Mixed teams: Winner takes it all
Mixed relays could be part of the World Aquatics Championships after a FINA Technical Swimming Committee report recommended they be added to the schedule in time for the 2013 championships in Barcelona.
Relays teams including both male and female swimmers are a regular feature in domestic and masters competitions, but only very rarely feature at elite international level and never at the Olympics or World Championships.
In 2007, Australian Libby Trickett broke the 100m freestyle world record when swimming the first leg of a 4 x 100m freestyle mixed relay against the US at a Duel in the Pool event. However, the record was never ratified as mixed relays were not officially recognised at the time.
A spokesperson for FINA said it was already ‘very common’ for male and female competitors to jointly take part in activities while at swimming competitions, but that this ‘usually’ did not take place in the pool and was ‘seldom’ subject to official timekeeping.
