On the final day of the 2015 Amsterdam Cup, Spanish swimmer Carlos Peralta was able to take his own national record in the 200 fly to new heights. Peralta swam 1:56.57, making him the first Spanish swimmer under 1:57 in that event.
The previous record had sat at 1:57.01. Peralta set that time at the 2014 European Championships in Berlin. Peralta made a final with that swim, although just barely. He still needs to continue his progression to be competitive at the European Championship level.
It took 1:55.74 to win bronze in Berlin, so that time is not entirely unattainable. Peralta’s swim is also relevant in that it brings him under the Spanish automatic qualifying standard for Rio.
While Spanish swimmers will hold an Olympic trials meet in March, swimmers were also able to designate an international competition from Dec. 1st onwards to use in qualifying. From Peralta’s twitter, it is evident that he designated the Amsterdam cup as such:
@PeraltaGallego Emocionante llegada con Mínima para #Rio2016 RECORD DE ESPAÑA 200mariposa(1:56.57) #AmsterdamSwimCuppic.twitter.com/aeQRPxnQtV
— Crónica Natación (@CronicaNatacion) December 13, 2015
This means that unless two swimmers are able to beat Peralta’s record in March, he has qualified for the Spanish team. This would be the first Olympics for Peralta.
Great photo…..it says it all.