'Biggest' aquatics event gets underway

MELBOURNE: The World Swimming Championships that started on Saturday will be the biggest aquatics event ever staged, with 173 countries sending athletes, officials said.

It surpasses the previous highest total of 157 countries at the world championships in Barcelona in 2003.

With the Beijing Olympics just over a year away, China has sent more competitors (109) than any other country, with the United States second and host nation Australia third.   

"More aquatics athletes will compete at the championships than at the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games, making this the biggest aquatics event ever held," said Victorian state Minister for Sport and Recreation James Merlino.

"This is the last major international aquatics competition before the 2008 Beijing Olympics and China is shaping as a dominant force with 109 competitors ahead of the United States (95) Australia (93) and Russia (89)."   

In total, 2,195 athletes from all corners of the globe will take part.

Organisers estimate one billion people will watch the event on television.

The championships opened with synchronised swimming preliminary rounds. The first medals will be awarded on Sunday.