5 Top Names Joining Mare Nostrum Swim Series In Barcelona

The second meet in the Mare Nostrum swim series begins Wednesday in Barcelona, with some new names joining the circuit to race some of the best in the world.

Start list (psych sheet) for Mare Nostrum Swim Series, Barcelona

Ryan Lochte and most of the elite squad at SwimMAC Carolina will not compete in Barcelona, taking a few days to recover before rejoining the series in Monaco. (Micah Lawrence and Mark Weber are on the start lists for Barcelona.) Also notably missing from the start lists are Spain’s 2013 world championships swimming medalists, Mireia Belmonte and Melanie Costa.

Among those who did not compete last weekend in Canet but are scheduled to race in Barcelona are these five notable names:

Nic Fink

Fink will represent the United States at the world championships in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, and Barcelona will give him a chance to race against those he’s likely to face in Russia. Fink is part of a four-swimmer group from the University of Georgia attending the meet, and he could walk away with some hardware as he steps up for his first long course meet of the season, and his first as a postgrad.

Judit Ignacio

With Belmonte and Costa electing to skip the meet, Judit Ignacio will be the top Spanish female racing in Barcelona. She was eighth in the 200 butterfly at the 2013 world championships, and was part of a Spanish 1-2 in the 200 fly at last year’s European championships. While Belmonte is considered a medal favorite this summer in the 200 fly at worlds, Ignacio could provide Spain with another meal hopeful, if she can use this week’s meet to work on race strategy against the likes of Katinka Hosszu and Natsumi Hoshi.

Melanie Margalis

Margalis had a great summer in 2014, earning a spot on the Pan Pacific championship team in the 200 IM. That led to a spot on this year’s world championship team, and she will face off against some of the best IMers in history in Barcelona before racing them again at worlds in Russia. Margalis’ strength comes in the breaststroke leg, though she has plenty of speed and endurance across all strokes.

Rafael Munoz

The former world record holder in the long course 50 butterfly, Munoz will be the top male Spaniard to watch at the meet. After winning bronze in the 50 and 100 butterfly races at the 2009 world championships, Munoz has not returned to a world championship final. Look for Munoz to give the crowd a boost in the 50 fly against the likes of Chad Le Clos and Ben Proud.

Shane Ryan

Shane Ryan will compete in Barcelona, his first competition since relocating to Ireland from the United States with the goal of representing Ireland at the 2016 Olympics. He’ll swim the 50 and 100 backstrokes, as well as the 50 butterfly.