Scholarship swimmers and divers residing and training at six locations across four continents are thriving, seizing opportunities along their quest to compete in Doha and Paris in 2024.
You might call it the ‘United Nations’ of Aquatics.
From Cuba to India, Sri Lanka to Serbia, a vastly diverse group of swimmers and divers are benefiting from the tutelage of elite coaches and honing their abilities at six World Aquatics Training Centres. The elite-level training centres provide top-notch facilities for athletes in the World Aquatics Scholarship Programme, now in its 10th year.
The highly-esteemed French coach Frédéric Vergnoux – who has coached swimmers at five Olympics as head of the British, Spanish and Belgian national teams – recently took the helm as Executive Director at the Cercle des Nageurs d’Antibes (CN Antibes), helping to launch the programme’s newest training centre.
Vergnoux says the international diversity provides for an entirely new challenge, unlike any previous over his numerous years of coaching elite-level swimming.
“Every single day, every single practice when I come poolside, I’m like this is just amazing – the culture we have here around the pool is so unique, the value of the program and the experience of each of the swimmers, it’s all pretty special,” says Vergnoux.
In the elite program at CN Antibes, there are 12 scholarship athletes among the group of 16 international swimmers, spanning 15 countries.
“It is demanding because I coach in four languages – English, French, Spanish and a little bit of Russian,” Vergnoux says. “It’s not easy covering the needs of all the swimmers.”
While the program’s mission is ambitious and demanding, the end goal is rather straightforward – preparing athletes to prosper at the upcoming World Aquatics Championships - Doha 2024 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“No matter what country they come from, whatever they race, for every single swimmer it’s the same – to represent their countries at the highest level, whether it be at the worlds in Doha or Olympics in France,” Vergnoux says. “They all get along together and it’s really just beautiful.”
The World Aquatics Scholarship Program targets athletes who have displayed strong international potential, providing financial support and expert technical knowledge to those lacking sufficient training opportunities in their home countries.
Vergnoux says coaching athletes from less developed swimming nations is especially rewarding. The veteran French coach expresses his excitement having witnessed 19-year-old Gabriel Martinez of Honduras swimming to national records at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan and CAC Games last summer.
Rising young talents like Martinez are also benefiting from interaction with top world-class swimmers training in Antibes, notably French Olympic champion Florent Manaudou, among others.
“The level of the programme is so high because it’s not just these 12 from World Aquatics training here,” Vergnoux says. “It is a powerful situation and everyone embraces it.”
122 athlete scholarships are part of the one-year scholarship programme implemented across six designated World Aquatics Training Centers in Antibes, Budapest, Toronto; Davie; Phuket; and at Bond University on Australia’s Gold Coast, and some are training under the supervision of the National Federations.
Cuban Diving Legend Mentors Scholarship Divers in Toronto
Cuban four-time Olympic diver and former national team coach José Antonio Guerra is lending his expertise to scholarship athletes at the World Aquatics Training Centre in Toronto.
The two-time Pan American Games champion is currently responsible for the success of six divers – athletes from Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Serbia and the Czech Republic.
“The greatest challenge is trying to integrate athletes from different ‘diving schools’ and technical backgrounds into a single program,” Guerra explains. “Then to choose the priorities for every athlete to conform and align their individual goals with the demands of the national federations and the primary goal of the Scholarship Programme.”
Guerra says he relates to the struggles that many of his divers have faced in their home countries. He praises the World Aquatics program for alleviating many of these obstacles.
“I believe this programme is the best thing that’s happened to these athletes for years - here they are assured to have the facilities with the equipment and quality to perform at a high level,” says the 44-year-old Cuban. “Access to the pool and a coach for more than two hours a day is essential to achieving one’s potential in sport.
“World Aquatics has created this unique opportunity for them to have everything that’s necessary in one place for them to improve their diving.
“One year might be a short period to accomplish an ambitious goal, but they are all learning and improving their physical and technical abilities,” he says. “I would put that as the end goal for the programme.”
Gibson Elaborates on Philosophy and Goals
A World, European and Commonwealth Games champion, James Gibson is currently the World Aquatics Coaching Technical Advisor, overseeing the international development program and supporting the coaches.
“What an opportunity it is for some of these young athletes to continue their swimming and show their potential – we’re out to find some diamonds and with this program we have every opportunity to do that,” Gibson says.
“We have exceptional coaches throughout the network, so when we do find these diamonds that may need a little help along their journey, we can take them forward to reach semifinals and finals.
“The goal of the scholarship programme is no longer about participating – it’s about achieving results.”
The British Olympic breaststroker highlights Ronan Wantenaar of Namibia, Sajan Prakash of India, and Enkhkhuslen Batbayar of Mongolia, as athletes to watch. Gibson said he expects “the majority” of athletes to qualify for and compete in Doha and Paris.
Gibson notes that athletes from non-traditional swimming nations, which may lack financial resources, facilities and even pools, have their best chance of success in the scholarship programme.
“Some countries that we deal with don’t have swimming pools, yet we have athletes in the centres that have learned to swim in lakes and rivers and this is hugely admirable,” Gibson says.
“The scholarship program is designed to give these athletes an extra step and see what is possible,” he emphasizes.
Gibson says that with everything in place, the bar has been set higher than ever before.
“We understand that the challenge is very hard, as some athletes may not have the aerobic or training background that you’d expect in the USA, Great Britain or Australia,
“Our role is to make sure that the systems and structures are in place, so we can take that diamond athlete to the next level.
“It’s difficult to achieve greatness, but we have no limits on expectations for the athletes.”
Dreams of Doha and Paris 2024
Vergnoux and Guerra envision their multi-cultured athletes representing their countries on the international stage, competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in July and August 2024.
“We work as a team and we’re making sure everyone has a chance to represent their countries at the Olympics and if they do, they’ll be major ambassadors to their home countries,” Vergnoux says. “There’s nothing better in sport.”
“I’m very proud of all of them for their commitment and dedication,” says Guerre. “And to see them competing in Doha and Paris – that would be amazing.”
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