AKUATIK INDONESIA-The water polo teams participating in the 15th FINA World
Championships, to be held from July 19-August 4, 2013 in Barcelona (ESP) know
already their opponents in the preliminary round of both the men’s and women’s
tournaments. The draw for the competition took today place in the studios of
TVE (the host broadcaster of the championships) in Sant Cugat (near the Catalan
capital) and was broadcasted live in all the Spanish territory. The normally
not-so interesting ceremony was this time an excellent opportunity to promote
the championships and to give an appetizer to all those that intend to watch
FINA’s major competition, either on site or in the TV screen.
Besides the draw (results can be found here), the one-hour ceremony presented all the six FINA disciplines included in the programme – for the first in Barcelona, High Diving (27m for men and 20m for women) will be part of the World Championships celebration – and interviewed many of the Spanish stars that are actively preparing for the event.
In Swimming, Melanie Costa, winner of the 400m free at the 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Istanbul (TUR) last December and narrowly eliminated (9th) from the Olympic finals of the women’s 200m and 400m free, is obviously confident: “To repeat the success of Istanbul will be very difficult, but I am training hard not to fail the decisive races like happened in London”, she said.
Besides the draw (results can be found here), the one-hour ceremony presented all the six FINA disciplines included in the programme – for the first in Barcelona, High Diving (27m for men and 20m for women) will be part of the World Championships celebration – and interviewed many of the Spanish stars that are actively preparing for the event.
In Swimming, Melanie Costa, winner of the 400m free at the 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Istanbul (TUR) last December and narrowly eliminated (9th) from the Olympic finals of the women’s 200m and 400m free, is obviously confident: “To repeat the success of Istanbul will be very difficult, but I am training hard not to fail the decisive races like happened in London”, she said.
Seated next to her, Erika Villaecija, will compete in open
water swimming. A native from Barcelona ,
she considered that this circumstance is “always special” but will add “some
additional pressure”. Winner of the 800m free at the 10th FINA World Swimming
Championships Dubai 2010 and eighth in the 10km marathon swimming race at the
2012 Olympics, Villaecija will be one of the few Spanish athletes who was part
of the team when in 2003 the Catalan capital hosted the championships.
In Diving, Javier Illana is also a veteran. Specialist of
the 3m springboard, he was in Barcelona 2003 and found his motivation to
continue in 2013 after an encouraging Olympic final in London . “My good results in the Games gave me
that additional ‘boost’ to continue. I am training in Canada , and the superb atmosphere and
competitive spirit I find there, will certainly be very useful for the outcome
of my performance here in Barcelona ”,
declared Illana. The 27-year old diver was also very sincere when asked if he
could switch “pool” diving by high diving, the new discipline entering the
programme of the Championships: “No, no, I prefer to stay at 3m, still very
close from the water!” he confessed laughing.
In recent years, Synchronised Swimming has been one of the most successful aquatic disciplines for Spain, but the last months have been marked by some turbulence in the team, namely with the exit of its charismatic coach Anna Tarres. Ona Carbonell, one of the most talented athletes of the squad was in the TVE studios to help choosing the balls for the draw, but was naturally asked to share her feelings on the preparation for theBarcelona rendezvous. “Our work is in the
water! It must remain like this and we are fully concentrated in improving our
routines, so that we cannot disappoint our many fans in Barcelona . This city has a special meaning
for synchro and we must respect this tradition”, stated Carbonell, who has two
Olympic and nine World Championships medals.
In recent years, Synchronised Swimming has been one of the most successful aquatic disciplines for Spain, but the last months have been marked by some turbulence in the team, namely with the exit of its charismatic coach Anna Tarres. Ona Carbonell, one of the most talented athletes of the squad was in the TVE studios to help choosing the balls for the draw, but was naturally asked to share her feelings on the preparation for the
In Water Polo, of course, the expectations in Spain
are also high, namely after the silver medal of the women’s team at the 2012
Olympics. Jennifer Pareja, member of that successful team, commented the
upcoming World Championships at home: “We are still inside that ‘dream’, the
one that allowed us to get an Olympic medal. But we must now focus on our
performance in Barcelona ;
playing home is always a motivation and our credentials are now much higher
than before”, said Pareja. “We want to avoid USA [the 2012 Olympic winner] and
to meet them only in the final, if possible!” For the women’s tournament, Spain will meet Russia ,
Netherlands (2008 Olympic
champion) and Uzbekistan
in the preliminaries.
In the men’s field, Felipe Perrone, who helped his team to reach the silver in Rome 2009 and bronze in Melbourne 2007, says that “Spain is prepared for everything.
We are playing in an historical pool – the Picornell complex -, and after our
deception in London we immediately started to
prepare our participation in Barcelona ”.
The Spanish squad will play against Montenegro ,
Greece and New Zealand in
the earlier stages of the men’s tournament.
In the men’s field, Felipe Perrone, who helped his team to reach the silver in Rome 2009 and bronze in Melbourne 2007, says that “
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