World Aquatics Championship - Doha 2024

World Aquatics Championships 2024 - Doha, Qatar

The World Aquatics Championship Doha 2024 is one of the pinnacle global aquatic sporting events alongside the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. The Championships are typically held biennially. However, over the past 3 years there has been a condensed event schedule due to Covid-19 disruptions.

The championships took place February 2nd to 18th, bringing together around 2,600 athletes from 190 nations. The primary venues for the championship were the Aspire Dome, Hamad Aquatic Centre, and the Old Doha Port.

New Zealand sent teams from the 4 Aquatic disciplines - A squad of 31 athletes competed at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships across Swimming, Diving, Artistic Swimming and Water Polo. The championship is used as a qualification event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for all 4 sports.

Swimming New Zealand -

Swimming NZ 2024 World Aquatics Championship Team

Lewis Clareburt (#257) - Club 37

Laticia-Leigh Transom (#264) - Ice Breakers

Erika Fairweather (#266) - Neptune & Swim Dunedin

Eve Thomas (#270) - Coast

Caitlin Deans (#276) – Neptune & Swim Dunedin

Cameron Gray (#277) - Coast

Andrew Jeffcoat (#279) - Club 37

Summer Osborne (#286) - North Shore

Event Wrap

On Day 1 of the 2024 World Aquatics Championship in Doha, Erika Fairweather of Dunedin stole the show. Representing Neptune & Swim Dunedin, the 20-year-old claimed the Women’s 400m Freestyle title in style. Leading from start to finish, Fairweather set a new New Zealand record with a time of 3:59.44s, clinching the World Championship title and leaving her mark on New Zealand swimming history as their first World Champion. New Zealand Eve Thomas also made the final, finishing seventh in 4:05.87s. Thomas also swam under the Paris qualifying time in her heat to qualify for the final - before clearing that mark again in the final.

Eve Thomas of Coast continued her strong performance at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha on day 2, securing a spot in the Women's 1500m Freestyle final with a fifth-place finish in her heat, clocking 16:16.43s. Her teammate Caitlin Deans set an Otago Open Record but narrowly missed the final, finishing 10th overall.

New Zealand's Eve Thomas finished fourth in the Women's 1500m Freestyle on day 3, setting a personal best of 16:09.43s. Erika Fairweather, the 400m Freestyle World Champion, qualified fastest for the 200m Freestyle final with a Paris Olympic qualification time of 1:55.75s. Lewis Clareburt began his campaign with a strong showing in the 200m Butterfly, qualifying sixth fastest for the final with a time of 1:55.82s. 

Dunedin’s Erika Fairweather has claimed her second medal at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha. Competing in the Women's 200m Freestyle, Fairweather got out to a strong start to sit in third at halfway before powering herself into second place at the final turn and holding on to place second in an impressive 1:55.77s. 

Day 7 saw New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather (Neptune & Swim Dunedin) finishing her 2024 World Championship campaign in style, taking bronze in the Women's 800m Freestyle with hitting the wall at 8:22.26s. 

New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt (Club 37) has become the Men's 400m Individual Medley World Champion, taking the title with an incredible swim on the final day at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha. Clareburt sat in fifth at the start of the race with a smooth start in the butterfly, before moving up to third during the backstroke. The 24-year-old then made his move in the first lap of breaststroke, moving up to second before taking the lead with 75m left to swim in the freestyle and powered away to win gold in 4:09.72s.

Key Results

Erika Fairweather

• Gold - 400m Freestyle
• Silver - 200m Freestyle
• Bronze - 800m Freestyle
• 5th - 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Eve Thomas

• 7th - 400m Freestyle
• 4th - 800m Freestyle
• 4th - 1500m Freestyle
• 5th - 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Caitlin Deans

• 10th - 1500m Freestyle
• 5th - 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Laticia-Leigh Transom

• 5th - 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Summer Osborne

• 5th - 4x200m Freestyle Relay

Lewis Clareburt

• Gold - 400m Individual Medley
• 7th - 200m Individual Medley
• 7th - 200m Butterfly

Cameron Gray

• 14th - 100m Freestyle

Andrew Jeffcoat

• 10th - 50m Backstroke

New Zealand Water Polo -

Water Polo NZ 2024 World Aquatics Championship Women’s Team‍

Bernadette Doyle - North Harbour

Bridget Layburn - North Harbour

Elizabeth Gault - Atlantis City

Emily Nicholson - North Harbour

Emmerson Houghton - Waitakere

Gabby MacDonald - Atlantis City

Gabrielle Doyle - North Harbour

Gabrielle Milicich - Marist

Isabelle Jackson - Atlantis City

Jessica Milicich - Marist

Kaitlin Howarth - North Harbour

Kate Henderson - Marist

Katie McKenty - North Harbour

Morgan McDowall - Atlantis City

Event Wrap

In the opening round, the NZ Women's Water Polo team secured a commanding 30-4 victory over Singapore,  claiming 3rd place in their pool.

New Zealand then went on to confirmed two victories in the classification round

16-15 win against the People’s Republic of China

23 - 8 win against Kazakstan

These wins resulted in a 9th place finish for the team.

Diving New Zealand -

Diving NZ 2024 World Aquatics Championship Team

Liam Stone - Auckland Diving 

Nathan Brown - Wellington Diving Club 

Frazer Tavener - Auckland Diving 

Mikali Dawson - Auckland Diving 

Elizabeth Roussel - Auckland Diving 

Braden Rumpit - High Diving 

Luke Sipkes - Auckland Diving

Arno Lee - Auckland Diving

Key Results

Liam Stone had a solid performance, securing 18th in the Men 3m.

Nathan Brown claimed 9th in both the Mixed 3m and 10m Team events, and individually finished with 29th in the 10m platform.

Frazer Tavener's competed in the Men 3m Springboard, finishing 32nd overall.

Mikali Dawson, secured 27th in the Womens 10m Platform.

Elizabeth Roussel finished 21st in the Womens 3m Springboard event, and 27th in the 1m Springboard.

Braden Rumpit secured 14th position in the Men 27m event.

Elizabeth Roussel, Liam Stone, Nathan Brown, and Frazer Tavener joined forces for a 9th place finish in the Team event.

Arno Lee and Luke Sipkes combined for a 20th place finish in the 10m Synchro.

Elizabeth and Liam paired for a 10th place finish in the 3m mixed Synchro.

Artistic Swimming New Zealand -

Artistic Swimming NZ 2024 World Aquatics Championship Team

Nina Brown 

Eva Morris 

Jennifer Russanov

Key Results

The Aquaferns made a noteworthy performance at the World Aquatic Championships, showcasing their talent in the solo and duet swims.

Jennifer Russanov made her mark in her debut Women Solo Technical event, competing in her home country and securing a respectable 21st place finish.

Nina Brown and Eva Morris, a newly formed duet pairing with only 6 weeks of training together, demonstrated their potential with a final score of 175, landing them in the 36th spot for the Technical Duet. The pair finished in 33rd position in the Free Duet - their performance drew positive feedback from judges.