Felipe VI, the King of Spain, welcomed Spanish World Championships medalists into the Palace of Zarzuela in Madrid yesterday.
King Felipe, who serves as Spain’s head of state, recognized the country’s accomplishments in aquatic sports this year on the day of its 2025 Gala. The REFN (Royal Federation of Spanish Swimming) was signed into Felipe’s prestigious Libro de Honor, which includes the palace’s most prominent guests.
Iris Tio, who became the first artistic swimmer to medal in every discipline at worlds this summer, was crowned the federation’s female MVP for the year. She brought home six medals. The men’s award went to Bernat Sanahuja, who was the highest scorer during Spain’s gold medal-winning water polo final at the Singapore World Championships.
Swimmer Carles Coll Marti was also recognized for his 200 breaststroke gold medal at the 2024 Short Course World Championships. Coll was not in attendance, as he’s training at Virginia Tech under Spanish swimming icon Sergio Lopez, but he expressed his gratitude from across the pond.
Felipe Perrone, who has competed in 14 water polo World Championships for Spain before retiring after Singapore, received a several-minute standing ovation following a speech.
Other medalists from last season include the women’s water polo team, who reaped bronze in Singapore. There’s also Dennis Gonzalez, who medalled five times in Singapore and trailblazed as a male flyer. Fellow artistic swimmer Lilou Lluis rounds out Spain’s worlds medalists. Lilou won gold in the women’s free duet with Tio.
The RFEN also welcomed four new athletes into its hall of fame at the Gala. This included Aschwin Wildeboer, who briefly took the 100 backstroke world record away from the legendary Aaron Piersol in the supersuit era.
See the full list of athletes recognized at the Gala here.
While convened in Madrid, the RFEN has a General Assembly meeting today. The federation is expected to finalize its 2025-2026 calendar and budget at the meeting.
Did not know Spain had a king still
he’s attended a few grand slam finals supporting Rafa and Carlos recently