Swimming for medals
The 12th FINA World Championships are to begin in Melbourne tomorrow with strong Greek participation in all events, except for women’s swimming. First to take the dive into the pool is the national synchronized swimming team, which has been fully renewed since it earned two bronze medals last year at the European Championships in Budapest. On Sunday, the swimming events in open water start (at sea), with Greek long-distance champion Spyros Yianniotis taking the plunge for the first time in the 5- and 10-kilometer races, on Sunday and Wednesday respectively. Divers follow from Monday on, with Olympic gold medalist Thomas Bimis also present. «This is more like a test ahead of the World Cup next year in Beijing, which will determine qualification for the Olympic Games,» said coach Petros Fyrigos. Swimming begins later, on March 25 through April 1, with Greece’s representation being 12 men. «There is optimism for medals and good placements in the finals. If all goes well, we may get more than one medal, as happened two years ago,» said technical assistant Christodoulos Choumas. Aris Grigoriadis, Yianniotis (in the 1,500 meters) and the 4×200 national team carry Greece’s hopes for a medal. Yet the focus as usual is on the men’s water polo team, which begins its group games on March 20 against Russia. Then, on March 22, Greece plays China and completes the first stage with its game against Spain on March 24. The women’s team starts on Monday morning against Kazakhstan, with the Netherlands and USA to follow.
