The head of the Spanish swimming team, Fred Vergnoux , expressed on Tuesday his wish that the athletes can return to training in the pool soon, "after nine weeks without water."

During his intervention in the Santander Talks 123aCorrer, the French coach considered that this "compulsory reset" is allowing his swimmers to improve in aspects such as flexibility, although he noted the need to return to the water as soon as possible since every week is the loss eight percent of the specific force.

"This is already the ninth week without a pool. A swimmer has never been out of his range for so long . Normally, a swimmer spends 4 to 6 hours a day in the water. These days have been tremendously frustrating," he acknowledged.

Although he considered "lucky to have more time to prepare for the Olympic Games", Fred Vergnoux insisted on requesting the return of the swimmers to the High Performance Center in Madrid, Sant Cugat or Sierra Nevada. In this sense, he pointed out that the protocol of the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation (RFEN) contemplates a safety distance of "five meters" between swimmers, more than what the government asks the citizens during the de-escalation.

Entering the comparison with other places, Vergnoux indicated that "there are countries where swimmers have not stopped." "In Sweden or Denmark they started swimming a couple of days ago, but in Germany they have not stopped training. In Italy they are swimming. In Australia they have been able to swim in the sea and in the pool. We have been without water for nine weeks; in We are going to be champions, "he stressed.

800 kilometers less

The head of the Spanish swimming team also explained that these nine weeks of confinement represent 800 fewer kilometers of swimming. In the absence of water, they have been working on other aspects to avoid losing muscle tone or physical condition. "We have not wasted time, on the contrary," he added. "We are trying to make them win in some aspects, such as flexibility, core or strength . Athletes are going to be better in these specific areas, but with 800 kilometers less swimming," he said.

Asked by Mireia Belmonte , the great figure of Spanish swimming with four Olympic medals, Fred Vergnoux revealed that his intention is to return to the competition "ready to be on top".

"He has had a difficult time, because at the beginning we did not understand what was happening. We had the team in Sierra Nevada and from one day to the next we returned home in a minibus. Suddenly, you are home alone. The first part has We have been looking for a pool, and that's why we have received many clubs. When we really had the news that the Olympic Games were going to 2021, we breathed again and assimilated what was coming. Mireia came out of a difficult summer, with two World Cup finals That in Mireia's profile is fine, but it was not what she wanted. This crisis, which occurred three weeks after the National Open, where people qualified for the Games, was fully involved. It will have to be repeated the year that Mireia will have more time to prepare. That is fortunate, now we have to understand and take advantage of it, "reflected Vergnoux, who has been contributing to the development of the swimmer from Badalona for ten seasons.

"Mireia didn't know what she was going to do after the Games. We had four months left until Tokyo; now they are 14. We really like the idea of ​​having more time to prepare for the Olympic Games. Normally one season is 12 months, now we have 14 We are going to implement things that we have not done. Being able to reinvent oneself is very motivating. These people do not go to the Olympics for a walk or to get a tattoo. Mireia is going for something great. So, if they open the pool tomorrow, we are going to win the Olympic medal. If it's Thursday or Friday, no. Open the pool now! ", joker added.

The French trainer also commented that his pupil is "fine". "Physically he is fine. He takes good care of himself, he does a lot of dry work. We are doing two workouts a day . We thought that this Monday we could return to the CAR after having done the tests. Everyone is healthy, but we continue with this dynamic at home ", lament. And it is that Spanish swimming trusts in the reopening of the pools for the elite of the discipline.

"We would leave a street in the middle unused, so there would be five meters of distance between the streets we would use. The CAR has tremendous hygiene measures. The swimmers would come from home with their swimming trunks on, train and go home again. . I do not understand you can go have a beer at a bar and an Olympic champion can not work . In our case, swimming is our job , "he said.

In this regard, he made a comparison between Mireia Belmonte and Leo Messi. "I am a fan of football and Barça. I have been lucky to see matches with Mireia at the Camp Nou. I have my picture with Messi and with Piqué. That feeling will not change, but I cannot understand why there is so much difference ( among footballers and other athletes.) I invite you to come to the CAR to understand what it means to win the Olympic Games for Carolina Marín, Lydia Valentín or for canoeists. They are different realities. Soccer is an ultra-professional sport and we have to give thanks LaLiga, because economically it helps us less powerful federations. But if there is a norm, the norm is for everyone. It is hard for me to see that Messi goes out to train on Friday and that Mireia cannot swim, "Vergnoux concluded.

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