World Swimming Ceremonies Held in Bullring

The World Swimming Championships opened in Madrid Wednesday with a royal brass band, a parade of participants around the world’s principal bullring and a bullfight in which the bull emerged unscathed.

The ceremony took place a mile from the new swimming complex that will be the site of most of the swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo events during the 10-day championships.

Swimmers and coaches from the 61 participating nations made the grand tour of Las Ventas bullring, entering by a door usually reserved for the bulls and leaving by a big door, through which triumphant bullfighters are carried out on the fans’ shoulders.

The United States and Canada fielded the largest delegations with 77 participants each, followed by Spain with 61, Australia 57, West Germany and the Netherlands 55 each, the Soviet Union 53 and Great Britain 51.

The bullfight was unusual by Spanish standards in that the bullfighter was on horseback--more common in Portugal--and the bull’s shoulders were protected by padding from the barbs of the banderillas or sharp-pronged sticks.

At the end of the display--designed to show something intrinsically Spanish but that would not offend those who disapprove of bullfighting--the bull was escorted out of the ring by six steers wearing large bells.

In the first competition of the championships, Canada’s Carolyn Waldo, a silver medalist in the 1984 Olympics, took the lead after the first three figures in the synchronized swimming competition.

Waldo, 21, scored 45.9 points to lead teammate Sylvie Frechette by 1.5 points. Sarah Josephson of the United States is third with 44.25 points. Each of the synchronized swimmers did three required figures in front of five-judge panels. The final three figures are today.