All About FINA

You’re right about it being a swimming-related event on a competitive stage! But it’s not just swimming and diving, it also encompasses events such as water polo, artistic swimming AND open water swimming! For the swimming section of the competition, there are a few categories such as the breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly stroke, front crawl and mixed relays. There’s even a team event category for the open-water swimming segment! Essentially, FINA is where water-loving individuals come together to display their wide array of expertise in various forms of aquatic activities. Talk about the largest aquatic event in the world!   

History of FINA

Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), founded in July 1908 during the London Olympic Games, had 8 countries such as Belgium, Sweden, Hungary and Great Britain, responsible for its formation. It took 4 years, in 1912, for women to finally have the liberty to take part in the competition! The butterfly stroke finally made its entry in 1956 and it wasn’t until 1984 that Synchronised Swimming came into the picture. The slow, yet steady progress of events coupled with the speedy acceleration of technological advancements is what brought FINA to where it is now in 2021, with plans to continue raising standards, accelerating potential, uniting passions and sustaining growth (not to mention, the excitement of waiting for the FINA World Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi!)

Records

Here are a few astounding aquatic event world records to date:

1. The 50m AND 100m freestyle record is held by Cesar Cielo from Brazil. He swam the races in an impressive 20.91 and 46.91 seconds respectively!
   
   
2. Germany’s very own Paul Biederman swam the longer distance 200m in 1:42:00 and 400m in 3:40:07 seconds each. 
   
   
3. In the Women’s category, Sarah Sjöström holds the 50m and 100m freestyle AND butterfly throne! We’re mind-blown!!!

Are only adults allowed to compete? Behold, there’s also a competition for the younger ones! Held on a world stage, FINA offers swimming, water polo, diving, open water swimming and artistic swimming.

While you may know FINA solely for the amazing competition it organizes, FINA is heavily engaged in driving global awareness about the importance of physical activity on the regular! They are also the rule-setting house where they come up with strategies to make sure that aquatic activities remain a fair and drug-free sport. The entire FINA membership meets every 4 years to talk through any issues regarding the aquatic events.

FINA also takes great pride in playing their huge part in raising awareness about sustainability. In the past few years, FINA has largely helped in building aquatic facilities throughout the world through their Pools For All campaign! All in all, FINA intends to create a world where Architects and Engineers work together to produce sustainable facilities that leaves as little environmental impact and energy consumption as possible. Of course, FINA’s efforts don't stop there! They also are dedicated to ensuring that continued support will be provided for facility management.

Conclusion

Any of the above information surprised you? Well, I hope you’ve learnt an extra thing or 2 about FINA and all their efforts for the aqua world. For one, they’re definitely more than just competition organizers. If you’re a swimmer who’s aspiring to make your debut in the FINA World Championships one day like your swimming idols, it’s never too early or too late to start! Remember, pace yourself and you’ll go an extremely long way in the world of swimming. Master the basics at your own pace and hire a swim coach to help you ensure you’re on the right path. Rush and you might end up with injuries that can prevent you from fully unlocking your potential.

Join us at Condo Swimming Lesson to learn your swimming techniques and you might find yourself in the FINA records one day.

Hello everyone! I'm a gym enthusiast who gets very excited at the sight of dogs. Drinking teh tarik is my form of relaxation. I hope you share my passion for anything fitness-related through my writing!