Swimming-Australia will not send team to world short course championships due to COVID-19

[August 16, 2021]    SYDNEY (Reuters) - Swimming Australia have cancelled this year's national short course championships and decided not to send a team to the world championships in Abu Dhabi later this year, the governing body said on Monday.

The announcement to scrap September's national championships in Melbourne came as Australia wrestles with a third wave of COVID-19, leading to lockdowns in major cities and state borders being closed.

"With the borders being so unstable and regular lockdowns still occurring we feel this is the right decision," Swimming Australia chief executive Alex Baumann said in a statement.

Australian swimmers enjoyed huge success at the Tokyo Olympics, winning nine golds and a total of 21 medals in the pool, but the country's strict quarantine rules mean many athletes are still not home.

Baumann said the restrictions would make it difficult to put together a formal Australia team to compete at the World Short Course in Abu Dhabi from Dec. 15-20.

"The quarantine requirements following competition falling over the Christmas and New Year period and many of our athletes just undertaken more than 10 weeks away from home, we felt sending a team to the event was not viable," he added."For those athletes that still wish to attend and meet the selection criteria, we will provide a level of support to assist in travel and accommodation for the meet."

Swimming Australia said a maximum of 20 swimmers would be nominated for the biennial championships, where races are held in a 25 metre pool.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Karishma Singh)

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