Mexican swimmers were in action earlier this month at the national selection trials, with qualifying opportunities on the line for both the FINA World and World Junior Championships later this year.
The competition, which took place April 7-10 in Cancun, was organized by the “Stabilization Committee,” an organization implemented by FINA in January to “ensure that the Mexican Swimming Federation (FMN) adheres to the highest standards of good governance and transparency.”
After a delay in the announcement of the teams after the competition, possibly due to the FMN and CONADE (Mexico’s National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport) both publicly stating that they don’t recognize the Committee and won’t support them with any funding, the Stabilization Committee announced the qualifiers on Thursday.
During the time between the announcement and the conclusion of the meet, FINA confirmed to SwimSwam that the committee is the only approved body in Mexico until the FMN can hold a “transparent and democratic election.”
“FINA recognizes the Stabilization Committee as the only approved body in Mexico that can enter athletes and representatives to participate in any FINA event,” the international governing body said.
“This will be the case until such time as a transparent and democratic election can take place and a new board for the Mexican Swimming Federation is established.”
Six swimmers earned a berth to the World Championships, including the three athletes who represented Mexico in the pool at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The 2022 World Championships kick off on June 18 in Budapest, Hungary.
Mexican Worlds Qualifiers (6)
- Gabriel Castano*
- José Ángel Martínez*
- Héctor Ruvalcaba Cruz
- María José Mata Cocco
- Jorge Iga
- Melissa Rodríguez Villanueva*
*2020 Olympian
The committee posted its selection criteria for Worlds and World Juniors on its Instagram account, which you can find here.
Mexico only sent four swimmers to the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, none of whom were named to the team this year.
An additional eight swimmers were named the World Junior Championships, which are scheduled to begin August 30 in Lima, Peru.
Mexican World Junior Qualifiers (8)
- María Uranga Andrés (16)
- Magaly Monserrath Gomez Ramos (16)
- Maria Fernanda Mendez Guerra (16)
- Abril Sukey Arias (16)
- Yuritzi Salgado Gonzalez (16)
- Diana Paola Gomez Ruiz (15)
- Santiago Jesus Zaragoza Reyes (15)
- Andrea Ximena Perez Armenta (14)
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While the announcement of the qualified swimmers was a sigh of relief for Mexican swimming supporters, the question in regards to funding remains as the Committee reportedly has a tight budget and won’t receive financial support from either the FMN or CONADE.
The FMN has been involved in numerous controversies in recent years, with FINA most recently warning them of a potential sanction in December 2020.
Under current president Kirill Todorov, the FMN has falsified entry times for the 2015 World Championships and been suspended by FINA for withdrawing hosting duties from the 2017 World Championships, among other things.
CONADE has said the committee lacks legal power and won’t recognize anything it does as official, while the FMN claims itself to be “the only body recognized in Mexico under the laws of our country.”
CONADE president Ana Gabriela Guevara has also expressed her public support for Todorov of late.
What are their events/cuts?
María Uranga Andrés, not Unranga.