That’s not to take away from my first Worlds experience 20 years ago, they were wonderfully-organized. Instead, it highlights the growth of swimming over the past two decades thanks to increased television emphasis on our sport at the Olympics, the media coverage explosion from the Michael Phelps era, the addition of races like semifinal heats and 50m sprints, easier access to meets and athlete personalities via social media and livestreaming and the increased production values at big events beyond the Games such as Worlds, Olympic Trials and Euros.
As someone who has been closely following Olympic sports since the mid-90s, it’s fair to say that – in the U.S. at least – swimming has certainly overtaken Track & Field and Gymnastics as the number one summer Olympic sport if you go by year-round media coverage, personalities and television popularity.
But beyond the global growth of swimming, you still need local organizers and home town fans who understand how to put on a good show, support both home country athletes and international stars with boisterous energy and have a solid understanding of swimming’s unique characteristics as a sport. Budapest did all that — and more.
Hungary took over the hosting duties for these World Championships in February 2015, when Guadalajara, Mexico withdrew as host four years after they were first selected. With just over two years time, the city of Budapest put on quite a show that made our sport proud. It was called the biggest sporting event in Hungary’s history – and it showed.
Beyond the organizational aspects, Hungary’s great aquatics tradition – don’t forget their proud water polo history – left a big imprint on the Championships. They cheered their home country swimmers with adoring enthusiasm, whether it was Katinka Hosszú winning gold in the IM or their underdog men’s freestyle relay team coming from an outside lane to snag bronze. They cheered non-medal finishers and semifinal qualifiers alike while recognizing the talents and accomplishments of international stars like Sarah Sjostrom and Adam Peaty when world records were broken.
Caeleb Dressel and Sarah Sjostrom may have won FINA Swimmer of the Meet honors, but it was the public’s energy, enthusiasm and grand stage provided to these athletes that put such a terrific spotlight on their successes and made all the competitors shine bright. It left quite the impression. And for that, I would award Budapest the biggest gold of all.
Photo: MTI
Rob Penner is the VP, Marketing & Communications at SwimOutlet.com, the official online retailer of USA Swimming. He has worked eight Olympic Games and has three Emmy Awards working as a writer for NBC Olympics.
