The Spanish artistic swimming team, based at the CAR in Sant Cugat del Vallès, will compete in the European Championships in Paris from July 31 to August 5. Coach Andrea Fuentes assures that the team has managed the pressure from their success at the World Championship in Singapore.
The Spanish artistic swimming team faces the European Championships in Paris, which will be held from July 31 to August 5, with the challenge of confirming the success achieved at the recent World Championship in Singapore. The team, training at the High-Performance Centre in Sant Cugat del Vallès, arrives at the continental event after a process of adapting to the new expectations generated by their historic result.
In Singapore, Spain won three golds, two silvers, and four bronzes, a total of nine medals that marked their best performance at a World Championship. The team finished third in the overall medal table, only surpassed by China and Russia, which competed as a neutral team. However, that success brought with it a pressure that the team has had to manage.
Coach Andrea Fuentes explained that after the World Championship, the team went through "a small process of managing success." "External expectations grew a lot, and we had to learn to live with that pressure. It has been a period of growth," she noted after the last training session in Sant Cugat del Vallès.
Fuentes acknowledged that returning to competition was not easy. "Until Pontevedra, when we did the World Cup, it was like: 'Wow, we just couldn't find our way.' But I have really enjoyed discovering it together," she stated. The World Cup in Pontevedra, held in May, served as a test for the team, which was unable to complete the acrobatic routine with a perfect execution.
"It's that typical mistake of saying: 'I've got it,' when it’s not over yet. Even so, better to happen there than now. It has stuck with us, and we have trained a lot to get used to the maximum pressure," Fuentes indicated about that incident.
The European Championships in Paris will also be the first major tournament where Spain faces Russia after World Aquatics lifted the restrictions that prevented its athletes from competing under their flag and anthem. Fuentes acknowledges the strength of the Russian team but asserts Spain's options. "We know that Russia comes with a super team, which we have seen in other World Cups, but we are eager not to shrink, but to bring out our aces, which we also have plenty of," she pointed out.
Swimmer Iris Tió has described the season as "different," having competed "much less" than usual. The team has focused part of their preparation on strengthening "the physical aspect, apart from the choreographies," with the aim of "becoming strong and arriving with a lot of energy" for the continental event.
For Fuentes, the growth of this team goes beyond medals. The coach highlights the construction of "an identity based on values" as the great legacy of a group that aspires in the French capital to continue building a footprint that transcends sports.
The European Championships in Paris will take place in the swimming pool of the Olympic stadium in the French capital, a venue that already hosted the 2024 Olympic Games. The Spanish team arrives with the confidence of having demonstrated their level in Singapore, but aware that they must confirm it against top-level rivals.
The Spanish team has worked in recent months to refine the details that faltered in Pontevedra, especially in the acrobatic routine, one of their great strengths. The preparation has included specific sessions at the CAR in Sant Cugat, where the swimmers have simulated maximum pressure situations to avoid execution errors.
The continental event will also be an opportunity for the younger swimmers on the team to gain experience in high-level competitions. Spain arrives with a mix of experience and youth, aiming to compete for podiums in all categories.
The European Championships will kick off on July 31 with the technical routines and conclude on August 5 with the team and combined finals. The Spanish team hopes to be in the medal hunt and maintain the progress that has placed them among the great powers of world artistic swimming.
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