The next European Swimming Championships in Rome (August 11-17) will see the reappearance on the international stage of Mireia Belmonte. The swimmer from Badalona, quadruple Olympic medalist and proclaimed champion of Spain in the 200 m styles over the weekend, had not competed in major competitions since the 2021 Tokyo Games.
The call for the Spanish team facilitated by the Federation (RFEN) is made up of 22 swimmers, 11 men and 11 women. The presence of Belmonte is the most outstanding note, as well as the absence of Hugo González, the main asset of Spanish swimming, due to rest.
The inclusion of Belmonte, despite not having the minimum mark for the European Championship, is justified by the RFEN's technical management "in order to help the progression of competitions and objectives that will take him to Paris 2024", which would be its fifth Olympic Games, according to Sean Kelly, RFEN's Director of Performance. That is to say, that the Catalan is taking the competitive tone so that she arrives in Paris -she will be 33 years old- with medal options.
Belmonte has had a very irregular last few years due to injuries. He missed the previous European Championships in Budapest 2021 (two months before the Tokyo Games) due to his shoulder problems, and after the Olympic event (4th in the 400 styles as the best result in four tests) he did not train again normally until February. In March she returned to competition, at the Paulus Wildeboer memorial, seven months after her last competition, and she missed the recent World Cup in Budapest, without a minimum.
At the European Championships in Rome, Belmonte is entered in the 400 medley (August 13), 100 butterfly (August 14), 200 medley (August 15), 200 butterfly (August 16) and 400 freestyle (August 17) events. August). Her idea is to put aside the long tests, 800 and 1,500 m, to preserve her shoulders and perform higher quality training.
Regarding the withdrawal of Hugo González de Oliveira (23), European champion (Budapest 2021) of the 200 styles, the Spanish Federation points out that "it is a consensual decision" between the swimmer and the coaching staff due to the "expressed need of the athlete to take a break after a very demanding competitive period during the last two seasons, with the aim of resuming Olympic preparation in September in optimal conditions".
The swimmer from Palma, who was 6th in the final of the 100m backstroke in Tokyo, did not make it past the semifinals at the last World Cup in Budapest, in which Spanish swimming made waters.
The RFEN relies on 22 swimmers to continue progressing on the road to Paris 2024 and improve on the three medals they won at the previous European Championships in Budapest 2021 (the three of Hugo González).
In the women's category: Ainhoa Campabadal, Lidón Muñoz, Julia Pujadas, Jessica Vall and África Zamorano (CN Sant Andreu), Mireia Belmonte (UCAM Murcia), Carla Hurtado (CT Elche), Ángela Martínez (KZM), Paula Otero (Arteixo ), Alba Vázquez (CN Churriana) and Carmen Weiler (Real Canoe NC).
In the men's category, the following will attend Rome: Carles Coll, Sergio de Celis and Diego Mira (CN Sabadell), Luis Domínguez (El Olivar), Carlos Garach (CN Churriana), Nicolás García (Gredos), Arbidel González (CN Santa Olaya), Alberto Lozano (CE Mediterrani), Mario Mollà (CN Terrassa), Joan Lluís Pons (CN Sant Andreu) and Juan Francisco Segura (Madrid NC).
