Otopeni to host 2022 Euro Junior and 2023 SC Europeans Championships
A brand-new aquatic complex built in the city of Otopeni next to the capital of Bucharest will host three LEN events in the coming years: the junior swimming and diving Europeans in 2022 and the European Short-Course Swimming Championships in 2023.
At its meeting in Rome, the LEN Bureau gave its unanimous support to the ambitious bid presented by Camelia Potec, the President of the Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation, former Olympic champion in swimming. The bid offered to host three LEN events, the junior European Championships in swimming and diving next year, and the European Short-Course Swimming Championships in the winter of 2023.
“We are delighted to embrace this bid and to welcome a new host, especially because Romania has always been a strong player in European Aquatics” LEN President Paolo Barelli said. “It’s always great to see when a brand-new aquatic complex is constructed and it’s encouraging that the federation was immediately ready to announce its intentions to welcome the LEN Family in
this magnificent facility.”
The state-of-the-art complex in Otopeni can accommodate 3,000 spectators and it features an Olympic size pool and a diving tower. According to the plan
s, the LEN Family will be accommodated in the finest hotels in Bucharest, where further training facilities will also be available.
“It’s great to receive more good news from Rome after watching the brilliant swims of our extremely talented young athlete David Popovici” sports minister Eduard Novak said. “We are very happy to support this event on behalf of the government and I would like to thank LEN for the trust to allocate these outstanding championships to Romania. We can guarantee that these competitions will enjoy successful partnerships at all levels in our country. Let me also thank the Romanian Swimming Federation and its President Camelia Potec for her proposal to organise these meets.”
“I’m really thankful for the LEN Bureau and President Barelli for the support, we will do our best to stage a series of memorable events in our new complex” Camelia Potec added. “Having this new venue will definitely lift Romanian aquatics to a new dimension but we also wanted to share the benefits of the new complex with the LEN Family. I think these events will also give a boost for the popularity of swimming in Romania, so it’s a win-win situation both for us and European Aquatics.”
The exact dates of the events shall be announced later this year.