Hugo González is golden. The swimmer born in Palma de Mallorca 25 years ago this coming Monday has once again put Spain on top of the podium in a Swimming World Cup after a seven-year drought of glory, since Mireia Belmonte in Budapest 2017. González was crowned champion of the world in the 200 backstroke in Doha, just three days after taking a silver bath in the 100 backstroke.
Hugo, from Real Canoe, is the fourth Spaniard to become world champion after Mireia Belmonte, Nina Zhivanevskaya and Martín López-Zubero. He is the first male champion since Zubero 30 years later.
Hugo González promised a medal in the 200 backstroke event after qualifying yesterday Thursday with the second best mark in the semifinals. By lane 5, his reaction time did not bode well: he was the third worst of the 8 finalists. But it didn’t matter, Hugo is a diesel that warms up and crashes on the last pitch.
Thus, in the first 50 he was only 6th, 0s47 behind the Swiss Roman Mityukov, his great rival. From the first turn, his progression was exponential, simply sensational. He came in second position in the 100, just 0s20, with a mark of 29.02, still behind the Swiss. In the 150 he was third, provisionally surpassed by the American Jack Aikins, but he did not flinch, because the best was about to come, the explosion of him. And in the last 50m he broke the rivals with a brutal 28.98 that gave him the gold, with a brutal last 15 meters in which he took the lead. His 1m55s30 gave him the gold, ahead of Mityukov and the South African Pieter Coetze.
“I know there are people who are not here, some of the best swimmers in the world, but we have to keep working for when they are,” González admitted. “I knew I was fighting for high positions, but I didn’t know I was fighting for gold, I knew I was one of the best. Anyone in the final could win it, it was about seeing who had the best afternoon. Very grateful that it was my turn me this time, and I have also achieved my best time ever by a second, unbeatable,” commented the Balearic swimmer, who has become a Spanish legend in the distance he always dominated, the 200 backstroke, even though he could not climb to the podium in his first dream major championship, the 2021 European Championship in Budapest.
Hugo was introduced to the world of international swimming in 2017 with four medals at the Junior World Championships, three gold in the 100 m backstroke, 200 m backstroke and 400 m medley, and one silver in the 50 m backstroke. He participated in the 2016 Rio Games (16th in the 200m backstroke and 20th in the 100m backstroke), and in the 2021 Tokyo Games (6th in the 100m backstroke and 11th in the 200m medley).
His best international performance came at the 2021 European Championships in Budapest with three medals (gold in the 200 m medley, silver in the 100 backstroke and bronze in the 50 backstroke). She did not participate in the previous European Championship in Rome 2022.
Hugo González becomes the fourth Spanish swimmer to be world champion. The first was Martín López-Zubero in Perth 1991 also in the 200 back (he would later repeat in Rome 1994 in the 100 back). We had to wait nine years for the second, Nina Zhivanevskaya in Barcelona 2003, in the 50 backstroke. And the previous Spaniard was Mireia Belmonte in Budapest 2017 in the 200 butterfly.
Hugo González, 25 years old (he turns on Monday, February 19), born in Palma, to a Spanish father and a Brazilian mother, has been training in the United States since 2018, advised by former swimmer Sergi López. Under the orders of David Durden at the University of California, Berkeley – where he studied a degree in Computer Engineering – the Mallorcan has been progressing with an exhaustive training program in which he sets monthly objectives.
In 2022, after the European Championship in Rome, which he did not attend, González declined the offer from the Royal Spanish Swimming Federation to move to the CAR in Sant Cugat del Vallès to train with the Spanish team with Ben Titley. González preferred to continue in the US, because the American method offered him more guarantees of success.
The Spanish 4×200 freestyle relay had invited us to dream of an almost impossible medal, in a team event in inline swimming, by moving to the final with the third best time, ahead of the United States and with a record held by Spain.
But when push came to shove, the Spanish quartet broke down. César Castro started with first place in the first 50, but with each pool he fell behind until fourth place. The second reliever, Luis Domínguez, finished 6th in the 250 and 300m, but dropped to 7th in his last two pools. In the third post, Sergio de Celis momentarily regained 6th place, but dropped to 8th in his last pool. Mario Mollà, closing the relay, could not improve it and Spain was 8th and last.
