MADRID, Dec. 12 (.) –
The World Short Course Swimming Championships in Melbourne (Australia) starts this Tuesday the 13th and will last until Sunday the 18th, with a Spanish delegation made up of 9 swimmers who attend the 16th edition of the World Championships with the aim of achieving better personal bests. and with Hugo González looking for a metal.
Without too much pressure to win a medal, the seven male and female swimmers who will attend the Australian event –with the Irishman Sean Kelly as team leader for the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation (RFEN)– will aspire to achieve their personal maximum and see what situation they are in after the last big event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Hugo González de Oliveira (Real Canoe), from Mallorca, who will seek to improve on the sixth place achieved in the 100m backstroke in Tokyo 2020, is the one who most hopes of playing a good role and of being close to that hypothetical fight for medals. Absolute Europe of the 200 styles (Budapest 2021) will play in Melbourne that same distance and the 200 backstroke.
Although more complicated, they will look for the final Sergio de Celis in the 50 and 100 freestyle (fastest Spanish swimmer in history in the modality) and Carles Coll (signed four finals in the European Championships in Rome 2022) in 100 and 200 breaststroke and styles respectively . Also Carlos Garach, finalist in the last European in Rome, will try to be in the final of the 1,500 or the 800 – he was junior world champion this year in both distances–.
As for the women’s delegation, Paula Otero will try to be in the finals in the 400 and 800 freestyle. She was already an absolute European double finalist in the 800 and 1,500, in Rome 2022. África Zamorano, sixth in the 200 backstroke in the Italian event, will try to repeat her good performance in this championship.
In the previous edition, the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) –was held between December 16 and 21, 2021–, the Spanish delegation left empty. On this occasion, without great overall aspirations, the aim is undoubtedly to improve their own results and leave with good feelings.
It will be difficult for them to win a medal in the world championships in the 25-meter pool that include stars of the moment such as the Romanian David Popovici, the British Adam Peaty, the South African Chad Le Clos, the Italian Benedetta Pilato, the Canadian Maggie MacNeil and the Chinese Zhang Yufei, among others.
–SPANISH DELEGATION.
Hugo González de Oliveira; 200 styles and 200 back
Sergio de Celis Montalban; 50 and 100 free
Carles Coll Martí; 100 and 200 breaststroke, 100 and 200 styles
Alberto Lozano Mateos; 50 butterfly
Mario Mollà Yanes; 50 and 100 butterfly
Carlos Garach Benito; 800 and 1,500 free
Luis Dominguez Calonge; 400 free
Paula Otero Fernandez; 400 and 800 free
Africa Zamorano Sanz; 100 and 200 back and 100 styles
