Universal Sports Network and NBC to Show Action at World Championships

LOS ANGELES (July 20, 2015) – Universal Sports Network and NBC will air more than 48 hours of premier pool action from the 2015 FINA World Aquatic Championships in Kazan, Russia, from Saturday, July 25, through Sunday, August 9. More than 2,400 athletes representing 190 countries will compete in a record 75 medal events in the world championships for diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo.

Universal Sports kicks off coverage on Saturday, July 25, at 6 p.m. ET with the mixed synchronized 10M platform diving finals, followed by the synchronized swimming solo technical competition at 10 p.m. ET. The first day of water polo group play takes place on Sunday, July 26, at 6 p.m. ET, when the USA women, fresh off of their gold medal win at the Pan Am Games, take on Brazil.

NBC begins swimming on Sunday, August 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by daily live coverage from Monday, August 3, throughFriday, August 7 at 10:30 a.m. ET on Universal Sports. NBC’s coverage continues on Saturday, August 8 at 3 p.m. ET, and onSunday, August 9 at 2:30 p.m. ET, concluding the world championships. Veteran swimming play-by-play commentator Dan Hicks, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member and three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, and Emmy Award-winning reporter Michele Tafoya will call all swimming coverage on NBC and Universal Sports Network.

In addition, UniversalSports.com will live stream all events that air on Universal Sports Network. NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices and tablets – will stream all programming that airs on NBC.

This year’s World Aquatics Championships will feature world-class competition including:

Diving: London Olympic medalists David Boudia, Abby Johnston and Kristian Ipsen will lead Team USA in traditional platform and springboard diving events. Boudia will partner with 19-year-old Steele Johnson, who will make his senior world championships debut, in synchronized events after the duo medaled at last summer’s FINA Diving World Cup.

Swimming: Leading the 54-member Team USA are veterans including 2012 Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Championships gold medalist Katie Ledecky, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and nine-time World Championships gold medalist Missy Franklin, four-time Olympic medalist and six-time World Championships medalist Nathan Adrian, and 11-time Olympic medalist and 23-time World Championships medalist Ryan Lochte.

Synchronized Swimming: For the first time in the history of the FINA World Championships, males and females will compete together in synchronized swimming. In the inaugural mixed duet competition, USA Synchro will be represented by Hall of Famer Bill May, who was previously barred from competing at international events because of his gender, and OlympiansChristina Jones and Kristina Lum Underwood. May and Jones will compete in the technical routine while Underwood will compete with May in the free routine.

Water Polo (Women): On the heels of their fourth straight gold medal win at the 2015 Pan Am Games, the U.S. women’s water polo team is looking for an unprecedented fourth FINA World Championship. The No. 1 world-ranked team and reigning Olympic champions are led by veterans Maggie Steffens, Courtney Mathewson and Ashleigh Johnson.

Water Polo (Men): Following their gold medal win at this year’s Pan Am Games, the U.S. men’s water polo team will face stiff competition at FINA Worlds from Greece, Italy and host country Russia in pool play. With their win over Canada in the Pan Am semi-finals, the Team USA clinched a spot at the Rio Olympic Games behind the play of rising stars such as Luca Cupido and veterans Tony Azevedo and Merrill Moses.

Universal Sports Network and NBC Broadcast Schedule: 2015 FINA World Aquatics Championships

All times ET – Schedule subject to change – All coverage is Same Day Delay except where noted.

* LIVE Coverage

Swimming news courtesy of Universal Sports Network.