Swimming Cut From Munich 2022 Multi-Sports Euro Champs But Para-Swimming May Join The Fun

VERRASZTO David HUN Gold Medal 400m Medley Men Finals Glasgow 09/08/18 Swimming Tollcross International Swimming Centre LEN European Aquatics Championships 2018 European Championships 2018 Photo Andrea Masini/ Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

Hungarian David Verraszto, 400Im champion at Glasgow 2018 when swimming was a part of the multi-sports European Championships last time round - Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala/ Deepbluemedia /Insidefoto

Paralympic swimming may replace its able-bodied cousin at the multi-sports European Championships in Munich in 2022 after organisers in the Bavarian capital withdrew from an agreement with LEN, the European swimming league.

Marion Schöne, the managing director of Olympiapark Munich GmbH (OMG), said that it was necessary to reach for a clause in the contract with the nine – now eight – sports in the European-Championship family to end the Munich organisation’s relationship with LEN.

When Olympiapark hosts the continental showcase for Track and Field and at least seven other sports from August 11 to 21, 2022, more than 4,000 athletes from all over Europe are expected to attend the event being held in the Bavarian capital 50 years after the 1972 Summer Olympics. They will compete for more than 150 medals across eight sports.

It was when Schöne mentioned “eight” sports – including athletics, cycling, golf, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon – that reporter Ralf Tögel of the Süddeutsche Zeitung notice the biggest news line, the unspoken one.

Tögel asked why not nine and then wrote: “The reason is a certain sluggishness at … LEN, which has been met with growing displeasure by the OMG boss.”

OMG. LEN has noted the obvious impediment to hosting swimming at the Olympic pool in Munich: the newly renovated facility has eight lanes. Modern championship standards require a 10-lane pool. There are no 10-lane Olympic pools in the Bavarian capital.

As such, LEN had already announced that it will host its 2022 European Championships in Rome. The Foro Italico venue is no impediment to swimming being a part of the multi-sports format and concept: when most sports hosted their continental showcases in Glasgow back in 2018, track and field staged its event in Berlin but remained part of the multi-sports event.

Economies of scale are at the root of why it makes sense to host the European Championships across several sports in the same city at the same time. Broadcasters like the idea because it allows them to plan crews and coverage and move technical equipment with greater efficiency, while multi-sports events tend to attract a much wider audience when they’re part of a festival of sports, culture and entertainment. The latter works particularly well for the less popular sports.

The size of the budget required for swimming to be a part of the Munich event was also a stumbling block, the Süddeutsche Zeitung indicates. Schöne suggests that all things were open to discussion but that OMG had simply never heard back from LEN and its president Paolo Barelli, who also heads the Italian Swimming Federation, FIN. Those topics included sponsorship and broadcast rights, the latter an issue that is already subject to LEN agreements and contracts in place.

In the absence of the level of communication Schöne believed necessary, OMG reached for a clause in contracts that allows the hosts to withdraw consent for a venue to be used/recognised if there is what “a fear of negative outcome”.

OMG’s mission is to ensure that “Munich retains its unique selling point,” says Schöne. The dealings with LEN and swimming might have put that at risk, she implied.

There is room yet for swimming to be a part of the Munich program, however. Schöne tells Tögel:

“We are talking to the para swimmers. We think that’s a great option.”

One that would deliver a first to the multi-sports approach to continental championships, namely the introduction and integration and paralympic competition.

Schöne added:

“Eight lanes would also be enough for the para swimmer. It would be a wonderful story if everything took place together in the Olympic Park.”

Sports climbing and/or beach volleyball, both Olympic sports, will be added to the program for 2022, Schöne suggested.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use