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The Golden Moments Of Mireia Belmonte In The Depths Of An Historic Olympic Victory
- Updated: November 27, 2016
The Rio 2016 Olympics long gone, SwimVortex continues its look at the reflections of the champions and others who stepped up on the podium at the Games in August, at the things that flowed from success and plans already made for the follow-up.
In our series so far: Anthony Ervin, Kyle Chalmers, Joseph Schooling, Katie Ledecky, Sarah Sjostrom, Chad Le Clos, Adam Peaty, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Simone Manuel, Jazz Carlin, then 1500m men Connor Jaeger and Gregororio Paltrinieri and Penny Oleksiak, the Canadian teen who arrived in Rio looking for experience and returned home an Olympic champion and multi-medallist.
Today, Mireia Belmonte, Spanish pioneer.
Mireia Belmonte: two silvers at London 2012, a bronze in the 400m medley on day one of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The best was yet to come: 200m butterfly, gold, the first ever Olympic title in the pool for a Spanish woman.
The pioneer, coached by Fred Vergnoux, the man who yet again was named Spain’s mentor of the year of late, achieved her “lifelong dream” in Rio but the striving will not stop there. Belmonte will race a “as many events as I can” in search of berths at the Budapest world titles in July next year, she revealed to Spanish media this weekend on return to full-flight training beyond sitting a degree exam.
The 26-year-old had suspended studies on the way to Rio but returned to the books in readiness for her degree test in advertising and public relations. How had it gone? “In the Olympic year I had less time for studies, but since [the Games] I was able prepare for this exam and I think it went well. We’ll see,” she told Ideal.
Belmonte may yet become something of a sport/academics pioneer in Europe, along with 60 or so other Spanish Olympians who were able to continue to study at university while continuing to train in their respective sports thanks to a tutoring project that the European Union is seeking to spread to colleges and universities across 27 countries (discounting Britain, which is on a course to leave the union).
Mireia Belmonte – by Patrick B. Kraemer
The swimmer was able to combine study and sport through the Catholic University of Murcia – and her swim program based with Vergnoux in Barcelona and the Sierra Nevada – because of the tutoring program designed for elite athletes.
Study has been a priority but Belmonte has found time to pick up a pile of national honours on the trail of celebrating her achievements. Her commitments have also included an appearance, yet-to-be-screened, in the magic show of Antonio Díaz. The magician told Spanish media this week that he’s working on a trick to make Donald Trump disappear but Spanish audiences are more interested in what he’s been up to with Belmonte.
Asked by domestic media if he’d made the swimmer’s Olympic medal disappear, he replied: “No but we did play a game with her and it’ll be well worth watching … swimming fascinates me and Belmonte is a living legend. We experienced the magic of water.
Belmonte experienced that back on August 11 in Rio.
On a night of fast firsts and curved-ball results, Belmonte joined the history makers as the first woman ever to reign for Spain in the Olympic pool at the end of a crackling battle with Australian Maddie Groves that ended with gold 0.03sec ahead of silver, the bronze, 0.32sec further adrift, returned to Natsumi Hoshi, of Japan, four years on.
It had been 24 years since Spain last celebrated swimming gold in the Olympic pool. That was at home in Barcelona and the hero was Martin Lopez Zubero in the 200m backstroke.
The champion of 1992 congratulated the champion of 2016 on social media:
Very excited to see @missbelmont win the 200 butterfly gold medal tonight in Rio. The Olympic dream of winning has become a reality. Congratulations Mireira! Everyone is proud of you! Muy contento de ver @missbelmont ganar los 200 mariposa esta noche en Río . El sueño olímpico de ganar se ha convertido en una realidad . Felicidades Mireira! Todo el mundo esta orgulloso de ti! To The Brave
The race was going to go to the brave – and coaches Vergnoux, for Belmonte, and Michael Bohl, for Groves, knew it. Groves set the pace, Belmonte shadowed to half-way, the two fighting to the last turn and then all the way home, Hoshi never far away and Cammile Adams (USA) another challenging from the podium tonight from lane 8.
If Groves was to have a chance, she would need to play the strength of greater first-half speed than Belmonte and then fight for home knowing the multi-talented Spaniard known for her stamina would bring on the battle.
Mireia Belmonte – PBK
And so it played out. Groves turned in a sizzling 27.49 down the first lap. The tone was set. By half-way, Aussie colours to the mast, her second lead had been reduced by half, Belmonte poised to pounce.
This is where the Spaniard would draw level and then draw away if Groves had drained the tank being brave. By the last turn, the 2014 European champion had the edge, 1:32.17 to 1:32.31, Hoshi closing in fast on 1:32.91.
Belmonte in 5, Groves in 4 and Hoshi in 6, the three lanes leading to the podium seemed to have settled their argument about 10m out from home. But Groves was not done. Belmonte sensed it, dug deeper, Groves fought on, Belmonte refused to yield, her ambition to add gold to the silver and bronze medals she won at London 2012 driving her on. And so it went to the wall, the last stroke decided by the whisp of a whisker but not quite as tight as the 1980 winning margin of 0.1sec.
Hoshi, and even more so Adams, caught up down the fourth of four but the challenge came too late to muscle in on the battle for champion and closest.
The ebb and flow:
28.48 (=2) 1:00.00 (2) 1:32.17 (1) 2:04.85 Belmonte 27.49 (1) 59.54 (1) 1:32.31 (2) 2:04.88 Groves 28.78 (5) 1:00.79 (3) 1:32.91 (3) 2:05.20 Hoshi 29.55 (8) 1:01.27 (4) 1:33.95 (4) 2:05.90 Adams
“A day like this it’s difficult to control”
On being the first woman champion for Spain, Belmonte said:
“A day like this it’s difficult to control. When you are in the final of an Olympics it’s difficult not to be nervous and control your emotions. But you are always dreaming. This was a beautiful day which I will remember for my whole life. It means I have achieved everything I have dreamed about my whole life. It’s very special.”
Injuries suffered last year to shoulders had made her question everything but Vergnoux had “motivated me to keep going, to work on and come through it”.
How long she had worked for the honour? “Many days working, training. Many days when you think it’s not worth it. Days when you are happy. But you have your final goal and you work and train every day and you are able to reach this.”
Dedication Below the Surface
Mireia Belmonte – World s/c Record in Sabadell, 2014 [Photo: Patrick B. Kraemer, plus the WR scoreboard]
Telling are the priorities and the things granted emphasis in the words of swimmers when asked about what counts most. When – over a glass of champagne offered to the reporter by the swimmer’s father Jose and mother Paqui García – El Diario Montañés asked Belmonte and her parents in the days after her victory in Rio whether August 11 was “the most beautiful day” of their lives, the swimmer replied without hesitation:
“No, there are nicer days. Every day is special because you share them with family: yes, there’s the euphoria of victory but there’s also the daily work, a lot of it, and low moments, defeats and days where you have no energy – and [come what may] there is always something nice to share in a mother-and-daughter relationship.”
Suffering and sacrifice are words athletes hear much (perhaps too much) about from reporters in the round but Belmonte’s focus was fascinating when asked by El Diario Montañés ‘how much have suffered up to get here?’
“The shoulder injury made for a very difficult time but [turning to her mother] if I put myself in my mother’s skin, I know you were even more affected to see how your daughter was hurting. Looking back, the best decision was not to go to the World Championships [in 2015] … it was very difficult at the time. But what goes down comes round and now I’m really happy to have bypassed the worlds so that I could have this gold medal.”
One gold might have costs her another shot at the podium: it was clear from the start of the 800m freestyle (silver at London 2012) that Belomote was in no shape to contend with the likes of Jazz Carlin (GBR), let alone Katie Ledecky (USA).
Beyond the media round, the anti-doping test, dinner and “party with my parents and another swimmer … with champagne”, Belmonte had got to bed at 4am – and then could not sleep.
Asked about her joyful celebration and water slapping at the end of the 200m butterfly final, Belmonte said the swimmer is taken by the moment but it was almost impossible to describe the feeling and how why that manifests itself in any particular show of emotion:
“At that moment in time, I …
