The qualifying standards for the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne have been released.
The qualifying period for the competition began on July 24, 2021 (the opening day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games) and will run through November 13, 2022.
The qualifying times are in short course meters, but swimmers can also gain entry into the meet by attaining the Long Course World Championship standards for the 2022 edition in Budapest.
2022 Short Course Worlds Qualifying Times (SCM)
The standards were created using the faster of either the ‘A’ qualifying time from the 2021 SC Worlds in Abu Dhabi or the 16th-place time from that event, which took place last December.
The breakdown resulted in the cuts being roughly half of each, as follows:
- Women: Eight of the 2022 “A” time standards were the 2021 “A” time standard, and nine of the 2022 “A” time standards were the 16th place time from the 2021 Worlds.
- Men: 10 of the 2022 “A” time standards were the 2021 “A” time standard, and 10 of the 2022 “A” time standards were the 16th place time from the 2021 Worlds.
How swimmers are selected to compete at the championships, however, depends on their respective national governing body.
Last year, USA Swimming received criticism over its qualifying procedure for the 2021 Worlds in Abu Dhabi, basing selection on long course results despite numerous U.S. swimmers racing short course meters throughout the year.
However, without the International Swimming League (ISL) running in 2022 (where most of the high-level swimmers raced short course meters in 2021), it’s likely the majority of NGBs will use LCM results to select their teams this year.
The event will take place from December 13-18, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia, after it was removed from the Russian city of Kazan due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.