Spanish Men’s 4×50 Medley Shatter Super-Suited Record To Win First Relay Medal For 32 Years

2025 EUROPEAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• December 2-7, 2025
• Lublin, Poland
• SCM (25 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3| Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

MEN’S 4×50 MEDLEY – FINAL

• WR: 1:29.72– Italy (2024)
• ER: 1:29.72– Italy (2024)
• EJR: 1:37.23 – Poland (2021)
• CR: 1:30.14 – Italy (2021)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Italy – 1:30.49
2. France – 1:30.99
3. Spain – 1:31.84
4. Austria – 1:31.85
5. Czechia – 1:31.93
6. Switzerland – 1:31.98
7. Germany – 1:32.46
8. Denmark – DSQ

Spain made a mockery of their 8th-place seed for the men’s 4×50 medley relay final at the European Short Course Championships last week, shattering a super-suited natio0nal record and winning their first-ever European Short Course relay medal.

They won bronze in the tightest of fashions, touching just 0.01 seconds ahead of Austria with Czechia (0.09 seconds) and Switzerland (0.14 seconds) just behind. All four of those nations broke their respective national records as they duked it out down the stretch.

Sergio de Celis Montalban got his hand to the wall first, and ensured that Spain would take a medal in addition to shattering their national record by over a second. Prior to Sunday, the record of 1:33.25 had stood since 2009.

The prelims team of Ivan Martinez Sota, Eudald Tarrats, Hugo Gonzalez, and Sergio de Celis Montalban shaved 0.07 seconds off that mark, touching in 1:33.18 to sneak through to the final by just 0.04 seconds over Lithuania, who finished in 1:33.22. Sweden (1:33.34) and Poland (1:33.43) were also close behind.

The highlight of the morning swim was Montalban’s 20.68 anchor – the second-fastest of the morning’s swimmers. That was the difference-maker as Spain were only the 12th-fastest through the first 150 meters in the heats, Montalban overtaking Lithuania and Great Britain in heat 3 to be the only nation to qualify for the final from that heat.

They were in lane 8 in that heat – an auspicious sign for the evening finals where they were again swimming from the outside.

Bringing in Carles Coll Marti, the European and World short course 200 breast champion, in place of former 50 breast national record holder Eudald Tarrats was the only personnel change for the final, and it paid off handsomely. Coll Marti was four-tenths of a second quicker, splitting 25.65, third-fastest in the field.

The rest of the improvement came from the repeat swimmers. All three were at least a tenth faster, with 200 IM champ Hugo Gonzalez throwing down a solid 22.60 on fly.

Montalban was the highlight again however. In a cut-throat final 50 he scorched to a split of 20.28, only behind Maxime Grousset‘s otherworldly 19.96 in this final and one of the fastest splits in history.

His fastest split this week prior was 20.78, and breaststroker Coll Marti had swum Spain’s fastest 50 free split with a 20.77 stunner in the men’s 4×50 free final, where they finished 5th.

Split Comparison

Spain had touched 8th at the final changeover, half a second off 3rd. With Grousset providing a rabbit for Montalban to chase down, he edged past Switzerland’s Tiago Behar (21.28), Czechia’s Jan Foltyn (20.78), and Austria’s Heiko Gigler (20.35). That was the second 20.3 split of the day for Gigler after he anchored in 20.34 this morning.

Spain now rank 9th all-time in the event.

All-Time Top 10 Nations, Men’s 4x50m Medley Relay (SCM)

1. Italy – 1:29.72 (2022)
2. USA – 1:30.37 (2022)
3. Russia – 1:30.44 (2017)
4. Brazil – 1:30.51 (2014)
5. Australia – 1:30.81 (2022)
6. France – 1:30.99 (2025)
7. Japan – 1:31.28 (2022)
8. Germany – 1:31.79 (2022)
9. Spain – 1:31.84 (2025)
10. Austria – 1:31.85(2025)

The Spanish men’s team had never won a medal before at the European level, and their one and only Worlds medal came at the 1st World Short Course Championships in 1993. That team of Carlos Ventosa, Sergio Lopez, Joaquin Fernandez, and Jose Maria Rojano took silver in the 4×100 medley relay behind the World Record-setting U.S. team.

This quartet now raise themselves into that exalted air. Spain had a great meet as a whole here, with 25 final swims across individual swimmers and relays. They set a stunning 18 national records across the meet, eight of which came either in full or in part from Carles Coll Marti.

They also placed sixth in the medal table, winning three gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. Their European titles came from Huge Gonzalez in the men’s 200 IM, Carmen Weiler Sastre in the women’s 200 back, and Carles Coll Marti in the men’s 200 breast. All three broke the Spanish record en route to their event wins.

Spanish Finalists

• Men’s 4×50 free relay: 1:23.94 (NR), 5th
• Mixed 4×50 free relay: 1:30.52 (NR), 5th
• Men’s 4×50 medley relay: 1:31.84 (NR), 3rd
• Carmen Weiler Sastre, women’s 200 back: 2:01.66 (NR), 1st
• Carmen Weiler Sastre, women’s 100 back: 57.00, 5th
• Ivan Martinez Sota, men’s 200 back: 1:51.58, 8th
• Carles Coll Marti, men’s 50 breast: 26.28, 8th
• Carles Coll Marti, men’s 100 breast: 56.42, 5th
• Carles Coll Marti, men’s 200 breast, 2:00.86 (NR), 1st
• Maria Daza Garcia, women’s 200 free, 1:55.81, 8th
• Maria de Valdes Alvarez, women’s 800 free: 8:21.44, 5th
• Maria de Valdes Alvarez, women’s 1500 free: 15:52.28, 5th
• Angela Martinez Guillen, women’s 800 free: 8:27.00, 8th
• Angela Martinez Guillen, women’s 1500 free: 15:55.19, 6th
• Emma Carrasco Cadens, women’s 200 IM: 2:07.90, 6th
• Emma Carrasco Cadens, women’s 400 IM: 4:31.27, 3rd
• Alba Vazquez, women’s 400 IM: 4:29.57, 2nd
• Hugo Gonzalez, men’s 200 IM: 1:51.39
• Luca Hoek le Guenedal, men’s 50 free: 21.08 (=NR), 6th
• Luca Hoek le Guenedal, men’s 100 free: 46.42, 7th
• Sergio de Celis Montalban, men’s 100 free: 46.43, 8th
• Laura Cabanes Garza, women’s 200 fly: 2:06.10, 6th
• Miguel Martinez Novoa, men’s 200 fly: 1:52.31, 7th
• Arbidel Gonzalez Alvarez, men’s 200 fly: 1:52.44, 8th
• Diego Mira Albaladejo, men’s 400 IM: 4:05.51, 6th