Dates for Madeira 2022 Worlds announced
World Para Swimming Championships to take place in Portugal for the first time in June next year at the same venue hosting the Europeans 21 May 2021The Madeira 2022 World Para Swimming Championships will take place from 12 to 18 June next year.
The dates were announced on Friday (21 May) by World Para Swimming and the Portuguese Swimming Federation (FPN) during the European Open Championships which is also taking place in Madeira island.
Madeira will host, in 2022, the tenth edition of the World Championships and the biggest ever Para sport event organized in Portugal.
The venue will be the Penteada Olympic Swimming Complex in capital city Funchal, which has hosted the 2016 and 2020 European Championships.
The competition was initially scheduled to September this year but had to be postponed to 2022 to avoid a clash with Tokyo 2020, as the Paralympic Games moved to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
London, Great Britain held the last edition of the World Championships in 2019 with 637 athletes from 77 nations.
Craig Nicholson, Head of World Para Swimming, said:
“We are in the middle of the European Open Championships in Madeira and the Local Organising Committee has delivered a great event, especially under difficult circumstances due to COVID-19. This is a familiar venue to many athletes and a pool that has seen plenty of world records. We are happy to return here next year for the 2022 World Championships.”
Susana Veiga, Portuguese Para swimmer and silver medallist at the Madeira 2020 Europeans, said:
“It is amazing to compete at home, it is an honour. The atmosphere is fantastic and to be able to step up on the podium in Madeira is something I did not think it was possible when I started in Para swimming.”
Antonio Jose Silva, President of the Portuguese Swimming Federation, said:
"The return of the swimmers to Funchal for the World Para Swimming Championships is proof of the organisational competence of Portuguese Swimming Federation, in close cooperation with political and sports regional authorities. Our expectation for 2022 is to have a high-level competition and, we hope, to have the stands filled with fans of our sport."