Swimming will make its return to prime-time on the Wide World of Sports when the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) are exclusive, live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now from Tuesday, December 13.
Taking place across six days from December 13-18, the best swimmers in the world will converge on Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre to go toe-to-toe against the Australian Dolphins.
With the heats being throughout the day and finals every night during prime-time, viewers will be able to watch every race an Australian swimmer competes in across 30 hours of live competition.
An all-star cast of swimming commentators will be poolside for the 9Network when Ian Thorpe, Ariarne Titmus and Giaan Rooney are on hand to give their expert insights.
Joining them will be Wide World of Sports commentator Mat Thompson to call the races live, while hosting the network’s coverage will be veteran sports broadcaster Tony Jones and Seb Costello.
Wide World of Sports commentator Ian Thorpe said: “We have multiple Aussie Olympic champions swimming in the short course in Melbourne with Kyle Chalmers, Kaylee McKeown, Emma McKeon and Mack Horton. It’s exciting that they’ll all be competing.
“There’s been a period of transition with our younger stars coming in, such as Mollie O’Callaghan, which has made it more intense for positions on the team and ultimately elevates the standard right across the squad.
“This will be an intense competition made more interesting because the format suits athletes with different physiques compared to those that win in the traditional 50m pool. There’s a lot more focus on the starts and the turns, which will make for blistering times.”
16TH FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (25M) MELBOURNE – DECEMBER 13-18, ON CHANNEL 9 AND 9NOW
Media Release – Nine
