World Aquatics Championships

World Aquatics Championships
Status	Active
Genre	Global sporting event
Date(s)	Two weeks (usually mid-year)
Frequency	Usually biennial
Location(s)	Various host cities
Years active	50 years
Inaugurated	1973 (1973)
Most recent	Doha 2024
Previous event	Fukuoka 2023
Next event	Singapore 2025
Activity	Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, Artistic Swimming, Open Water Swimming, High Diving
Organised by	World Aquatics
Sponsor	Myrtha Pools Nongfu Spring Omega Yakult
Editions	21 (including 2024)
Website	worldaquatics.com
2024 World Aquatics Championships

The World Aquatics Championships (known as the FINA World Championships until 2022) are the World Championships for six aquatic disciplines: swimming, diving, high diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming, and water polo. The championships are staged by World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (Fédération internationale de natation), the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in water sports. The championships are World Aquatics' largest and main event traditionally held biennially every odd year, with all six of the aquatic disciplines contested every championships. Dr. Hal Henning, FINA's president from 1972 through 1976, and their first American President, was highly instrumental in starting the first World Aquatics Championships, and in retaining the number of swimming events in the Olympics, which gave an advantage to nations with larger, more balanced swim teams.^[1]

The championships were first staged in 1973 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, with competitions held in swimming, diving, synchronised swimming and water polo.^[2] In 1991 open water swimming was added to the championships as a fifth discipline.^[3] In 2013 high diving was added to the championships as a sixth discipline.^[4] In 2017 the synchronised swimming discipline was renamed to artistic swimming.^[5]

Prior to the 9th World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka in 2001, the championships had been staged at various intervals of two to four years. From 2001 to 2019 the championships were held biennially in odd years. Due to interruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions, host venues withdrawing from hosting championships and World Aquatics' withdrawing the rights to host championships, the championships will be staged in every year from 2022 to 2025 until resuming to biennial from 2025 onwards.

The World Open Water Swimming Championships (also known as 'Open Water Worlds') is part of the World Aquatics Championships. Additional standalone editions of the Open Water Championships were also held in the even years from 2000 to 2010. The World Masters Championships (also known as 'Masters Worlds) is open to athletes 25 years and above (30+ years in water polo) in each aquatics discipline excluding high diving and has been held as part of the World Aquatics Championships since 2015. Prior to this, the Masters Championship was held separately, biennially in even years.

Athletes from all current 208 World Aquatics member federations are eligible to compete at the championships, along with athletes considered 'Neutral Independent Athletes' under the rules of World Aquatics and athletes from the 'World Aquatics Refugee Team'. The 2019 championships set the record for the most athletes participating (2,623).^[6] At the recent 2024 championships athletes participated from 199 nations: 197 member federations, 1 suspended member federation and 1 Athlete Refugee Team.

Member federations referred to as winners, second, and third, in the table below, are the top three nation's listed on the medal tally based on the standard method of ranking (being total gold medals, followed by total silver medals, and then total bronze medals).

* Record by number of gold medals –  United States (23 gold medals, 1978) and  China (23 gold medals, 2024)
** Record by number of total medals –  United States (49 medals in total, 2022)

Updated after the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.

Boldface denotes active athletes and highest medal count per type.

Except where specified below, there are male and female categories for each event.

Men's and women's events:

• 1 m springboard
• 3 m springboard
• 10 m platform
• synchronized 3 m springboard
• synchronized 10 m platform

Mixed events:

• synchronized 3 m springboard
• synchronized 10 m platform
• 3 m springboard / 10 m platform team

Except for Acrobatic routine, all events include technical and free routines, with medals awarded separately.

• Solo, including men's solo since 2023
• Duet, including mixed pair (male-female) since 2015
• Team (since 2023 open event to men and women)
• Acrobatic routine since 2023 (open event to men and women)

• Men's tournament
• Women's tournament

• 5 km
• 10 km
• Mixed relay

• 27m (men only)
• 20m (women only)

• World Aquatics
• FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m)
• FINA World Junior Swimming Championships
• FINA Swimming World Cup
• FINA World Masters Championships
• FINA Marathon Swim World Series
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women)
• List of World Championships records in swimming
• Major achievements in swimming by nation

Media related to World Aquatics Championships at Wikimedia Commons