After the indisputable triumphs of Leonie Beck and Florian Wellbrock in the 5 and 10km open water, Germany was looking for the plenary in the rebellious waters of Momochi, south of Japan, in these Fukuoka World Championships that said goodbye to their first discipline with the 4x1500m mixed relay after six exciting days. But he got in his way (marked by the loss of Wellbrock) the Italy of Gregorio Paltrinieri, a born competitorwhich has been growing in each test despite going through a season full of setbacks. The team Azzurri he clinched gold with a time of 1:10.31 ahead of Hungary (1:10.35) and Australia (1:11.26). Germany lost that last metal in the photo finish by two tenths against the aussie and settled for fourth position.
The first protagonist of the race was Spain, which opted for an innovative strategy. “If you always do the same, you will get the same result”, proclaimed Sergi García, technical director, who acknowledges that “We expected to be better, if everyone had swum at their level we could have been fourth, we needed to open more space with the boys”. Finally, the Spanish team finished eighth, although they led the race in the first two posts.
HIROSHI YAMAMURAEFE
Carlos Garach, the Granada talent waiting “Beat my best marks and aspire to a final” In the pool tests (800 and 1,500 free), he led the first post of 1,500. The teams opted to start the two women and leave the men’s speed for the end, but Spain (and some other country) alternated the relays. With 16:40.20, Garach established a huge mark that Guillem Pujol could not maintain in the next post, which was 18:05. Less used to this distance, Pujol suffered in the final moments swimming solo: “We are happy, we opted for an aggressive strategy. We paid for it at the end, but the position is good”commented the one from Mataró.
Led the race by Ángela Martínez in the third post, from behind the boys arrived like sharks and the ‘sorpasso’ was inevitable. Up to five teams passed a Spain that registered, in the absence of the last post, 53:29 (18:44 for the Malacitana). He touched Australia first with 52:43. At the last relay, the difference was made by Gregorio Paltrinieri, who propelled the Italians to a much celebrated victory, and who already Accumulate 16 World medals between pool and open water. Spain finally came eighth with 1:13.41 after the closing of Paula Otero (20:12).
“You have to appreciate that the relay is very young, we are the second or third. And of the favourites, we are the first. In the long term we have many options to shore up this replacement, who can accumulate five or six years of experience, like Paltrinieri or Ana Marcela Cunha”, valued, finally, Sergi García. Spain says goodbye with the 12th place of Ángela Martínez in 10km and the same of Garach in the 5km as the best results apart from this relay.
