With the uniquely-timed 2024 World Aquatics Championships set to commence in just a number of days, swimmers are in the midst of their preparation phase before the pool swimming competition kicks off on Feb. 11.
The Canadian team will have their pre-Worlds staging camp in Antalya, Turkey through Feb. 6 before departing for Doha. A Swimming Canada spokesperson said that most of the country’s 26-swimmer roster arrived in Turkey on Monday.
Traveling from Toronto to Doha is a 15+ hour trip, while a direct flight from Antalya to Doha takes under four hours, so heading to Turkey for the camp will cut the amount of travel the Canadian swimmers have to do one week out of the competition by a significant chunk.
Antalya is notably the home of the Energy Standard club—formerly a dynasty in the International Swimming League—based out of the Gloria Sports Arena.
The United States team, on the other hand, is scheduled to leave the country on Feb. 5 and head straight to Doha and train there in the lead-up to the meet. SwimSwam has reached out to USA Swimming to confirm its pre-meet training plan.
Swimming Canada’s 26-swimmer roster for the 2024 World Championships includes Olympic relay medalists Taylor Ruck, Rebecca Smith, Katerine Savard and Sydney Pickrem, while the United States now has 20 swimmers on its roster after a few updates in recent days, highlighted by defending world champion Kate Douglass.
The 2024 World Aquatics Championships will run from Feb. 2-18 in Doha, Qatar, with pool swimming scheduled for Feb. 11-18.
The USA gets to go to Doha a week early..what was second prize? 2 weeks in Doha?….and yes I’ve been there.
Based on reports from the Worlds camp last year, including travel fiascos, this is probably best for all concerned. USA Swimming also needs to save every dollar they can.