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Shanghai swimming worlds opens with splendid theme

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Carrying the theme of admiration for water in the newly-named "Sea Crown" stadium, the 14th FINA World Championships opened with an aquatic carnival on Saturday night.

The 14th FINA World Championships opened with an aquatic carnival in Shanghai, China on Saturday night. [sina.com]

Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Yu Zhengsheng declared open the championships. His announcement was echoed by thunderous cheers from the audience in the crown-shaped venue along the Huangpu River, adjacent to the 2010 World Expo Park.

Among the spectators, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge was in attendance.

"For a long time now, FINA was dreaming to organize its major competition, the FINA World Championships, here in China," Dr. Julio C. Maglione, President of the international swimming governing body, addressed at the opening ceremony.

"Shanghai, you are an excellent host of FINA's greatest aquatic festival! You are a true gateway for the future!" he concluded the speech.

The organizing committee planned a brief 30 minutes performance with a mix of sports, arts and technology, aiming to run the tournament in an environmentally sound and cost-effective manner.

The ceremony, with the theme of "An Ode to Water", showcased the admiration for water in Chinese culture, the harmonious relationship between the mankind and water, and the excitement of water sports as well as the hospitality of the host.

One chapter of the ceremony was named after the well-known lines of a great Chinese philosopher Lao Zi as "The highest good resembles water", which benefits all without any demand for return.

Not only in the performances, the theme of "water" also finds its full expression in the complex venues of Oriental Sports Center, which is composed of the indoor stadium ("Sea Crown"), natatorium ("Magnolia Bridge"), outdoor diving pool ("Crescent Lagoon") and sports mansion. The poetic names had been created by the enthusiastic citizens before the event.

In the magnificent sports center decorated by dazzling lights and colourful water, the nicknamed venues added charm and splendour to the riverside man-made lake, complementing the magnificent view of the city's Huangpu "mother river".

WATER CARNIVAL

The 14th Championships, running from July 16 to 31, features four disciplines, which are divided into 66 events, namely 47 in swimming (including seven in open water), ten in diving, seven in synchronized swimming and two in water polo.

The biennial swimming gala, taking place for the first time in China, is the largest, most-attended and highest-level sporting discipline event ever organized in Shanghai.

Many "first" have been created in this Championships.

A total of 181 countries and regions (a figure improving the previous record of 172 present in Rome 2009) have confirmed their participation with 5,724 FINA accredited athletes, coaches and officials.

Also for the first time in the event, journalists have a dedicated building to perform their work.

For the athletes, the Shanghai Championships are the first in FINA history to introduce qualifying standard times in swimming. Thus, it is expected to improve the competitiveness of the tournament being attended by 2,200 competitors.

Among them, Michael Phelps, the 14-time Olympic gold medalist, is one of the most eye-catching swimmers, who are being questioned of their ability to shatter world records in a no-super-suit era.

Outnumbering those of the 13th Championships in Rome, 65 rights-holding broadcasters from 35 countries and regions including EBU, Eurosport, BBC and ABC, will broadcast 260 hours of competitions to an expected audience of 3.5 billion.

In Shanghai, the 165-member Chinese Delegation, made up of 117 athletes and 48 officers, will compete in all events, aiming to better the 11-gold feat in Rome 2009.

In the pool, the Chinese women's team is led by 200m butterfly Olympic champion Liu Zige and 50m backstroke world champion Zhao Jing, while 800m freestyle world champion Zhang Lin and 1,500m Asian Games winner Sun Yang head the men's contingent.

In diving, Olympic champions He Chong and Qin Kai will lead the men's squad, while the first gold medalists of the 14th Championships Wu Minxia/He Zi are also among the "dream team".

On Friday, just one day before the opening ceremony, Kazan of Russia and Guadalajara of Mexico have been chosen to host the 2015 and 2017 editions of the Championships respectively.

It will be the first time for both cities to organise the aquatic gala and that could be seen as a further step in the development of the sport.