FINA Worlds 2007 - 2007 World Swimming Championships

The competition programme of the 12th FINA World Championships, to be held in Melbourne (AUS) from March 17-April 1, 2007 has been released. In the “Rod Laver Arena”, temporary swimming pools installed by “AstralPool” will welcome the competitions of swimming and synchronised swimming. The swimming programme runs from March 25 to April 1, with heats being held in the morning and finals in the evening.

The competition programme of the 12th FINA World Championships, to be held in Melbourne (AUS) from March 17-April 1, 2007 has been released. In the “Rod Laver Arena”, temporary swimming pools installed by “AstralPool” will welcome the competitions of swimming and synchronised swimming. The swimming programme runs from March 25 to April 1, with heats being held in the morning and finals in the evening.

The 12th FINA World Championships will provide a welcome boost to Melbourne’s green heritage, with water used in two temporary pools to be reused by the Royal Botanic Gardens and City of Melbourne. Acting Premier John Thwaites and Minister for Sport and Recreation James Merlino announced today that the water would be reused to support our renowned gardens and trees.

The World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) will offer live video feeds of all swimming pool events from Melbourne, Australia during the 2007 FINA World Championships. WCSN is also working with USA Swimming to stream conference calls with some of the USA Swimming Team swimmers competing in the World Championships.

After a stunning night of swimming that saw the Americans break three world and one American record, Team USA returned to the pool Wednesday morning for preliminaries in four events. Six Americans advanced to tonight’s semifinals, which will be contested in addition to finals in the men’s 200m butterfly, women’s 200m freestyle, men’s 50m breaststroke and men’s 800m free. Leila Vaziri was the talk of the morning in the American camp, as the 21-year-old set an American record in the 50m back.

Michael Phelps was once again the buzz of the swimming world Wednesday, smashing his own world record in the 200m butterfly on the fourth day of swimming at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Phelps’ time tonight of 1:52.09 was more than a second-and-a-half faster than the old mark of 1:53.71 which he set just 39 days ago at the Missouri Grand Prix.

USA Swimming is reporting that world record holder Brendan Hansen has been scratched from the 200m breaststroke due to a virus. He felt ill after returning from the swimming events on Wednesday night, where he had won the silver medal in the 50m breaststroke.

Team USA will be represented by seven swimmers in four individual semi-final events, and the U.S. women’s 800m freestyle relay will compete in the final tonight on the fifth day of competition at the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

The red line has become the Americans’ new best friend this week in what has become a magical display of dominance at the FINA World Championships. It’s the red line on the television screen that indicates a world record time, and Team USA saw it plenty of it on the fifth day of swimming at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

It was a perfect record for Team USA during Friday morning’s preliminary heats at the FINA World Championships. Out of six events contested, all American competitors passed on to the next round. Ian Crocker (Portland, Maine) is the top seed in the men’s 100m butterfly, and the men’s 800m freestyle relay earned the top spot for tonight’s final.

FINA has decided to suspend the coach that hit his swimmer - the father that hit his daughter - for 6-years. Too bad they cannot also get them into domestic abuse counseling; that might be a real way to help the daughter.

Swimming relay results from the swimming pool at the 2007 FINA World Championships. Follow the swimming pool action as swimmers race for the gold, silver, and bronze medals during the biggest swimming competition prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

With only two days left in a memorable World Championships, Team USA kept the ball rolling as all 10 athletes and the women’s 400m medley relay advanced. Two Americans – Kara Lynn Joyce (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.) – are the top seeds in their respective events, in addition to the women's 400m medley relay.

Women's swimming results from the swimming pool at the 2007 FINA World Championships. Follow the swimming pool action as swimmers race for the gold, silver, and bronze medals during the biggest swimming competition prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) tied a record for the most gold medals at a single World Championships as Team USA claimed eight more medals on the penultimate night of action at the FINA World Championships Saturday. Team USA finished with eight medals in the night's five individual events and one relay. Team USA leads the field with 31 world championship medals, 17 of them gold.

At the FINA World Swimming Championships, swimmers score points for thier country. Which country came out on top in 2007?

The 2007 FINA World Championships was arguably one of the most successful World Championships for Team USA since the meet’s advent in 1973. How does it stack up? Look at the numbers and decide for yourself.

U.S. swimmers broke three world records and one American record on the third night of finals at the 2007 FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia tonight. Olympic medalists Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md., Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) and Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.) each broke world records as Team USA claimed five world championship medals at Rod Laver Arena.

Seven Americans advanced to the next round of swimming Tuesday on the third day of competition at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, an almost perfect record for the morning preliminaries. US Swimmers in tonight's finals session are Michael Phelps, Davis Tarwater, Katie Hoff, Dana Vollmer, Brendan Hansen, Natalie Coughlin, Hayley Peirsol, Kate Ziegler, Aaron Peirsol, Ryan Lochte, Tara Kirk, and Jessica Hardy.

Olympians Brendan Hansen (Havertown, Pa.) and Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) defended their world titles and captured the two American gold medals on the second night of swimming at the FINA World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Team USA notched four medals for the evening to bring the team total to six – three gold, two silver and a bronze.

USA Swimming is teaming with the World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) to provide television coverage on Fox Sports Net and live web coverage on WCSN.com of the action from the 12th FINA Aquatics World Championships, March 17-April 1 in Melbourne, Australia. The 2007 World Championships is considered the top international swimming competition in the world outside of the Olympic Games, and this meet will be the best indicator of the stars to watch in 2008.

The 2007 FINA World Championships are in Melbourne from 17 March through 1 April 2007. Follow the pool and ocean action as swimmers, divers, water polo players, synchronized swimmers, and open water swimmers go for the gold, silver, and bronze medals during the biggest aqautic competitions prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) will offer live video feeds of all swimming pool events from Melbourne, Australia during the 2007 FINA World Championships. WCSN is also working with USA Swimming to stream conference calls with some of the USA Swimming Team swimmers competing in the World Championships.

USA Swimming is teaming with the World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) to provide television coverage on Fox Sports Net and live web coverage on WCSN.com of the action from the 12th FINA Aquatics World Championships, March 17-April 1 in Melbourne, Australia. The 2007 World Championships is considered the top international swimming competition in the world outside of the Olympic Games, and this meet will be the best indicator of the stars to watch in 2008.

The events from the 2007 FINA World Championships in each of the five aquatic disciplines FINA represents - swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, open water swimming, and water polo - will be featured on WCSN.com, with live coverage of the swimming events and final water polo matches. The World Championships are held every two years.

The 2007 FINA World Championships are in Melbourne from 17 March through 1 April 2007. Follow the pool and ocean action as swimmers, divers, water polo players, synchronized swimmers, and open water swimmers go for the gold, silver, and bronze medals during the biggest aqautic competitions prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The 2007 FINA World Championships are in Melbourne from 17 March through 1 April 2007. Follow the pool and ocean action as swimmers, divers, water polo players, synchronized swimmers, and open water swimmers go for the gold, silver, and bronze medals during the biggest aqautic competitions prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Two years ago at the FINA World Championships in Montreal, Jessica Hardy, Kate Ziegler and Katie Hoff were the new kids off the blocks. Despite it being the first big international meet for Hardy and Ziegler, and only the second for 2004 Olympian Hoff, all three rose to the occasion. This year, at the final World Championships before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, they are now among the veterans, and being a veteran comes with new roles and responsibilities.

Most of the members of the men's and women's swimming team have swum in pools across the world, but many have never competed Down Under. Known for its swimming fans as much as its world-class swimmers, Australia is as excited to host Worlds as American swimmers are to visit the country and swim against the best on the planet.

In the tradition of past American brother-sister swimming acts – like Lynn and Rick Collela and Shirley and Jack Babashoff – Aaron and Hayley Peirsol and Klete and Kalyn Keller will be competing for the United States at Worlds this year.

As experienced and savvy as the men's team is, the women's team has as many young, first-time faces on the roster as it does veterans. Intermixed with seasoned swimmers like Coughlin, Rachel Komisarz, Tara Kirk, Margaret Hoelzer and Mary DeScenza are newcomers Elizabeth Beisel, a 14-year-old backstroker; 17-year-old Ariana Kukors, an individual medley specialist; Indiana University senior Leila Vaziri; and butterflyer Kim Vandenberg.

With a core of athletes named Phelps, Hansen, Crocker and Peirsol, you know you've got a strong nucleus. But when you add names and swimming resumes like Jensen, Lochte, Walker, Lezak, Jones – the list goes on and on – you've got the makings of possibly the fastest swim team ever assembled.

While the U.S. women have enjoyed success at the past few Worlds and Olympics in the 800m freestyle relay, they have come up short in the 400m freestyle relay. But this summer at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships and then again at Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships, individual sprint performances from Amanda Weir and Natalie Coughlin have helped return the American women to form, and they are looking to get back to the top of the podium at Worlds.

Olympians Brendan Hansen, Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and Katie Hoff faced an enthusiastic press corps at the opening press conference on Saturday for the 2007 FINA World Championships. Joined by head coach and general manager Mark Schubert, head men's coach Bob Bowman and head women's coach John Collins, USA Swimming's brightest stars fielded questions and smiled for a flurry of flash bulbs throughout the one-hour session at the Melbourne Town Hall.

The second morning of prelims at the 2007 FINA World Championships saw seven American competitors advance to semi-finals tonight and both Hayley Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.) and Kate Ziegler (Great Falls, Va.) qualified for the final of the 1500m freestyle. Peirsol’s time of 16:02.82 earned her the first seed. Ziegler claimed the third seed, finishing in 16:07.71. The final of the 1500m freestyle will be contested Tuesday night.

Team USA opened the first night of competition at the FINA World Championships with a pair of relay medals in the men’s and women’s 400m freestyle relay. The relay finals capped a busy night for the U.S, which saw six swimmers finish high in semi-final races to advance to finals in four different individual events.