FINA joins top-tier Group A for its contribution to the Olympics

May 29, 2013

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See the official press release here on fina.org

FINA was elevated to top-tier Group A (which comprises also Athletics and Gymnastics) in terms of the contribution of each International Federation to the Olympic programme. This a natural consequence of the success and popularity of FINAâ€™s disciplines within the Games â€“ as demonstrated by an independent study carried out by the IOC after the 2012 Olympics in London -, but also to the impact and strength of FINA World Championships and other FINA events around the world.

The decision was announced today by the International Olympic Committee, after a meeting with the Association of Olympic International Federations, at the SportAccord convention taking place in St-Petersburg (RUS).

â€œWe have always considered our Aquatic disciplines a pillar of the Olympics, and this decision confirms this status. Our events are attended by worldwide stars, generate memorable performances and reach a worldwide audience in the five continents. The entire FINA Family must be praised for this achievement, which can only be done with its contribution. We have requested this research in order to establish the FINA fair contribution to the Games programme and we will continue our effort and strategy to make our Sport bigger and more important within the sport business community. FINA is very proud, together with all the International Federations integrating the Olympic programme, to provide its contribution to the success of the Olympic Games, a great celebration of humanity, friendship and fair-playâ€, considered FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione.

See also Yahoo! Sports

Swimming and gymnastics were the big winners Wednesday in a new revenue-sharing ranking of Olympic sports, signaling the start of the debate over how to split the money from the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. […]

Previously, the International Association of Athletics Federations was ranked alone in the highest of four groups and received the biggest share of the hundreds of millions of dollars generated from television rights and other deals from each Summer Games.

Under a revised formula announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge, swimming body FINA and gymnastics federation FIG join the IAAF in Group A. One of the big losers was modern pentathlon, which dropped into a new Group E, the bottom rung.