Explainer: Why swimming superstars opted to skip the 2024 World Championships

If you had just risen from your slumber and groggily glanced at the roster unveiled by Team China for the 2024 Doha World Aquatics Championships on Wednesday night, you might rub your eyes hard and wonder if you were seeing things. 

But no, your eyes did not deceive you. The list does indeed exclude the likes of Qin Haiyang, who was named Swimming Athletes of the Year for his outstanding performances throughout 2023, Zhang Yufei, who has been consistently winning gold medals this season, Ye Shiwen, the gold medalist of the London Olympics, Wang Shun, the Tokyo Olympics champion, and Xu Jiayu, the World Championships winner.  

Instead, a fresh crop of Chinese rising stars, including Li Bingjie, Pan Zhanle, Fei Liwei and Dong Zhihao have taken their places. Among them, only freestyle sensations Li and Pan possess the caliber of skill that places them in the echelons of excellence.

Not only have numerous Chinese big names chosen to sit out this year's World Championships, but a multitude of top athletes from other swimming powers have also made the decision to skip the forthcoming event, set to start in February.  

On the recently announced list by Canada, the names of seasoned champions like Summer Macintosh and Maggie MacNeil are conspicuously absent. Furthermore, both the U.S. and Australia have opted not to hold separate World Championships trials and have indicated that their athletes will be prioritizing preparations for the Paris Olympics when announcing their respective rosters. 

As early as October last year, Romania's 19-year-old icon David Popovici, who holds the distinction of being the youngest swimmer to break the world record in the men's 100-meter freestyle, made his intentions clear that he would not be gracing the World Championships with his presence.

The lackluster reception surrounding this year's World Championships can largely be attributed to its ill-fated timing. The decision by the World Aquatics to transition from hosting the event every two years to an annual occurrence has created a tight scheduling conflict. 

With the Doha World Championships being held just six months after the postponed Fukuoka World Championships in 2023, athletes have been left with a significantly condensed preparation period. 

Moreover, with the highly anticipated Olympics taking place later this summer, participating in the World Championships at this juncture could potentially disrupt athletes' training rhythms and compromise their competitive readiness. 

It's a case of the cost outweighing the benefits, leading many top athletes to make the difficult choice to prioritize their Olympic preparations and withdrawing from the World Championships.