Spanish open water swimmers descending upon Lake Banyoles just outside Barcelona today to contest the men’s and women’s 10k race in the hopes of punching their tickets to the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan this July.
The men’s race saw Hector Ruiz take the top spot, slapping the timing board first in a mark of 1:52.59 to earn a spot on the Spanish open water worlds roster. Venturi Bertrand was able to hold on for second place, touching in a time of 1:53:20, followed by Iglesias Rabassa who charged home in a final time just .06 of a seconds later in 1:53.26. Ruiz’s victory was extra special, as he was kept out of the European Championships last year due to acute bronchitis.
On the women’s side, Maria Vilas was able to bring home the 10k victory as the only swimmer to dip beneath the 2:00-threshold. Vilas’ time of 1:58.39 was swift enough to top the field and earn her the 10k open water spot on her nation’s worlds roster. Second place went to Erika Villaecija in a time of 2:00:18, and Luisa Mar Morales wound up 3rd in a time of 2:00:41. Villaecija was Spain’s highest 10k finisher for at the last year’s European Championships, finishing 7th overall.
Mireia Belmonte and her coach, Frederic Vergnoux decided last night that the two-time Olympic silver medalist and short course world champion would indeed race in the 10k this morning, a decision which weighed on how Belmonte’s shoulder pain was being managed. Belmonte has been suffering a bursitis in the shoulder, resulting in the swimmer undergoing a state-of-the-art stem cell treatment. For her part, Belmonte fared well in light of the injury, but outside of the top 3, settling for 4th in a time of 2:02.55. Of the race, Belmonte commented on Twitter that she was “very happy with the experience of swimming her first 10k.” She described the open water race as “very hard, but very rewarding. I’ve learned a lot.” Belmonte is still scheduled to swim the 5k tomorrow, June 21st.