PREVIEW Record participation at the 2015 Short-Course Europeans 14 Herning Champions to start in Netanya Netanya (LEN) – With their sights already set on the European Championships in London (May 9-22) and, of course, the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as the 2016 highlights, the European swimming elite will meet for the Short-Course Championships in Netanya/Israel. The State of Israel will host one of the most important events of the European Swimming Federation (LEN) for the first time – apart from the 2011 European Open Water Swimming Championships held in Eilat, the seaside resort on the Red Sea in the south of the country. This time round, another popular vacation spot in Israel – on the Mediterranean Sea – will be in the limelight. A total of 48 of the altogether 52 LEN Member Federations will participate at Netanya’s Wingate Sports Institute, among them Kosovo, the youngest member of the LEN family. The high number of Federations will bring a new record participation. 500 swimmers (291 male / 209 female) have announced their participation. For the first time in the history of Short- Course Europeans the event will last for five days. Host Israel has nominated 46 swimmers – the largest team at the event – among them Gal Nevo, one of the swimming stars in Israel, who claimed a silver medal in the 400m individual medley two years ago in Herning/Denmark. Israel, with a medal tally of three silver and ten bronze medals at European Short-Course Championships, is still waiting for the first golden performance. The second-largest team – with a total of 38 athletes – comes from Russia, host of the FINA World Championships last summer in Kazan. Italy will compete with a team of 36 swimmers, followed by the Czech Republic, Germany and Hungary (27 athletes each). Especially Russia’s team boasts some young talented swimmers, who might well have a say in the fight for medals. There are, for instance, Evgeny Sedov (50m freestyle), Aleksandr Krasnykh (200m and 400m freestyle), Oleg Kostin (50m and 100m breaststroke), Nikita Konovalov (100m backstroke, 50m and 100m butterfly) and Sergey Fesikov (100m IM), who hold the 2015 World ranking’s top spot (as of November 24). Podium results would come as no surprise for either of the five swimmers. The majority of Russia’s athletes will compete in just one or two events. Contrary to Hungary’s “Iron Lady” Katinka Hosszu. The 26-year old 2015 World Cup winner (for the fourth consecutive time) has entered a total of 11 events. Her “preliminary” programme includes the 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle, 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, 200m butterfly as well as the 100m, 200m and 400m IM. As usual, the double World champion of Kazan (200m and 400m IM) will decide at short notice if she cancels one or two events. PREVIEW Great Britain’s Hannah Miley will compete in eight events. She will have to face Hosszu in the 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly as well as the 100m, 200m and 400m IM. Additionally, Miley will start in the 50m backstroke, the 50m and 200m breaststroke events. A total of 14 European Short-Course champions from Herning will compete in the 34 individual swimming events in Netanya, while five 2013 winners will fight for a podium finish in the six relay events. Additionally, the following six 2015 World champions, decorated with a total of nine gold medals, hope for a top spot on the podium: Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy/1500m freestyle), Adam Peaty (Great Britain/50m and 100m breaststroke), Marco Koch (Germany/200m breaststroke), Laszlo Cseh (Hungary/200m butterfly), Sarah Sjoestroem (Sweden/50m and 100m butterfly) and Katinka Hosszu (Hungary/200m and 400m ind.medley). The oldest athlete in the men’s competitions is Filippo Magnini. The 33 year-old Italian claimed his first medal – silver in the 100m freestyle – at the 2003 European Short-Course Championships. Magnini hopes to increase his collection with a medal in the relay events. Additionally, he plans to compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle. At age 34, Israel’s Anna Gostomelsky is one year his senior. She will start in the 50m backstroke and 50m butterfly events. The European Swimming Federation (LEN) will offer a total sum of 200,000 Euros in prize money for the 12 best performances in the men’s and women’s events respectively. The best performance according to the FINA points table will be honoured with 20,000 Euros. …NETANYA 2015… FACTS & FIGURES… … DATE: From December 2-6, the Israel City of Netanya, located approximately 30 kilometers in the north of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean Sea, will host the 18th edition of the European Short-Course Swimming Championships. For the first time in the history of Short- Course Europeans, the event will last for five days. … LEN: The “Ligue Européenne de Natation” was founded on August 30, 1927 in Bologna (ITA) by 11 countries and their national swimming federations, one year after the first European Championships in Swimming, Diving and Water Polo had been held in Budapest. Today LEN has 52 member federations from Albania to Ukraine. … HISTORY: The European Short-Course Swimming Championships celebrated their première in 1996. The first event was held in Rostock, Germany. Until today 17 editions were carried out, from 1998 until 2013 it was staged annually. In 2013 LEN returned to a two- year-modus. The last edition took place in Herning/Denmark in 2013. In 2017, the Danish capital Copenhagen will host the 19th European S/C Championships. … TITLES: A total of 40 titles will be awarded in Netanya – including the mixed relay events (4x50m freestyle mixed and 4x50m medley mixed) which were included to the competition programme in Chartres 2012 for the first time. … PARTICIPATION: 500 swimmers (291 male / 209 female) from 48 LEN Member Federations have announced their participation at the swimming event. 48 of the 52 LEN Member Federations means a record participation. Until Netanya, the 2009 European Championships in Istanbul/Turkey as well as Herning/Denmark in 2013 celebrated a record attendance (41 nations each). … COMPETITION MODUS: Heats will be carried out in ten lanes. Semi-finals (only 50 and 100 metres), and finals will be held in eight lanes. Qualifiers for the finals will be first and second in each semi-final together with the fastest times from the remaining swimmers in the semis. In individual events a maximum of four (4) entries per Federation and per event may be submitted. Notwithstanding times and places achieved in the heats, only the two (2) fastest swimmers of each Federation may proceed to the finals or semi-finals. … MIXED RELAYS: 4x50m freestyle and 4x50m medley. A mixed relay team will consist of two male and two female swimmers who can start in whatever order. The first European mixed relay events in long course (4x100m freestyle and 4x100m medley) took place at the 2014 European Championships in Berlin. … HOSTS: The Israeli Federation, which claimed a total of 13 medals (3 silver, 10 bronze) at the previous 17 editions, will most likely be headed by their currently best swimmers: Gal Nevo, Jonatan Kopelev, Guy Barnea as well as Yakov Yan Toumarkin and Amit Ivri. …NETANYA 2015… FACTS & FIGURES… … HISTORY of Israel swimming: Netanya will stage the first ever European Short-Course Championships in Israel. At the same time this is the second European Swimming Championship in Israel. In 2010 Eilat hosted the European Open Water Swimming Championships. … VENUE: The “National Olympic Swimming Pool” at the Wingate National Sport Institute will serve as the competition venue. The pool was inaugurated in June 2013 and is part of the well-known Israel National Centre for Physical Education and Sport which meets all requirements of athletes, media and spectators alike. During the Europeans the lanes of the 50m pool will be shortened to 25 meters and the north side of the pool will be covered with a large grand stand to offer more than 2,500 seats for athletes, guests and spectators. An additional 25m training pool with eight lanes is located nearby. … PRIZE MONEY: LEN raised its prize money and will distribute 220,000 Euros for the top 12 performances (in the men’s and women’s disciplines) according to the FINA points table. Additionally – and for the first time ever at European Swimming Championships – the Local Organising Committee will offer financial assistance to all participating LEN Member Federations. The total amount of the financial support for athletes and federations at the 2015 LEN European Short-Course Swimming Championships amounts to approximately 500,000 Euros. … TICKETS: During the Championships, the venue will offer a seating capacity of approximately 2,500 spectators on competition days. Tickets for the ten sessions are available at: http://tickets.bimot.co.il. … ORGANISATION: The S/C Europeans will be organised by LEN (European Swimming Federation), the Israel Swimming Association (ISA), the Israeli Sport Authority, the Israel Winner lottery and the Israel Office of Tourism. The 48 nations and their top swimmers (total number of swimmers in brackets) ALB Albania (2) AND Andorra (2) ARM Armenia (2) AUT Austria (19): David Brandl, Birgit Koschischek, Joerdis Steinegger, Lisa Zaiser AZE Azerbaijan (3) BLR Belarus (13): Aliaksandra Herasimenia, Sviatlana Khakhlova, Pavel Sankovich, Yauhen Tsurkin BEL Belgium (11): Jasper Aerents, François Heersbrandt, Fanny Lecluyse, Pieter Timmers BIH Bosnia-Herzegovina (3) BUL Bulgaria (2): Nina Rangelova CRO Croatia (9): Sanja Jovanovic CYP Cyprus (2) CZE Czech Republic (27): Simona Baumrtova, Petra Chocova, Barbora Zavadova