China will stage yet another major world sporting event, with
Shanghai winning the right to hold the 2011 world swimming
championships.
Shanghai, which hosted last year's short course world
championships, beat out Doha, Qatar, to hold the 14th edition of
the swimming worlds. FINA announced the decision Saturday.
It is the first time a Chinese city will host a world swimming
championships, and the second time for an Asian host. Japan hosted
the 2001 championships in Fukuoka.
The 2008 Olympics will be held in Beijing.
Doha, which has also announced plans to bid for the 2016 Olympic
Games, was the venue for the 2006 Asian Games.
"I would like to thank the two bidders," FINA president Mustapha
Larfaoui said at Rod Laver Arena, the main venue for the ongoing
world swimming championships. "They were both very, very good
presentations."
The announcement of Shanghai's winning bid was met by loud
applause from the many Chinese officials and media on hand for the
host city announcement.
The 2009 world swimming championships will be held in Rome, the
second time the Italian capital has hosted the event.
(China Daily via AFP March 26, 2007)