The 18th European Short Course Championships will take place in Nentanya, Israel, from December 2nd to 6th 2015. The city, an Oceanside suburb, is located 20 km north of Tel Aviv. Psych sheets are now available in the link to the right.
The Netherlands’ women – Femke Heemskerk, Inge Dekker and Ranomi Kromowidjojo – will be present as well to shine in the 50m and 100m freestyle. On the men’s side, swimmers to watch will be Adam Peaty, Liam Tancock, Daniel Gyurta and Laszlo Cseh. Cseh has 16 European Short Course titles, he may add a few more after this week in Israel, he’s entered to swim 50m/100m/200m fly and 200m individual medley.
The crowd will also be watching Katinka Hosszu as she’s entered to swim 11 races: 50m/100m/200m/400m freestyle, 50m/100m/200m backstroke, 200m butterfly and 100m/200m/400m individual medley.
Vlad Morozov and Ruta Meilutyte will probably be the most notable missing swimmers at the championships. Some nations like France, Great Britain, Norway and Spain are sending only a few swimmers and have decided to let their top swimmers prepare and so promote younger athletes by sending them to the European SC championships.
Swimming World Magazine announced Male and Female European Swimmers of the Year a few days ago: Adam Peaty on the men’s side and Sarah Sjostrom on the women’s side. These two young and talented swimmers will be attending the championships this week and will lead their country going into the pool to represent their national colors.
The brand new Wingate Institute, officially called the Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports will be hosting the European SC Championships. Situated on an 120-acre sports campus near the Mediterranean Sea, it features and Olympic-size pool with 10 lanes along with another 8-lane 50 meter pool and a 6-lane 25 meter pool. The main pool can accommodate 3,000 fans.
“The Israeli Swimming Federation has proved their capability to organize major international events before, by hosting several open water swimming events in Eliat. Now, they’re entering the elite club of organizers who stage the biggest swimming showcases” European Swimming League President Paolo Barelli said in a statement.
Around 500 swimmers from 48 different nations will participate at the championships. Israel (host country) will have the biggest team with 46 swimmers entered into the meet, followed by Russia (38), Italy (36), Hungary (27), Germany (27), Czech Republic (27), and Finland (22).
