Before the 14th FINA World Championships Shanghai 2011 ended yesterday, FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione spoke to Xinhua.

　　Xinhua: As the FINA World Championships Shanghai is about to end, how do you feel about the event?

　　Maglione: It’s the best World Championships so far. Shanghai is such a brilliant and beautiful city with kind and friendly people, and their support has made this Championships a great success. Besides that, the good cooperation between Shanghai and FINA is also the key to it — the excellent organizing committee and the volunteers, without them our contest would not have been so perfect.

　　Altogether 181 teams have participated in the event, which is also a new record after 173 in Rome 2009. Besides that, the number of participating athletes also reached 2,200, including more than 1,100 swimming athletes. I also appreciate the broadcasting standard of CCTV. They’re really on top of it.

　　More than one hundred media organizations broadcast the events live, and in the venue there were also thousands of spectators watching happily. I really want to say that the Chinese audience is extremely excellent, and I haven’t seen any uncivilized scenes occurring inside or outside the venue. It’s a good promotion for the contest.

　　You’ll probably notice that during the event, the entire world was focusing on Shanghai, and I believe that our audience must be over three billion. In fact, in Rome 2009 the audience number had already reached three billion. It’s sure that it has already become a grand feast of swimming. Regardless of your faith or your nationality; it’s just all friendship here. It shows the great friendship and peace. An excellent World Championships should be a grand carnival. That’s always our goal.

　　Xinhua: Would you please conclude the event in one word or sentence?

　　Maglione: Unforgettable. It’ll always stay in my mind, all the things I’ve been through in these days, really. I’m really having a good time here.

　　Xinhua: I remember before the opening ceremony you said that this would be the best World Championships so far, and you just mentioned that again. What are your reasons?

　　Maglione: I think I’ll remember Shanghai 2011 for a long time. Shanghai people have achieved a lot through this wonderful event with so many excellent facilities. I believe that all the people here will enjoy swimming in their life after the event. I also believe that in the near future, Shanghai will be a very good city with extreme happiness.

　　Xinhua: Do you think that Shanghai prepared fully for this game?

　　Maglione: Sure, I think Shanghai is already able to hold the Olympic Games. In my opinion, Shanghai’s biggest advantage is its citizens. With such good people, Shanghai can do a lot with their own idea.

　　Xinhua: What do you think about the performance of athletes in this contest?

　　Maglione: They obviously all performed well. Let’s talk something about Chinese athletes. In conclusion, it’s a fact that you gave a perfect performance in diving and won all the ten gold medals; in synchronized swimming you’ve also made great progress and won so many medals that you had never won before; and in swimming events you almost won one gold every day. It’s a remarkable achievement.

　　Xinhua: Do you know which Chinese athletes won the gold?

　　Maglione: I think it’s not important in events who wins or who loses. All of them have tried the best and performed the best. Every one of them has a good future. Just like the women’s water polo final, it was Greece versus China. Yes, China, can you imagine? That’s something that you thought would never happen.

　　Xinhua: Some think that according to the results, this World Championships seems not as wonderful as the last one, because so far only American swimmer Ryan Lochte has broken a world record. What do you think about the results this time?

　　Maglione: We have here the best athletes in the world, and we’ve done the best preparation with the best venues and training facilities to help athletes get the best results.

　　No more new world records, why? I think it’s only because of the suit. (The now banned “shark skin,” a swimsuit made of polyurethane that can improve buoyancy and reduce friction in the water). The suit led to the different results. The FINA-issued regulation on changing the suit was just aimed to offer fair opportunities of competition for all the athletes. Just think about it, one suit might cost 800 euros (US.21). It’s not affordable in many places in the world. We have athletes from Africa and South America, we have athletes from all over the world. They should compete with the same suit, and I’m happy with the current situation.

　　Xinhua: Lochte said that it was his own effort instead of the suit that helped him to break the record.

　　Maglione: Yes, the athlete himself is much more important — their ability, their training, their efforts, not the suit. But we have to admit that the suit really made some athletes different.

　　Xinhua: Many people are concerned about another American swimmer, Michael Phelps, and think he didn’t perform well in Shanghai. What do you think about his future?

　　Maglione: No, I think he performed well this time, but of course Lochte performed better. He even broke the record that he himself kept. It’s sure that Chinese athletes also did very well and I believe they’ll create more surprises in the future.

　　Xinhua: Do you think Phelps can go back above Lochte at the London Olympics?

　　Maglione: He’ll be there in London next year, but I don’t know whether he can go back above him.

　　Xinhua: Have you noticed any freshmen in this game who performed pretty well? Who do you think will become superstars in the future?

　　Maglione: No, God! I’m sorry that I didn’t remember a lot of their names. Cielo, Lochte, yes, we have a lot of stars, but we also have many other athletes, not only in swimming, but also in synchronized swimming, diving, water polo and open water. All the five events are very important and have their stars. It means more for me. I was very happy when Lochte broke the record. I applauded him.

　　Xinhua: Do you think there will be more record breakers showing up?

　　Maglione: Perhaps, I don’t know. But you know that it’s really a wonderful contest, and athletes from many countries and regions can get medals, not only just from two or three teams. It’s important for this contest.