FINA and the organising committee of the 19th FINA World Championships Budapest 2022 confirmed the competition schedule for the event, with 74 medal events taking place in five aquatics disciplines. The Hungarian capital city of Budapest will host swimming, artistic swimming, open water swimming, diving and water polo – from 18 June to 3 July 2022.
Budapest remains a focal point for elite aquatics athletes and championship events, having recently hosted the 17th FINA World Championships in 2017 and the 7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in 2019.
FINA has been consulting with athletes and other key stakeholders regarding the Budapest 2022 competition schedule. FINA and event organisers placed special consideration for the training and recovery challenges of a busy 2022 aquatics calendar and decided to have swimming take place during the first eight days of the event, rather than the customary second half of the event.
Budapest 2022 will begin with artistic swimming on the day of the Opening Ceremonies, 17 June, at the Szechy Outdoor Pool. Swimming will get underway on 18 June and run through 25 June at the legendary Duna Arena. The diving competitions will then run from 26 June – 3 July in Duna Arena. Diving will be also hosted at the Duna Arena from 26th June to 3rd of July, while Open Water Swimming will take place from 26-30 June at Lupa Beach in Budapest.
The preliminary rounds of water polo start on 20 June and will take place across four Hungarian cities – Sopron, Debrecen, Szeged, Budapest – with the crossovers, Quarter Final Rounds and Semi-Final Rounds being played in Szeged and Budapest. The Final Rounds of water polo will be played from 2-3 July at the Hajos Swimming Complex in Budapest.
FINA President Husain Al-Musallam noted that today’s announcement provides certainty for athlete preparation and training schedules.
“I am pleased to confirm the competition schedule for Budapest 2022, and to be able to provide some certainty for our athletes. We have been in continuous dialogue with our stakeholders, to come up with a competition schedule that showcases aquatics sport and takes into consideration the needs of the athletes,” the FINA President said. “We remain grateful to Budapest for their flexibility and willingness to host this edition of the FINA World Championships. I know we are all looking forward to seeing the world of aquatics sport come together again this summer in Budapest.”
FINA previously announced the Qualification Procedure and Prize Money and Awards for Budapest 2022. With an overall prize pool of USD 5,720,000 and a bonus of USD 50,000 for any new world record set in individual swimming events, athletes in Budapest will be competing for the highest purse ever offered at a FINA World Championships.