Erika Villaecija Waves Emotional Goodbye at Short Course Nationals

Braden Keith
by Braden Keith 0

November 20th, 2018 News

It was an emotional goodbye last week in Barcelona, where 34-year old Spanish swimmer Erika Villaecija Garcia swam her last-ever Spanish National Championship meet. The four-time Olympian and 7-time European Championship medalist announced her retirement earlier this month, committing to swimming out the Short Course National Championships and the team-centric Club Cup in December.

During a ceremony in the final day of the championships, Villaecija was honored as an ‘eternal historic swimmer in the history of Spanish Swimming.” With tears in her eyes, she received a commemorative plaque from Enric Bertran, the president of the Catalan Federation; and a bouquet of flowers from her teammates at Sabadell CN Judit Ignacio and Marc Sanchez.

She was also given a gold badge of the Spanish Swimming Federation and the Creu de Sant Jordi – the highest civilian distinction of Catalonia.

“We lose an exceptional swimmer, but we gain a psychologist and a promising coach,” the federation said in its official goodbye. “THANK YOU, ERIKA, for so many years, for so many emotions, for so many things. Your legacy is a treasure that will be remembered for generations to come.”

Villaecija’s Times from last week’s National Championships

  • 100 back – 11th (1:02.58)
  • 200 back – 7th in prelims (2:14.73), Scratched Final
  • 100 fly – 6th (1:01.70)
  • 200 fly – 5th (2:14.71)
  • 400 IM – 8th (4:50.62)

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About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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