Trinidad and Tobago, 1 - Spain, 0: the disaster of the national team in the World Cup

• Report Why is Italy sweeping the World Swimming Championships?

Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, Chile, Bosnia, Egypt or Israel.

All these countries have seen some of their swimmers play a final at the World Cup in Budapest.

Spain not yet.

And if

does not make it this Friday in the 50 meter backstroke, the only distance he is missing, the void will be absolute.

For the first time this century, for the first time since 1998, the national team can leave the championship without even a finalist place.

The absence of

is a reason, but at 31 years old she can no longer be the only buoy in such an important Olympic sport, the second that distributes the most medals (37) behind athletics.

What happen?

“There is a problem of structure and a problem of method.

Right now we all fail.

The Federation, the territorial ones, the clubs, the athletes fail... And where it is most visible is not the World Cup, it is in the lower categories, where there is no level.

Either we wake up or the elite train is leaving us », analyzes

, today technical director of Getxo, before technical director of the Spanish Federation (RFEN) and responsible for its lower teams.

In his opinion, there is no plan to attract talent and neither is there one to train that talent: “For years, clubs have stopped trusting coaches, training them, investing.

The work that the coaches do from the base is the reason for the current success of Italy, for example.

And here it is considered something secondary.

In a sport as technical as swimming, it is very difficult for a World Cup finalist to come out without a coach of that level who has stability and a project behind him.

“In addition, we must bear in mind that we are living at the end of a generation,” adds Tubella, rightly.

To the twilight of Belmonte, the best swimmer in history, is added that of

, a regular in the breaststroke finals,

,

,

-retired at 26 years old- or

.

Nine years ago, they got Spain to finish the World Cup in Barcelona with 13 finalists, a record.

Now the problem is that there is no relief.

In the last decade, the work in the elite focused on Belmonte and on

's group in the Sant Cugat CAR and, after the latter's separation, we had to start from scratch.

The RFEN has signed two foreign coaches, the British

and the Irishman

, and they are on it.

Lack of help and studies

Beyond the lack of foundation, the first obstacle that these technicians have found on their arrival is that the most promising swimmers do not have help to become professional.

Other sports have gone ahead of swimming in the search for sponsors to cover the gaps left by ADO scholarships and there is a lack of money in the water, a lot of money.

The RFEN does not make profitable its eight million budget.

Hugo González, the referent, has been threatening to retire for years;

, finalist in 2019,

or

all three with options, have not attended this World Cup to focus on their studies...

«I had to look for my future.

After being at the Tokyo Games and finishing fifteenth, I don't have an ADO scholarship and I live off what my club and the Balearic Islands Government give me.

I decided to try to finish my degree [Microbiology] and join the labor market before I turn 30. In fact, I have not yet decided if I will go to the 2024 Paris Games, it will depend on the help I have to prepare.

Spanish swimmers are the first to want results, but we lack answers.

World swimming is advancing very fast and we are not, ”says Pons, who regrets the lack of a system in swimming to make studies and swimming compatible.

Without going any further, three of the eight summoned to the World Cup,

,

and

they finished the EBAU a few hours after flying to Budapest.

Spain does not follow the Anglo-Saxon countries and their university programs, but neither does Italy or France and their commitment to small clubs and coaches.

And so he sinks into the pool.

In this World Cup the account is Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, Chile, Bosnia, Egypt or Israel, a finalist;

Spain zero.

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Know more

• Swimming World Cup

• Mireia Belmonte