FINA diving World series 2018: Kazan delivers the event at the Olympic-level
The FINA Diving World Series is underway in the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan. The press conference took place ahead of the official opening of the tournament. Such officials as President of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) Dr Julio Maglione, FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu, СNSG Vice President Mr. WEI Weige, Russian Diving Federation President Alexey Vlasenko, Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan Vladimir Leonov, First Deputy Head of Executive Committee of Kazan and Tatarstan Diving Federation President Damir Fattakhov, and two-time Olympic champion Dmitriy Sautin were present at this event.
“In 2015 Kazan hosted the FINA World Championships, which became one of the best in the FINA history, and regularly runs other aquatics competitions to the highest standards. This city has become our home. We have no doubts that Kazan is the sports capital of Russia. Representatives of many countries acknowledge this fact. We are very happy to be here again,” underlined Maglione.
According to Cornel Marculescu, FINA and Kazan will still be friends for many more years. “In 2022 we’ll have a reason to come back to Kazan once again to organise and hold the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in conjunction with the FINA World Aquatics Convention. I know that there are somewhere ten 50m swimming pools in Tatarstan, which is a perfect marker. We are happy that Tatarstan’s officials recorgnise the value of aquatics sports. And it is not just about high-profile sport, but mass sport, too,” stated the FINA Executive Director.
Alexey Vlasenko emphasised the significance of the Kazan leg of the FINA Diving World Series for this sport. “Kazan is running the tournament to the standards of the Olympic Games,” thinks the Russian Diving Federation President.
Damir Fattakhov welcomed guests and participants of the tournament on behalf of Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin. “We are playing host to such a huge event once again, thus demonstrating the status of the sports capital city of Russia. It is a pleasure that there are leading divers in Tatarstan who compete for the national team. We do our best to help them decently represent the country and play role models for our younger generation,” considers the Russian Diving Federation President.
The FINA Diving World Series bridges the gap between a competition and a show. Such elite divers as winners and medallists of the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cups take part in the competitions. The tournament is held under the auspices of the FINA. The Kazan leg of the FINA Diving World Series culminates the season. The first two legs were held in Beijing, China (9 – 11 March) and Fuji, Japan (15 – 17 March), and the third series took place in Montreal, Canada (27 – 29 April).
Men’s and women’s 3m and 10m individual and synchro events, and 3m and 10m mixed events are included in the competition programme of each FINA Diving World Series.