Ten interesting facts about Roma 2022
The European Championships are coming up, the atmosphere of competition is vibrant all around, and athletes have already started training in the pools of the Foro Italico. Here are 10 things you should know about Roma 2022 before the opening scheduled on 11 August.
• At the European Championships, the youngest ever male and female participant is Hana Beiqi, who was born on 28 September 2008. Being only 13 years old, the Kosovo’s swimmer will compete in the women’s 50m and 100m freestyle and the 50m butterfly. The oldest athlete, on the other hand, is Ukrainian high diver Viacheslav Kolesnikov, who turned 40 on 25 March.
• For the first time at any European Championships, the high diving competition and the men's solo event in artistic swimming will be staged. A total of 77 titles will be awarded: 43 in swimming, 13 in diving, 12 in artistic swimming, 7 in open water swimming and 2 in high diving.
• The men's 50m butterfly will be the opening event of the Championships on 11 August. The men's individual diving from the 10m platform will close the event on 21 August.
• The 25km open water swimming event is the longest race, the 1m springboard event the fastest.
• Italy's Linda Cerruti is the athlete entered in the most events at Roma 2022. The 28-year-old synchro swimmer will compete in all events in the women’s solo, duet and team. For swimming, Finland's Laura Lahtinen is entered in the most events. The 19-year-old swimmer will be competing in the women’s 50m backstroke; the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke; and the women’s 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, for a total of seven races, excluding relays.
• There are 15 athletes entered in both swimming and open water swimming.
• Italy are the nation with the most participating athletes (102). The least represented are Azerbaijan, the Faroe Islands, Kosovo, Montenegro and Moldova, who are attending the European Championships with only 2 athletes.
• Wednesday 17 August will be the busiest day of the entire competition programme, with 11 finals and as many award ceremonies, scheduled in swimming in its last session and diving.
• The European Aquatics Championships are returning to Rome for the second time, after the 1983 edition, and to Italy for the third time: in 1927 they were held in Bologna and in 1954 in Turin. Budapest is the city that has hosted the event the most times (6), followed by Vienna (3). Rome ranks second together with London and Berlin.
• Since 2009, the year of the world championships in Rome, seven world records still stand: six for men and one for women. Federica Pellegrini holds the world record in the women’s 200m freestyle; among the men, Brazil's Cesar Cielo in the 100m freestyle, Germany's Paul Biedermann in the 200m and 400m freestyle, China's Zhang Lin in the 800m freestyle, USA's Aron Peirsol in the 200m backstroke and the United States in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
