2023-08-06 18:13:00
Arbidel González (Soto del Barco, 2002) answers the call of LA NUEVA ESPAÑA on his last day of stay in Fukuoka, Japan, venue of the World Swimming Championships. Santa Olaya swimmer between 2019 and 2022 and current member of the Barcelona Swimming Club, the name of Arbidel González, despite not reaching the final of the 200-meter butterfly, grabbed headlines. The fault lies with a mark: 1:54.9, the new national record for his test.
Did you expect to break the record?
It was the goal. I had planned to go below 1:56 (the previous record, held by Carlos Peralta, was 1:56.42), but I didn’t expect to have such a good time. I felt a bit in “shock” when I did it, I didn’t know how to react. I wanted to swim fast to get into the semis, but I saw the time I did and said: “I swam too fast” (laughs).
What was the key to your success?
–Sport is perseverance and confidence in your coach, in the plan. I trust my coach a lot, in what he tells me and in the advice he gives me. Beating this mark is the prize for the perseverance of many years of work.
What strategy did you follow in the race?
–I usually swim negative, which consists of not going out so hard and then gradually pushing harder: the first 65 meters more controlled, the next 50 gradually increasing the pace and the last 75 going to death.
Is it a recurring tactic?
–Michael Phelps, I seem to remember, followed a similar strategy. It depends a lot on each swimmer and how you are physically. In my case, if I go fast then I can’t reach that much speed. My main strength is that I have a lot of stamina, I can maintain a high pace for a long time, but I can’t get out as fast as other people.
–However, they failed to qualify for the final.
–I think that I did not manage to reach the level of adrenaline of the morning (the semifinals were hours after González broke the record). If I get a good time, it’s difficult to control my state of mind, because I feel happy and that, although it sounds strange, tires you more and you have to calm down because the adrenaline tires you. I think that had an influence.
What is your training routine like?
–Depending on the day, sometimes I do a session or two in the pool and then I go to the gym. In total, I do nine water sessions a week and three or four in the gym. I train every day except Sundays. The pool sessions last two hours, and the gym one and a half hours. Before and after competing, the workouts are smoother.
How did swimming come into your life?
–I started swimming in courses my parents enrolled me in, when I was little. They instilled it in me, they were always very sporty. Also, my grandparents always really liked swimming.
–The moment you realized you could go far?
–Well, I have been in the national team since 2017. Since then I go to international competitions every year, but this has been the most important so far.
–You have important challenges next year, such as the World Cup in Doha and the Olympic Games in Paris.
–To go to the Games, I already have the minimum mark to qualify, I have to repeat it again in Doha, but I don’t think there will be a problem; Then it depends on the CSD, the COE and the Federation, which are the ones that choose you. I think I’ll be at the Games. It is the childhood dream of any athlete.
–He left Asturias to make his way.
–I started swimming at the Corvera swimming school. Then I spent four years at the El Cristo modernization center in Oviedo, in 2020 I went to Barcelona and now I have been in Madrid for two years, in a residence. Going to Barcelona was quite a big leap, I considered that Oviedo was too small for me because I was the one who was pulling the group and I needed other people to pull me. In Barcelona, I also had the option of working with Mireia Belmonte.
What do you remember of your time with her?
We always get along very well, we still keep in touch. She was one more companion, we made a very good group with everyone. Watching her train was amazing… she’s an Olympic champion!
–His life beyond sport.
–I am going to start the fourth year of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences. Distance study. When I finish my degree, I think I’ll start Physiotherapy.
-Future plans.
–I’m doing great in Madrid, I’ll stay at least until the Games and, depending on how it turns out and the plans of my coach and the Federation, I’ll see if I’m still here.
Arbidel González (Soto del Barco, 2002) answers the call of LA NUEVA ESPAÑA on his last day of stay in Fukuoka, Japan, venue of the World Swimming Championships. Santa Olaya swimmer between 2019 and 2022 and current member of the Barcelona Swimming Club, the name of Arbidel González, despite not reaching the final of the 200-meter butterfly, grabbed headlines. The fault lies with a mark: 1:54.9, the new national record for his test.
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