Latin America is emerging as a development hub for artistic swimming with athletes from Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico all making finals in Doha. The success of some of these athletes is further accelerated by the World Aquatics Scholarship Programme, which in its tenth year is helping athletes from around the world fulfill their potential.
First time finalists Melisa Ceballos Correa and Estefania Roa Bernal are not just making their own history here in Doha, they are making national history, as the first Colombian women’s duet to qualify for a World Aquatics Championships final.
Improving on a 22nd place finish in the Women’s Duet Free at Budapest 2022 and a 19th place finish at Fukuoka 2023, the pair’s first finals appearance on day seven of competition in Doha continues a recent trend of Latin American athletes outperforming the results of their predecessors.
Speaking to World Aquatics after their 12th-place finish in yesterday’s final Ceballos Correa said it was a dream come true to compete in a final on the biggest stage possible.
“It truly is something extraordinary for us to be amongst the best in the world and to compete in a final at the World Championships,” said Ceballos Correa.
“We are proud that we are representing our country as first time finalists. We are making history in Doha and we are so full of emotions right now!”
Accelerating the pair’s success on an international level is the World Aquatics Scholarship Programme which was launched in 2014 to increase the level of aquatics athletes in developing countries around the globe. The programme identifies, creates and develops an optimal training environment for athletes that are aspiring to represent their countries at international level competitions.
The Colombian pair were recipients of a scholarship in the tenth year of the program which commenced in September 2023.
“The World Aquatics Development Scholarship has been a great opportunity for us as it has allowed us to significantly expand our options,” said Ceballos Correa.
“This scholarship has helped us get better training conditions and more opportunities and you can see by today’s result it has really helped us.”
“We entered this program last year and we saw a great improvement after Fukuoka and it has helped us prepare in the best possible way for these Doha championships. It is such a huge help for athletes who don’t have a lot of support or a big budget in their own countries and it really makes a difference.””
Roa Bernal added that the choices and connections they have been able to make over the past seven months have played a significant role in their improvement.
“This has opened up many doors and given us the opportunity to get in touch with coaches from other countries and get some great help with our flexibility, strength and fitness levels,” said Roa Bernal.
“World Aquatics have also been really interested in us and checking in constantly on how things are going.”
Following the duet’s success in Doha and their steady rise up the global rankings, the Colombian pair share a similar vision to fellow countryman Gustavo Sanchez who told World Aquatics earlier in the week that the nation’s success at the top level of the sport was inspiring a new generation of artistic swimmers back home.
Roa Bernal said she hopes the pair’s success and performances here in Doha would further aid the development of the sport in Colombia.
“Our success as a duet at these international competitions means that there will be more opportunities for the younger athletes of our country, and that applies for every other nation who can enjoy the same benefits as well,” said Roa Bernal.
“This scholarship also serves as an extra motivation for us two because we now know that our results reflect on the future generations.”