18th FINA World Aquatics Championships Preview: Water Polo
July 14-27 and July 13 (Beach Water Polo)
BY MICHAEL RANDAZZO
Of the 16 teams in the men’s draw, the most closely watched will be Serbia and Croatia. Over the last five years, the Serbs, coached by Dejan Savic, have captured every major title—including gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics—except one: the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, where they were upset by the Croatians in a thrilling semifinal. The Croats took gold at that tournament, but have been unable to beat their rivals in major competition since.
Filip Filipovic, the brilliant Serbian attacker, continues to play at top form well into his 30s. He is expected to participate in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where his country will again be favored to prevail. But the lefty with over 300 appearances—a key contributor since his international debut at the 2003 European Championships—may be playing in his final World Championships.
A major challenge for Filipovic and his comrades will be adjusting to new rules instituted by FINA last March. Intended to speed up play and to make the game more comprehensible to casual fans, the changes reward offense while penalizing overly physical play.
No matter the rules, though, it’s expected that Serbia and Croatia could advance to either a semifinal or final meeting—one that promises to be the year’s best. An additional incentive to winning: berths in the 2020 Olympics will be awarded to the two finalists.
The U.S. men have a favorable draw—their two biggest challengers, Germany and Japan, are comparable opponents. But they are far more likely to qualify for their ninth straight Olympics at the 2019 Pan American Games come August in Lima, Peru.
The U.S. women will be seeking their 11th straight major tournament win and their third straight World Championship title. Adam Krikorian, Team USA’s head coach, has maintained his team’s extraordinary success while shuttling players in and out. Two constants remain, and they will be crucial to continued American dominance: Maggie Steffens, generally acknowledged to be the world’s best female player, and Ashleigh Johnson, who backstopped the U.S. to gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Krikorian’s women have a tough opening draw: their group includes a Dutch team that recently won the 2019 Europa Cup, a talented Russian squad and long-time rival Australia.
For a more in depth look at the water polo teams headed to the FINA World Aquatics Championships this year,
check out the June 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!
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FEATURES
016 GLOBAL WARMING
by David Rieder, Dan D’Addona, Taylor Brien, Andy Ross, Erin Keaveny and Michael Randazzo
Expect the competition to heat up, July 12-28, as the world’s best aquatic athletes from all over the world converge on Kwangju, South Korea for the 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships.
PREVIEW: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
016 WOMEN’S SWIMMING
019 MEN’S SWIMMING
024 OPEN WATER SWIMMING
025 DIVING
025 WATER POLO
027 ARTISTIC SWIMMING
028 SWEDISH SUPERSTAR
by David Rieder
Sarah Sjostrom’s swimming career has gone from teenage record-breaking dynamo to Olympic disappointment in 2012 to one of the world’s transcendent female swimmers. In Sweden, the 25-year-old is not ONE of her country’s swimming legends. She is THE legend.
031 REMEMBERING THE 1st WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – BELGRADE ’73
by Bruce Wigo
Swimming World takes a look back at the 1st FINA World Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1973—what was behind the start of a world championship meet and the intrigue behind adding synchronized swimming to the program…and the numerous controversies that led up to the meet as well as the ones that followed.
034 NUTRITION: AROUND THE TABLE WITH MICHIGAN LAKESHORE AQUATICS
by Dan D’Addona and Dawn Weatherwax
COACHING
010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: DON REDDISH
by Michael J. Stott
014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: DEVELOPMENT OF AN OPTIMAL MODEL FOR TECHNIQUE: PART 7—BODY BASE OF SUPPORT FOR FREESTYLE
by Rod Havriluk
Since hand force is directly related to swimming velocity, controlling the arm motion on the push phase during freestyle has great potential for almost every swimmer. Unfortunately, it is a substantial challenge to independently push the hand backward while the torso rotates upward.
036 PLAN B: COLLEGE CLUB TEAM OPTION (Part 1)
by Michael J. Stott
College Club Swimming has been offering more and more athletes the opportunity to continue participating in the sport they love. In this two-part series, Swimming World explores some personal perspectives from swimmers pursuing their aquatic passion while enjoying a college experience unencumbered by the demands of a varsity athlete.
041 SPECIAL SETS: BREASTSTROKE REVISITED
by Michael J. Stott
John Smithson, co-head coach at Quest Swimming in Richmond, Va., has coached multiple Olympic Trials qualifiers, state record holders and state champions. Last March, two of his 14-year-old swimmers took home wins in the 100 yard breaststroke at the Virginia State Short Course Championships. Here he talks about some of the breaststroke sets that have contributed to his team’s success.
043 Q&A WITH COACH KEVIN ZACHER
by Michael J. Stott
044 HOW THEY TRAIN ASHLEY STROUSE
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
013 DRYSIDE TRAINING: EXERCISE EQUIPMENT SERIES—MEDICINE BALL AND CABLE EXERCISES
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
039 GOLDMINDS: THE 5 SUPERPOWERS OF PERFORMANCE
by Wayne Goldsmith
Passion, persistence, practice, patience and peace are all within your grasp!
046 UP & COMERS: KAYLA HAN
by Taylor Brien
COLUMNS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
009 BEYOND THE YARDS
033 DID YOU KNOW? USA-USSR DUAL MEETS
047 GUTTER TALK
048 PARTING SHOT