The first ever world championship in water sports held in the Middle East, will open today in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
During the next two and a half weeks, approximately 2,600 athletes from more than 190 countries will participate in 75 medal events across six sports: swimming, diving, water polo, open water swimming, artistic swimming and diving from a height, which will be held at three central sites: Aspir Dome, Hamad Water Center and Old Doha Port.
Many question marks arose around the participation of the Israeli team in the championship due to the security situation, but in the end, the blue and white team arrived with a limited representation that includes three swimmers, four open water swimmers and nine artistic swimmers.
In the last two branches, this is the last chance to get the ticket to the Paris Olympics.
The one who will lead the swimming team is Anastasia Gorbenko, who registered no fewer than five swimmers (200 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 backstroke, 200 and 400 meter medley), and will try for the first time in her career to get on the podium in the prestigious competition.
Gorbenko.
Waiting for you to take off in the moments of truth, photo: Simona Castrovillari
Gorbenko's main goal will be the 200 meter medley, in which she won the European title twice, and last year she finished fifth at the World Championships held in Japan.
Israel's top swimmer will try to take advantage of the absence of American Alex Walsh and Australian Jenna Forster to reach the podium.
Denis Loktev, who secured his place in Paris in the 200 meter freestyle, will also try to achieve the criterion in the half distance, and Daria Golovati, who qualified for the heats in the 100, 200 and 400 m freestyle, will also try to reach the prestigious list in the French capital.
With only three swimmers in Doha, Israel will not compete in any relay events.
The first three in the championship in the relay event from last year and the fastest 13 from the championship in 2023 and 2024 will receive the invitations to the Olympic Games.
Denis Loktev, photo: Guy Yehiali
The Israeli men in the 4x100 freestyle relay almost certainly have the Olympic ticket following their seventh place in last year's final, and there is a good chance that at the end of the championship it will be determined that Israel will also participate in the 4x200 freestyle relays (in men's and women's relays) thanks to last year's tenth place.
One of the biggest surprises of the Olympic Games in Tokyo was the open water swimmer Matan Roditi, who was within touching distance of a historic medal and finished in fourth place overall.
Roditi, who is coming back from injury, wants to repeat the achievement, and maybe even beyond that.
The task of Roditi, who will compete together with his teammate Ido Gal, is to finish in the first 13 places (of those who have not yet won a ticket to Paris) in the Olympic 10 kilometer relay in order to return to the Olympics, or at least be the fastest European after them.
The same criterion exists for the women as well.
Eva Fabian and Eden Girloenza will jump into the water, with the same goal in mind.
Matan Roditi, photo: AFP
Since Athens 2004, Israel has sent a representative in the artistic swimming duet to each of the Olympics, and this time too the team hopes to make history and secure its place in Paris and maybe also win a medal in one of the exercises.
The team consisting of Aden Belcher, Shelly Bobritzky, Ariel Nashi, Nicole Nakhshonov, Kati Kunin, Maya Dorf, Neta Robicek, Noy Gazela and Aya Mazor, led by coach Savta Belcher and Risa Kunin, will try to finish in the first five places in the total score of the three exercises to reach the Olympics , after five countries have already secured their place: host France, China, Mexico, Australia and Egypt.
During the last months, the swimmers worked on the new exercises, and even held a test event at the Wingate Institute that was crowned with success, and last month they flew to a special training camp in Spain with coach Ana Tres to improve elements and arrive as prepared as possible.
The organizers of the championship will award cash prizes totaling 5.6 million dollars.
The main amount ($2,730,000) will go to the swimming branch (42 swimmers), where it will be possible to rake in $20,000 for the first place winner, $15,000 for second place and $10,000 for the bronze medal.
World Swimming Championships in Qatar, photo: EPA
Anyone who makes it to the finals in swimming will receive some kind of grant, and whoever breaks the world record will pocket a bonus of another 30,000 dollars, with no limit on the number of swimmers.
Australia's Molly O'Callaghan earned $103,690 thanks to her gold medals and one world record at last year's championships.
$780,000 will be distributed in diving and $720,000 in water polo, and each team that wins gold (men and women) will receive $80,000.
A respectable amount will also be distributed in artistic swimming, with 532 thousand dollars for the team competition and 420 thousand dollars in duet and individual.
The local organizing committee held a festive press conference in recent days and shared the plans.
"We are committed to providing a world-class event and experience for athletes and spectators alike," said CEO Khal Ibrahim Al-Jaber. "Preparations continue to run smoothly.
Qatar has proven itself to be a world leader in hosting sporting events over the past decade, our event promises to leave a lasting impact on Qatar and the region."
Sheikha Asma Bint Thani Al Thani, Director of the Marketing Committee, said: "This landmark event marks a significant milestone in our dedication to promoting the sport in the region. As we move closer to hosting Doha 2024, we aim to continue to educate and raise awareness of water sports throughout our community ".
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Let's hope that the competition will pass quietly for the Israeli delegation without security incidents and without demonstrations.
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