2023-07-17 16:53:56
Fernando Díaz del Río (Murcia, 2003) signed a historic gold medal at the Fukuoka Swimming World Championships (Japan) in technical solo, a category that debuted on the competition program. This is the second gold metal in the history of artistic swimming – previously synchronized – Spanish, after the one achieved in the 2009 World Cup in Rome by the team of the now defunct combo modality, where the magical generation led by Gemma Mengual and Andrea Fuentes and With a young Ona Carbonell in her ranks, she was able to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the free combine.
Within the event that is held in Asian lands, it is the fourth medal after the silver for Emma García and Dennis González in mixed technical duet and the bronzes for Iris Tió in technical solo and Tió with Alisa Ozhogina in technical duet. The most desired was the latter, the one that this Gran Canaria by adoption, 20 years old, a psychology student, took around his neck, and who is burning steps at gigantic rates until he touches the sky in the Japanese pool. The scenario for the Spanish in this World Cup was dreamed of. A few weeks ago, an injury knocked out the great dominator of the discipline in recent years, the Italian Giorgio Minisini.
Little by little, artistic swimming, the new name given to synchronized swimming, is incorporating important advances such as the one experienced in 2015, when for the first time men were admitted to the modality of mixed duets sharing the scene with women. Later they also managed to be part of the combo tests. The gold medal rewards the commitment made to artistic swimming in Spain for many years and, above all, the firm leadership for the integration of men in a sport until a few years ago that was banned for boys to participate.
The athlete, a pioneer of the male solo at a universal level, has been dedicated to art for eight years, although only the last three exclusively, because at first he combined it with swimming. The canary began because the discipline merged his two passions: ballet and swimming; and his first steps were taken together with his sister. He settled in the CAR of Sant Cugat, began training from Monday to Saturday and between six and eight hours a day, and realized that this wanted to be his life, when Fernando gave his best, after feeling one and a thousand times supported by his family environment (his parents and his sister) and friendship.
«We have always seen conditions. He has an essential gift to be able to succeed in the pool, but, behind his successes, because he previously won two silver medals in the artistic swimming modality at the 2022 European Championships in Rome, or the sports merit medal from the Spanish Federation, there is a lot of work, perseverance and sacrifice. Fernando is where he deserves. He has earned it hard. Those of us who have seen him grow and evolve know well what he has done to be a great champion,” says Aurora Gil, the young man’s coach at the Las Palmas Swimming Club, his lifelong team and where he started in the water. .
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