Less than a month after the Szerencsejáték Zrt. – CXXIV. Lajos Barcsa, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, Sándor Wladár, President of the Hungarian Swimming Federation, Csaba Sós, the Federation Captain, András Becsky, Managing Director of the Debrecen Sportcentrum and Tamás Darnyi, four-time Olympic champion swimmer, attended the official press conference of the event held at the Aquaticum Thermal Hotel in Debrecen.
The city of Debrecen will host the event for the eighth time between 20th April and 23rd April, the last time the Debrecen Sports Centre hosted the adult national swimming championships was in 2019. With just over two months to go until the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, the swimmers will be competing in the four-day event, which is sure to be a thrilling battle as a World Championships qualifier.
“It’s always good to return to Debrecen, with its swimming-loving audience, a great swimming pool, and the Debrecen Sportcentrum, which always provides the perfect conditions for the national championships,” said Sándor Wladár, adding that “the cream of the Hungarian swimming team will be here between 20th April and 23rd April, and although this will be the first championships where László Cseh will not be competing in recent memory, there are several youngsters who could be his worthy successor.”
“I will know 99.9 percent of the team after the national championships in Debrecen, maybe there will be some room for manoeuvre in the relay events,” continued Dr. Csaba Sós, the national captain, who added that there are still some young swimmers who could surprise at the Olympics, but there will also be plenty of duels between the experienced swimmers. As for Kristóff Milák, he said that in addition to his usual events, he could also try his hand at new ones in Debrecen.
“We have had a good relationship with the Hungarian Swimming Federation for years, and it is a good sign of this that we are hosting the eighth Hungarian championships,” said Lajos Barcsa, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, “Our city is home to several sports and sporting events, but this time we are talking about a sport that has given the country Olympic champions, and deserves special attention ahead of the upcoming Water World Championships in Budapest.”
András Becsky stressed the importance of the National Swimming Programme, mentioning how much motivation it can give to local children to see Hungarian world-class athletes swimming in the same pool where they train every day. The CEO of the Debrecen Sportcentrum added: “This year is also busy, with the European Handball Championship in January, basketball at the Főnix Arena this week, and the swimming championships in April. For the junior swimmers and the sports-loving public of Debrecen, the National Swimming Championships in April will be a great opportunity to see some of the best swimmers who have made their mark at the European Championships, the World Championships, and even the Olympics, so it will be a particularly worthwhile event to attend.”
The press conference was also attended by four-time Olympic champion Tamás Darnyi, who spoke about his own previous swimming experiences during the preparation period and said that he would not miss this year’s national championships and would personally cheer on the competitors.
Source: musz.hu
