Carles Coll Marti Sets Three National Records at Spanish Short-Course Championships
Carles Coll Marti came out of the weekend’s Spanish Short-Course Championships with three Spanish records in a bravura performance in Madrid.
Coll Marti reset marks in the men’s 50 breaststroke, 100 breast and 100 individual medley. He also downed meet records in the 200 IM and 200 breast and was part of a national mixed free relay record.
Coll Marti, who trained in the United States at Virginia Tech, started the four-day meet Thursday with a record time of 2:03.74 in the 200 breast that won by more than five seconds. On Friday, he lowered the 100 breast national mark to 57.75 in prelims, then went 57.17 in finals. His opening split of 26.53 in the 100 breast downed the national mark in that, too, both records taken from Bruno Ortiz Canavate in 2019.
He won Saturday’s 100 IM in 51.73, two seconds clear of the field and .26 seconds quicker than the mark he had set at the 2022 World Championships. He also led off the CN Sabadell’s mixed 200 free relay in 21.47, teaming with Sergio De Celis, Claudia Munoz Beccerra and Mar Garmedia Gasca to go 1:33.05. That time would’ve won the 50 free event.
On Sunday, he went 1:45.05 in prelims of the 200 IM to down a meet record that had stood since 2009 (1:54.54 by Alan Cabello Forns) before scratching finals. The race was won by Hugo Gonzalez in 1:54.91, after he had been fifth in prelims.
For Gonzalez, it was just his second win of the weekend, to go with his specialty 200 back. His time of 1:52.24 in that, though, was two seconds slower than the meet record he had set in 2021 in Mallorca. He was second in the 400 IM, behind Diego Mira’s 4:09.85.
The other national record to fall entailed a bit of drama. In prelims of the 200 fly, Arbidel Gonzalez went 1:52.07 to snatch away the mark set by Miguel Martinez a year ago, though Martinez was second in 1:52.63 to also undercut his old mark of 1:52.88. In finals, Martinez seized the record back, going 1:51.97 to beat Gonzalez’s 1:52.24. He also takes possession of the meet mark, which had been Carlos Peralta’s since 2015.
Arbidel Gonzalez had set the 100 fly meet record Thursday, going 50.93 in prelims and 50.90 in finals. That downed Konrad Cerniak’s mark from 2014.
The biggest star on the women’s side was Sara Costa de Vicente. The 15-year-old set three national junior records, capped by winning the women’s 100 back in 59.18 on Sunday. She had set the junior mark in the 50 back in 27.73, good for second place behind Mireia Pradell Carrasco’s winning time of 27.17 on Thursday. Costa de Vicente was third in the 200 back in 2:06.80 for a national junior record.
Spain’s stars generally showed out. Carlos Garach Benito won the men’s 400 free and 800 free. Africa Zamorano won the 200 back and was second to Costa de Vicente in the 100 back. She joined Emma Carrasco Cadens on CN Sant Andreu’s winning 800 free relay. Carrasco Cadens had a big meet, winning the 200 breast and all three IMs. She narrowly beat Laura Cabanes Garzas in the 200 and 400, in between setting a meet record of 1:00.11 in the 100 IM.
The men’s 50 free was won by Oscar Pascual Buldon, who went 21.58 to edge a field of five sub-22s that included Miguez Perez Godoy’s 21.89 and De Celis in 21.95. Perez Godoy set the meet record in the 200 free in 1:43.63, topping De Celis’ 1:44.05.
Jimena Ruiz Sanchez won the two shortest female breaststroke races, and Angela Martinez Guillen did the 800/1,500 free double.
Among the foreign notables at the meet was Canadian Kylie Masse, who went 26.24 to set the meet record in the 50 fly. Sarah Dumont of Belgium won the 400 free on Thursday, after Mariana Pacheco Cunha of Portugal had won the 200 fly. Dumont would go on to beat Pacheco Cunha in the 200 fly and was also third in the 400 IM. France’s Rafael Fente-Damers was second in the 100 back to Ivan Martinez Sota, who also won the 50 back.
Luca Hoek le Guendel set national junior records in the 100 free and 200 free, the former good for fourth in a race won by De Celis in 47.26.
Maria Daza Garcia won the women’s 100 free in a national junior record 53.40 after having set the 50 free national junior record in 24.79 to win.