FINA announced last week that the venue of the upcoming FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix event (scheduled for March 29th) and the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup race (scheduled for April 5th) had been changed from the west coast of Mexico in Manzanillo to Cancún in the east on the Yucatán Peninsula.

There is a 2,353 km distance between Manzanillo and Cancún.

But most importantly, all the airline tickets and travel plans to Manzanillo of the athletes, coaches and officials had been arranged. Now with the race in Cancún, all the airline tickets and travel plans had to be changed.

What a mess. What a responsibility. What an expense.

But the Mexican Swimming Federation made the most honorable decision and did the most honorable action. The Federation offered to reimburse 100% of the travel costs involved with changing the airline tickets from Manzanillo to Cancún.

The Organizing Committee is doing nearly the impossible: shifting locations, making hotel accommodations, arranging ground transportation plans, and confirming safe new race courses in short order. The athletes are well taken care of and the races will go on as planned, thousands of kilometers away from their original location.

The highest level of praise and appreciation must be extended to the Mexican Swimming Federation and its local men on the ground in Cancún: David Callejas and Fernando Betanzos T.

Photo by Fly Me Cancun shows lead pack in the 2012 FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup race in Cancún, Mexico.

Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association