2024 Short Course World Championships
- December 10-15, 2024
- Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
- SCM (25m)
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A large contingent of Russian, Belarusian and Mexican swimmers are competing as individual neutral athletes at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, and there are several restrictions placed on them beyond not being able to officially represent their country.
The restrictions include not displaying or raising their national flag, wearing national uniforms and caps, and most prominently, not playing their national anthems.
When swimmers win gold in an event at a World Championship meet, their country’s national anthem is played, but in the case for neutral athletes, the World Aquatics anthem will be played instead.
Listen to the anthem below:
Through two nights of racing in Budapest, the World Aquatics anthem has already been played twice at medal ceremonies, with Neutral athletes winning gold in the men’s 100 backstroke and the mixed 4×50 medley relay.
In the 100 back, Russian native Miron Lifintsev topped the field with a World Junior Record of 48.76, and in the mixed medley relay, the Russian quartet of Lifintsev, Kirill Prigoda, Arina Surkova and Daria Trofimova combined for a European Record of 1:35.36 to win gold over Canada (1:35.94) and the United States (1:36.20).
It’s really rather dull isn’t it. But it does have some military sounding undertones — so suits Russia and Belarus well.
It’s kind of nice as a song, but as an anthem it’s a little flat. Compare to the FIFA anthem below. I think there’s some good bones there that the right producer could really punch up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9I7bn1b4oc
It’s clearly a MIDI recording. I think it could sound really good if they recorded it with an actual orchestra.