Spanish swimmer Mireia Belmonte has been nominated for a prestitious award in Spain, according to her Facebook page: the Princess of Asturias Award in sports.
The Princess of Asturias Foundation (FPA) gives out the awards each year in a number of categories, including Arts, Literature, Technical and Scientific Research and Sports. Belmonte is up for the sport category.
Belmonte is coming off a big Short Course World Championships meet last December in Doha, Qatar. The versatile distance swimmer took home four golds from that meet along with two massive world records: in the 400 IM, she upset then-world record-holder Katinka Hosszu and in the 200 fly she knocked off one of the super-suited world records many thought would stand for years.
The Princess of Asturias award has in the past gone to some of Spain’s most notable athletes, including tennis player Rafael Nadal (2008) and car racing legend Michael Schumacher (2007).
Last year, the competition went a non-traditional route, giving the sports award to the New York City Marathon as a whole. Belmonte was already in the conversation in 2014, though, as one Spanish athlete noted that “It seems a difficult award to give because they are all worthy and I thought beforehand that Mireia Belmonte might be the winner,” before going on to note the New York City Marathon’s huge annual significance. You can find that response and others on the FPA website.
Belmonte will hope her breakout World Champs meet helps get her over the hump this year. Belmonte is currently dealing with a minor shoulder injury and scratched out of this month’s Mare Nostrum circuit to rest.