MADRID, 17 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish swimmers Nuria Marqués and Toni Ponce have been proclaimed this Friday Paralympic swimming world champions on the sixth day of the event that is being held in Madeira (Portugal) thanks to their victories that allow Spain to total 23 medals in the event.
Nuria Marqués and Toni Ponce took the gold on the sixth day of the World Cup with great authority, but the feat did not stop there for the national delegation as they also achieved two other silvers, one from Toni Ponce himself and another from the 4×100 free relay.
The Madeira Aquatic Complex returned to Marqués what the Tokyo Games deprived him of, the most precious metal in the 100 back S9 test. In a very even race, Jaume Marcé’s pupil dueled with the North American Hannah Aspden, whom she surpassed by seven tenths to seize the world title. In this same test, the rookie Beatriz Lérida achieved fifth place.
For his part, Toni Ponce achieved a spectacular double, with a gold and a silver, which places him as the most decorated Spaniard in this World Championship, with a total of 5 medals. The swimmer from the Spanish Federation of Sports for People with Physical Disabilities (FEDDF) was proclaimed world champion in the 100 breaststroke S5, in a test where he exerted undeniable dominance, even breaking the championship record (1: 26.89).
Already in the evening session he jumped into the pool again to give new joy to the Spanish parish. Ponce won silver in the 200 free S5, only surpassed by the Italian Bocciardo. In the absence of one more test, the balance of the Barcelonan could not be more positive, with two golds, two silvers and one bronze. In this same test, Luis Huerta was one step away from the podium -fourth- while Sebastián Rodríguez ‘Chano’ finished in seventh position.
The chapter of medals was culminated with the runner-up achieved by the 4×100 free relay for swimmers with visual disabilities. Thus, José Ramón Cantero, María Delgado, Iván Salguero and Marian Polo took the silver and were only surpassed by Brazil. It is the fourth Spanish relay that has risen to the drawer in this World Cup.
In addition, Carlos Martínez was close to bronze in the 200 S8 medley test, just two seconds off the podium, while the 400 free S13 tests resulted in a fifth place for María Delgado, in the female category, and a fifth and sixth , respectively, for Iván Salguero and Juan Ferrón, in the men’s category.
The Andalusian Miguel Ángel Martínez Tajuelo also took part in the finals of this penultimate day, who finished in fifth position in the 200 free S3, the same place as David Levecq in the 100 free S10.