“Great athletes + memorable performances = outstanding competitions,” reads the International Swimming Federation’s (FINA) recipe for success as swimming’s world governing body provides a review of the Rio 2016 Olympics.
“Never was this formula better put into practice than at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games,” FINA states in a press release, with Executive Director, Cornel Marculescu adding: “The enthusiasm and performances of our athletes were second-to-none.
“In terms of TV exposure we had an excellent collaboration with OBS,” says Marculescu. “On Copacabana beach the TV coverage of the open water swimming events was outstanding. As the athletes were performing far from the shore, the competition could still be clearly followed by spectators on the beach and street.”
Stating that there’s no doubt that the athletes were key to this outstanding coverage, Marculescu continued: “In recent years, we have been lucky to have had real superstars in FINA sports. Everyone today knows about swimming thanks to Michael Phelps and his incredible Olympic roll of honor. The ‘Greatest of the Greats’ has 28 Olympic medals, more than many nations as a whole. This is a treasure for us and a way to reaffirm that our disciplines can create great champions.”
Looking at the challenges ahead and discussing opportunities to improve and grow Aquatics around the world, Marculescu continued: “With the digital revolution, the increasing number of sport events worldwide and the variety of activities for today’s youth, competition is greater than ever. This is why we need to have a first-rate product and a consolidated strategy. Quality and quantity are always our challenges. We want to continuously create the great stars and ambassadors of our sport, while growing and harmonizing Aquatic disciplines on a global scale.”
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.