPN), initially scheduled for the summer of 2021, will now take place from May 13-29, 2022.

FINA welcomes the announcement of revised dates for Tokyo 2020 and the clarity they bring.

"Faced with the unprecedented need to reschedule the Olympic Games, our friends at the IOC and Tokyo 2020 have reacted with great speed and professionalism. To already know the dates is very helpful to federations and athletes everywhere. FINA would like to express its best wishes to all those who have committed themselves to making the aquatics competitions of Tokyo 2020 the great success that I know they will be," said FINA President Dr Julio C. Maglione. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, FINA would like to reiterate its concern for all those affected. FINA is well aware of the issues faced by aquatics athletes around the world, especially with regard to training and pool access.