Immediately following the meet against Big Ten competitors Ohio State, Indiana, and Penn State, Carles Coll Marti, Antani Ivanov, and Luis Dominguez traveled to Kazan, Russia to compete in the 2021 European Championships. Coll Marti and Dominguez swam for Spain and Ivanov swam for Bulgaria.
"Most importantly, I'm very impressed with what those three guys did," said Head Coach Sergio Lopez Miro. The swimmers had a quick turnaround from the meet against Big Ten schools Ohio State, Indiana, and Penn State, flying to Kazan immediately following the meet. "So, for them to swim at that level, it's very impressive. It gives us a good direction of where the team is going with our training. Hopefully, it gives confidence to everybody that all the hard work we are doing is going to pay off," continued Lopez Miro.
Antani Ivanov swam three events, the 100 fly, 200 fly, and 50 fly. In the 100 fly, he broke the national record, twice. He earned his spot in the finals by swimming a time of 50.20. He had a very strong performance in the 200 fly. He placed fourth in the finals with a time of 1:51.93, and was just shy of the national record. In the semi-final of the 50 fly, he swam a time of 23.16.
Carles Coll Marti had a very busy schedule in Kazan. He swam six individual events, the 50 free, 100 breast, 200 breast, 50 breast, 100 IM, and 200 IM, as well as some relays. He swam best times in every event. In the 50 freestyle, during the semi-finals he swam the second fastest time in the history of Spain with a time of 21.46. In the 200 IM, he swam the second fastest time ever, placing sixth with a time of 1:54.32. In the 200 breast, he now holds the third fastest time with 2:06.17, which he earned in the semi-finals. In the 100 IM, he swam the second fastest by a tenth of a second. He earned sixth place in the finals with a time of 52.50.
"He did really, really well. The people who hold the National records are from the fast suit era," said Lopez Miro. The suits were eventually banned from competition. "So, for him to swim the second fastest time in history is huge," explained Lopez Miro.
Luis Dominguez swam in five individual events, the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, and the 200 IM. He swam best times in all five. In the preliminary round for the 50 free he swam a 22.55. In the 100 free he finished with a time of 48.87. In the 200 free, he reached the semi-finals with a time of 1:46.16. In the 400 free, he swam a time of 3:47.63. Lastly, in the 200 IM he qualified for the semi-finals and swam a time of 2:00.18.
The Hokies are traveling back to Columbus for the Ohio State Invite on November 18th.