An experienced squad of eight make up the New Zealand team competing at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar from Sunday 11 February. With some international powerhouses skipping the event, these Doha championships provide a lot of opportunity which the New Zealand team will be looking to take advantage of on their way to delivering some epic performances on the world stage.

These championships also serve as the first Olympic qualifying opportunity made available to New Zealand swimmers, as per the New Zealand Olympic Committee's selection criteria. So, our New Zealand athletes attending the championships will not only be looking to perform to the best of their ability on the international stage, but also try and secure some Olympic qualification times ahead of the Paris Games.

Two Otago athletes are set to represent New Zealand at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar - Caitlin Deans and Erika Fairweather (both of Neptune Swim Club), alongside Swim Dunedin Head Coach, Lars Humer.

2023 World Championships bronze medallist Erika Fairweather headlines the New Zealand team competing in Doha. At just 20 years old, this will be Erika's fourth World Aquatics Championships. After an incredible past year in the pool, Fairweather arrives in Doha looking to achieve something no other New Zealander has done - win an elusive gold medal at a World Aquatics Championships. Fairweather will have a heavy workload at the championships, taking on the 200m, 400m, and 800m Freestyle events, alongside being a key component of the 4x200m Freestyle. Seeded in the top three in all of her individual events,  Erika will be looking to rise to the occasion and take advantage of the opportunity presented.

Distance star Caitlin Deans will also be one to watch, as she takes on the 1500m Freestyle and is one of five athletes available for selection for the 4x200m Freestyle relay. Deans is coming off the back of a successful past 12 months, highlighted by winning bronze at the Swimming World Cup last October. Caitlin is in great form at the moment, setting a new personal best in the 200m Freestyle just a couple weeks ago at Moana Pool - so we are excited to see how she fairs at her favoured 1500m Freestyle event in Doha. This will be Deans' third World Aquatics Championships.

A key aspect of these championships is securing Olympic relay spots for the Paris Games. The top sixteen  teams across the 2023 Championships in Fukuoka and 2024 Championships in Doha (resulted aggregated), will earn Olympic berths for their relay team. Based off the Fukuoka results, New Zealand is currently ranked eleventh in the event ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Pay-per-view Live Streaming and Video on Demand is available on the World Aquatics website via Recast. We suggest buying a pass to watch via Recast; options include a 1-day pass (approx. $4.50 USD) or a 7-day pass (approx. $14 USD). Alternatively there are single session passes, however these differ in price depending on the session you are wanting to view. Please note that this is a paid service.

Based elsewhere in the world? Click here to view the global broadcasters for the championships

Make sure to also check out our Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with all our Otago athletes' results.

Otago Athletes' Event Schedule for the 2024 World Aquatics Championships

Article added: Saturday 10 February 2024