BUDAPEST – Chinese swimmer Qin Haiyang and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown were honoured as the Best Male and Female Swimmer of the Year at the site of the future headquarters of World Aquatics in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday.

At a glittering gala ceremony, World Aquatics, the world governing body for aquatic sports, honoured breaststroke specialist Qin and Australian backstroke star Kaylee McKeown for their sterling success in 2023.

Both athletes won the three events (50m, 100m, and 200m) in their respective disciplines at all three World Cup legs, held in Berlin, Athens and Budapest in October.

At the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka in July, Qin, 24, became the first swimmer in history to win all three breaststroke events at a single edition of the championships.

He also beat the world record in the 200m event.

He won five gold medals and was named the men’s Most Valuable Player at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, and also won five titles at the World University Games in Chengdu.

Qin said: “The most proud thing for me this year is that I broke the record, it’s a surprise for me. More importantly, I got more improvement than last year, that’s really, really made me happy.”

McKeown, 22, also made history in Fukuoka by sweeping the 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke golds.

At the World Cup last week, she set world records in the 50m and

100m events in Budapest,

making her the first woman swimmer to simultaneously hold world records in all three backstroke distances and the first swimmer since American Lenny Krayzelburg set all three men’s marks in 1999.

McKeown said on social media: “Crazy scenes here in Budapest and surprised with my results to say the least.

“It’s been an absolute beauty of a year and what better way to top it off with two world records... excited and nervous for this upcoming season.”

Monday’s event also saw the unveiling of the emblem for the 2024 short-course world swimming championships in Budapest which features the silhouette of the Hungarian capital’s iconic Chain Bridge and the World Aquatics logo.

Before the awards ceremony, the plans for the future headquarters of World Aquatics were unveiled.

The centre is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, but the federation, which is currently based in Lausanne, Switzerland, plans to partially move to the Hungarian capital in the second half of 2024. XINHUA