Paris Vs Budapest: A Two-Arc Perspective On Swimming's Struggle To Meet Its Potential
The Future of Swimming - An Eve of Christmas Essay: Why suggestions that Gretchen Walsh (no fault of her's & all due respect for her achievement) has outstripped the legendary achievements of Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps reflect a sport in need of reviewing its architecture, perspective and context
“Aquatics’ Finest Hour”.
That’s how the statement from World Aquatics started at the end of its winter showcase short-course championships in Budapest last Sunday evening.
A fine meet for many, for sure … but finest hour? It was no such thing. Why? Even if we confine ourselves to 2024; this was Olympic year; you know, that pinnacle of processes, cycles, goals, dreams and life-changing outcomes at the one global gathering in the sport of which it’s possible to say ‘the very best of the prevailing best were here on that day, in peak form and putting themselves on the line, toe-to-toe, block-to-block, lane-to-lane, moment-in-a lifetime test of a marriage between extraordinary talent and often smart, long-term, whole Olympic cycles of planning, commitment, devotion, dedication and discipline.
Yes, the latter part of that list was, of course, on display in Budapest a a meet with what in swimming were massive financial incentives unavailable to aquatics athletes at the Olympics in the way they were for the first time for track and field athletes, World Athletics pointing the way for all other federations dragging their heels on the inevitable.
World Aquatics most certainly had good reason to celebrate the distribution of more than $7 million to athletes in 2024 (even though they’re spent much more than that on property and fitting at a building bought to be the global watchdogs headquarters in Switzerland but within a few years no longer is because Budapest was favoured over Lausanne by incumbent top-tables). The top-tier handout at the helm of beneficiaries of their efforts and talents looks like this:
The phenomenal efforts of Summer McIntosh, Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, Noè Ponti and others in Budapest contributed to an other-worldly count of 30 World records and many more championship, continental, regional and national records.
A hearty competitive farewell to 2024, pioneering speed, thrilling races and a big early Christmas for the few outstanding at a meet that unfolded in the absence of most of the best of the world’s swimmers, including Male Swimmer of the Year Léon Marchand. Noè Ponti has had a great winter 2024 season. With the greatest of respect for his terrific achievements, none of them compare to Marchand's outer-orbit accomplishments.
Same for Summer McIntosh - no 11 WRs, 'just' 3 but the Female Swimmer Of The Year, For World Aquatics & Everyone Else Judging Fairly...
Craig Lord
I trust you spotted what I did there: I compared in a way that those who disagree with me or dislike what I'm writing may well shout 'unfair' and 'unecessary' to compare such things. My reply: precisely, so let's not do it the other way round, when it's convenient to a specific line of PR. It helps no-one.
In other words, fine as Budapest was, there is absolutely no comparing it with the Olympic Games, nor even with the last full-on World long-course championships, in Fukuoka last year, regardless of any World record posted at the pointy end of a final that included performances that would not have made the final had the Hungarian capital been able to boast the same peak-form entry list as Paris.
That’s not a criticism. It’s a reality. Simply put: you can’t compare chalk and cheese, apples and pears. They are false equations.
Why and what's going on?
