The newly inaugurated Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Sports Complex named after the Crown Prince of Dubai, will be baptised next month with a two-day swimming competition involving 10 regional countries.
This will be a trial run ahead of the 10th FINA World Shortcourse Swimming Championships to be held at the 15,000-seater state-of-the-art venue from December 15 to 19.
“One of the pre-requisites of FINA, the world body governing swimming, is that we hold a competition before the main event. We are ready to host the biggest swimming event for the first time in UAE,” said Obaid Al Shamsi, the championship director at a media briefing in Dubai on Tuesday.
“The test run will be held on November 5 and 6 with the participation of 230 swimmers from 10 countries namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Jordan, Egypt and hosts UAE,” he said.
“It was a big decision by Dubai to host this event. We had lot of challenges but Alhamdulillah with support of the Dubai Municipality, the complex was completed on schedule on 10th October. We are looking forward to the championship and expect His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to inaugurate it,” said Al Shamsi.
A record number of 708 entries representing 120 countries have been received for the championship as of date. “It surpasses the number of 116 countries and 623 swimmers who competed in this championship held in Manchester two years ago,” said Lynne Bates, chief operating officer of the Dubai 2010 Organising Committee.
With Australian and American swimmers expected to headline the competition, organisers are bracing for the international media likely to descend in large numbers for the December event.
“In keeping with the objectives of Sheikh Hamdan, of portraying Dubai as a top sporting destination, we want to provide the best facilities for the media to give a true reflection of the country and event,” said Dr Khalid Mohammed Al Zahed, deputy director of the Championship.
Australia’s performance in topping the swimming medal tally at the Commonwealth Games with a total of 47, including 20 golds, was the perfect response to the USA’s decision to name a powerful squad for Dubai in the wake of their own successes in the Pan-Pacific Championships in August.
The USA team was outstanding in that event in California, with 27 golds as part of a haul of 51 medals, well clear of Australia’s total of four golds and 26 medals in total.
But Australia looks in great shape to challenge that type of supremacy with the likes of Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones and Geoff Huegill, all outstanding in New Delhi and now on their way to Dubai.
Seebohm was one of the stars of the Commonwealth Games with a total of eight medals, including three golds – in the 100m backstroke, the 4x100m freestyle and the 4x100m individual medley (IM) – while Jones collected four medals, including three golds – in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and as part of the IM team.
Huegill, on the comeback trail after a period in retirement, secured gold in the 100m butterfly and 4x100m IM and a silver in the 50m butterfly. He shares the second fastest time in the world this year for the 100m butterfly with Tyler McGill of the USA and the two are set to go head-to-head in Dubai.
The American squad of 37 features 20 Olympians and includes Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin, Aaron Peirsol and Rebecca Soni.
This will be the first trip to the UAE for a USA Swimming international team and it will also mark the first time the USA has sent a full roster to a FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) since 2004 when the event was held in Indianapolis.
Lochte has eight golds from the previous three FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Indianapolis, Shanghai and Manchester and will arrive in Dubai defending four titles – the 100m, 200m and 400m medleys as well as a part of the 4x100m freestyle relay team. Lochte is also the top-ranked swimmer over the long course in both the 200m freestyle and the 200m backstroke in 2010.
Peirsol has five Olympic gold medals from Athens and Beijing, ten from FINA World Swimming Championships (50m) and a further five from the 25m Championships but he has not swum in the 25m event since 2004 and will be out to make up for lost time in December.
Coughlin has three Olympic golds to her name from Athens and Beijing and, along with Seebohm, has previously held the world record for the 100m IM, but she is yet to win a medal in a short course world championships and will be desperate to set the record straight in Dubai.
Soni is another USA swimmer without a short course medal but is the reigning Olympic champion over the long course in the 200m breaststroke, and won the 100m breaststroke in last year’s FINA World Championships (50m) in Rome.
“The fact we have so many top-class swimmers coming to Dubai is fantastic news for the Championships,” said Al Shamsi.
“With athletes of this calibre already confirmed and many more set to do so as the Championships draw closer, we are certain to see some top-class swimming and with the majority of tickets priced at between Dh10 – 30 per session, it represents an excellent opportunity for the whole family to come and see some of the best athletes in the world here in Dubai.”
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