Rule change eases Road to Paris

An April 9 letter from World Aquatics eased the qualification path to the Paris 2024 Olympics and hopefully further editions.

Since the qualifiers of the 2020 Olympics, the universality rules required that for one to be considered for a wild card, one has to be their country’s highest rank swimmers as per the Fina (now World Aquatics) points table and one must have attended the World Championships.

This was always interpreted to be that only points achieved from Olympic races done at World Championships matter. So until April 9, it was considered that the points earned by swimmers from the Fukuoka 2023 and Doha 2024 Worlds would be considered when handling selections for the Paris Olympics.

“Please be advised that by decision of the World Aquatics Executive and Bureau, certain modifications to Article D.3 of the Qualification System for Swimming have been approved.

“In this respect, we highlight that the male/female athlete with the highest World Aquatics Points Table score in any individual Olympic event, as achieved at a World Aquatics-approved qualification event during the qualification period, using the World Aquatics Points Table, 1st January 2024 edition, no longer needs to have competed in either of the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka (2023) or Doha (2024). The removal of such a requirement now ensures, subject to exceptional circumstances assessed by the World Aquatics Executive, that the fastest athletes from each national federation represent their country in the Olympic Games,” reads the letter signed by the body’s president Capt. Husain Al Musallam and executive director Brent Nowicki.

How they stood

At the end of the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February, only Tendo Mukalazi, Jesse Ssengonzi and female counterparts Gloria Muzito and Kirabo Namutebi seemed to have a chance for Paris. The rest had to hit Olympic qualifying times to make it.

Now it is open and those looking to qualify do not necessarily need to hit qualifying times but ensure they have the most points to be considered for wild cards.

Mukalazi’s 23.63 in the 50m freestyle in Doha fetched him 692 points while the 52.56 from the 100m free in Fukuoka got him 708. Ssengonzi fetched 747 points from his 100m butterfly (54.48) in Doha.

Muzito’s 100m free (56.55) in Doha fetched 764 points while the 50m free (26.01) fetched 747. Namutebi did not do an Olympic event in Doha but fetched 709 and 656 points from 50m (26.54) and 100m free (59.50) respectively in Fukuoka.

Chance to improve

All four now have a chance to improve on those points at various qualifiers as do others who could be interested. In fact both female swimmers did at the Africa Aquatics Swimming and Open Water Championships in Luanda, Angola last week.

Namutebi’s 25.86 from the 50m free means she has moved up to 761 points while Muzito’s 25.88 PB in the same race put her at 759 points. Namutebi’s PB is a 25.44, which could have fetched 799 points, from the NCAA II Long Course Invitational in Indianapolis but this was no Olympic qualifier. However, it gave her a chance to compete and equal or better the feat at the Olympic Trials in the same state on June 23.

Muzito also clocked 56.01 to win 100m free bronze at the African Games and that fetched her 786 points but there were debates at the time on whether the continental showpiece was an Olympic qualifier even though it is listed on the World Aquatics website as one. Her 56.48 (767 points) from the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio in April can also be back-up but both events came before the April 9 letter.

The fight goes on till at least mid-June as National Olympic Committees must submit their applications for universality places to World Aquatics for approval by June 24. World Aquatics will confirm the slots by July 3 - 23 days to the Olympics - but that could be late too and pose another dilemma for a country like Uganda which needs its travel logistics to be sorted earlier.

World Aquatics Points

Top collections for Paris hopefuls – so far

Muzito

100m free (56.01) – 786 points (from Accra)

50m free (25.88) – 759 (Angola)

Namutebi

50m free (25.86) – 761 (Angola)

Ssengonzi

100m fly (54.48) – 747 (Doha)

Mukalazi

100m free (52.56) – 708 (Fukuoka)

50m free (23.63) – 692 (Doha)