Record entries confirmed for juniors’ swimming

Dubai: A record 905 athletes representing 93 nations will compete in the biggest ever World Junior Swimming Championships when it comes to Dubai in August.

With entry numbers now finalised, the fourth edition of the event, which will be held at the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Sports Complex from August 26 to 31, is set to be almost double the size of the previous events in Brazil (2006), Mexico (2008) and Peru (2011).

This will be the eighth major aquatics event held in Dubai in just under three years and is another important step in the development of swimming and aquatic sports in the region.

With the hosting of the World Junior Championships, organisers are looking to provide world-class entertainment that they hope will motivate more children to take up swimming.

“With swimming powerhouses USA, China, Australia, Germany, Russia and Japan all sending large teams, the standard of competition is sure to be high and we are looking forward to seeing the discovery of some stars of the future. With 93 countries represented, there will be someone for every expat from the diverse Dubai community to cheer on,” said Dr Ahmad Sa’ad Al Sharif, General Secretary of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC).

“Twelve young Emiratis will also make their World Juniors debut and we are encouraging residents to come and support them as they mix it with the best juniors in the world.”

The previous World Junior Championships have uncovered swimming talents such as Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia, who went on the take “Swimmer of the Championships” at the 2010 World Swimming Championships (25m), the first major event held in Dubai. Garcia also took two silvers at the London Olympic Games last year. Another discovery at previous world juniors was Camille Muffat of France, who took a gold, silver and bronze at the last Olympics.

All the information about the Championships can be found at www.fina-dubai2013.com, and on the Facebook page FINAWJSCDubai2013.