We are finally on the cusp of entering the year 2021, which means we have just a handful of months until we know which swimming stars will be representing their respective nations in Tokyo at the Summer Olympic Games.
The Games were originally scheduled for 2020 but were unprecedentedly postponed to July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Before lineups are determined for Tokyo’s Olympics, athletes will be racing near and far to fine-tune their craft en route to qualification, and it all begins in January.
*Note that the Luxembourg Euro Meet, which typically takes place in January, has been moved to March for 2021. Additionally, licensed British Swimming meets are still on hold at this time.
Please let me know in the comments of any January meets I may have missed.
01/04 Torneio de Natacao da Guarda – Cidade dos 5 F’s (POR)
01/09 – 01/10 Tokyo New Year Swimming Meet (JPN)
01/09 – 01/10 38th Chiba Prefectural New Year’s Swimming Competition (JPN)
01/09 – 01/11 Yamagata Prefectural New Year’s Water Swimming Competition (JPN)
01/10 Prova de Preparacao de Absolutos (POR)
01/14 – 01/17 Pro Swim Series – Multi-Site (USA)
01/16 – 01/17 New Zealand Open Water Swimming Championships (NZL)
01/16 – Lappeenrannan Talviuinnit (FIN)
01/21 – 01/23 01/15 – 01/17 54ème Challenge International de Genève (SUI)
01/22 – 01/24 Singapore Swim Series (SGP)
01/22 – 01/24 Vejle International Swim Cup (DEN)
01/22 – 01/24 South Australian State Open Championships (AUS)
01/22 – 01/24 Meeting National – Nantes (FRA)
01/23 – 01/24 Kosuke Kitajima Cup (JPN)
01/23 – 01/24 Flanders Qualification Meet (BEL)
01/29 – 01/31 Australian Open Water Swimming Championships (AUS)
01/30- 01/31 TPSK Wettkampf 2021 Ausschreibung (GER)
01/30 Marion LC Carnival (AUS)
Such a tough situation for all the non ‘elite’ Brits. Looks unlikely they’ll have had a race in a full 12 month period, and many will have had very little pool time. I worry for British Swimming’s ability to rebound at the best of times, but they’ve just had a 10% funding cut on top of covid and I suspect the sport will be damaged at the development level for many years to come.
No real prospect of any competition either. Swim England have not produced any event calendar yet, so goodness knows when there will be a return to any form of competition. Many, many swimmers will have quit by the time they do.