2021 SPANISH LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, March 24, 2021 – Sunday, March 28, 2021
- Sabadell, Spain
- Olympic Qualification Event
- LCM (50M)
- Results / Events Page
The fourth day of the 2021 Spanish Long Course Championships got underway on Saturday, March 27 as athletes contested the 50 freestyle, 200 IM, and 200 butterfly. The meet is serving as the second qualification meet to the Spanish Olympic squad this summer. In order to qualify, swimmers need to get under the FINA ‘A’ cut:
On the fourth night of the meet, no new swimmers qualified for the Games. In the women’s 50 freestyle, Lidon Muñoz del Campo was only 0.30 seconds off as she hit a 25.07, missing the Olympic cut of 24.77. She was also just over her best time in the event which is a 24.82 from 2019. Rosa Peris and Marta Gonzalez were second and third with a 25.87 and 25.98, respectively.
On the men’s side of the event, Polish swimmer Konrad Czerniak was a 22.28 for the win, getting in just ahead of Mario Molla‘s 22.69 for second place and Juan Francisco Segura came in with a 22.77 for third.
Joan Pons swam the 200 IM final with a shot at adding a second Olympic event to add to his 400 IM qualification from earlier in the meet. He just missed the cut, however, swimming a 2:01.04 to trail the mark of 1:59.67. Sergio de Celis was right behind Pons in the final with a 2:01.51.
In the woman’s 200 IM, Africa Zamorano also looked to add a second event to her Olympic lineup, having already qualified for the 200 backstroke. She was less than a second slower than the cut, however, posting a 2:13.50 for the win compared to the 2:12.56 it would have taken to qualify.
Arbidel Gonzalez managed to get under the 2-minute mark in the men’s 200 fly final, swimming a 1:59.83 for the win while Francisco Arévalo came in with a 2:00.11 for silver and Miguel Martínez rounded out the podium in a 2:00.30. All three of them missed the FINA A cut in the event of 1:56.48.
As for the women’s 200 butterfly final, Carlota Torrontegui was the closest to the qualification standard of 2:08.43 with her winning time of 2:14.09. That was a solid best time for Torrontegui though, improving upon her 2:16.50 from this morning. Going into the meet her best time was a 2:16.66.
Carmen Balbuena and Jessica Vall joined Torrontegui on the podium, Balbuena with a 2:16.71 and Vall with a 2:16.77.
There will be one final day of racing at the 2021 Spanish Long Course Championships. The day 5 event lineup will include the 200 breast, 50 backstroke, and 400 freestyle.
Where was Belmonte?