Australia, which won the most gold medals in management events at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, will be without a key member of its team at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha.

“Several athletes have indicated that they will not be attending the World Championships in Doha,” Australian management team coach Rohan Taylor told Reuters and AFP on Monday. “We will have less than 20 athletes competing in business events in Doha,” he said, referring to the decision to focus on the Paris Olympics.

At the Fukuoka World Championships in July this year, Australia sent 38 athletes in both business and open water swimming.

The Aussies collected 13 gold medals in the management events, topping the gold medal standings, ahead of the United States (7 gold). Their medal tally of 25 (13 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze) was second only to the USA (38 – 7 gold, 20 silver, 11 bronze).

Australia also accounted for five of the nine world records set in the management events at the Fukuoka World Championships.

At the 2024 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, Feb. 11-18 next year, it will be difficult to match that performance.

“We will select the best possible athletes for the Doha World Championships, but we can’t force some key athletes who want to focus on the Paris Olympics,” Taylor said, “and we will select athletes who see the Doha World Championships as preparation for the Paris Olympics.”

Australia qualified for all of the relay events at the 2023 Games in Fukuoka, winning medals in all of them.

With the Olympic Trials next April and the Paris Games in July and August, Australian swimming stars don’t need to compete at the Doha World Championships.

Australia will finalize its roster for the Doha World Championships in mid-December.

Arian Titmus (AUS) has already announced that she will not be competing at the World Championships in Doha.

Titmus won two gold medals (women’s 200m and 400m freestyle) at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021. She won the 400-meter freestyle at the Fukuoka World Championships in a new world record and was part of the women’s 800-meter freestyle relay team that set a new world record.

After giving up on trying to win back-to-back world titles, Titmus decided to focus on winning back-to-back Olympic titles.

The World Aquatics Championships, which have been held every two years since the 2000s, will be held for four consecutive years, from 2022 to 2025, as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the schedule.

While there are more opportunities to win medals at major events, the back-to-back World Championships in February and the Olympics in July and August in 2024 have caused quite a few swimming stars to complain about the schedule.

The U.S. will send just 18 swimmers (13 men and five women) to the Doha World Championships in the management events.

“Living Legend” Katie Ledecky (USA), the world champion in individual gold medals (16) and tied for first in team gold medals (21), will also not compete in Doha. 토토사이트