With the other modalities already dry, except water polo, whose two finals will be held on the 16th and 17th, the “classic” swimming at the Doha World Cup begins, and will continue until the 18th.. Whatever happens with the magnificent Spanish water polo teams, both are already qualified for the Olympic Games, the summit event of the year, the primary objective.

The first part of the competition brought Spain six medals, although none of gold, the metal that establishes true hierarchies.. María Valdés won the silver (10 kms. in open water), the artistic swimming team in the technical routine, Dennis González (free solo) and, on the last day, González again, together with Mireia Hernández, in the mixed free duet.

Nicolás García Boissier and Adrián Abadía (synchronized jumps on the three-meter springboard) and Iris Tió and Alisa Ozhagina (technical team routine in the artistic) won the bronze.. By the way, they qualified for the Games, one of the specific goals of this Championship, a true, pre-Olympic obsessive, Ángela Martínez, thirteenth in the 10 km. in open water, the entire team synchronized in the sum of the technical, acrobatic and free routines, and, again, Tió and Ozhogina being fourth in the free exercise of the artistic. For her part, María Papworth, semi-finalist in the three-meter springboard, is virtually in Paris, although she must confirm her passport with, in May, a final “test” in the Spanish Cup.

Now comes the quadruple reign of freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke with modest expectations for our swimming, more concerned with those Parisian classifications than with increasing the medal table. Hugo González already has a ticket in the 200 backstroke and the 200 styles. He will try to earn another place in the 100 backstroke.

The… Hugo's back, a regular finalist or semi-finalist in major events, currently supports the light weight of Spanish swimming. Apart from him, those closest to Paris are Arbidel González (200 butterfly) and Carlos Garach in 800 and, above all, 1,500. Idle, from now on, specify “free”. These distances do not exist in the other styles.

Mireia Belmonte, older (33 years old), but, above all, battered and suffering, will have one last opportunity to see the Eiffel Tower at the Spanish Open, in June. Like Nadal, he has more than earned the right to continue trusting her. But, as in the case of Rafa, it is becoming more and more difficult. Spanish women's swimming now relies on those who come to Doha with their sights set more on Paris than elsewhere and on something else: Carmen Weiler (100 backstroke) and África Zamorano (200 backstroke). Emma Carrasco, 18 years old on December 31, our greatest promise, junior world champion in 2022 in the 200 breaststroke and bronze in the 200 medley, has been showing a slight jump in age.

Spanish swimming is largely a group scenario. Five relay teams will take to the pool with Paris in mind: the men's 4×100 freestyle, 4×200 freestyle and 4×100 medley; the feminine of 4×100 styles and the mixed of, also, 4×100 styles.

In a calendar saturated by, still, the consequences of the pandemic; with Championships shoehorned or hammered into the programming; With even a European Championship in Belgrade in June, the proximity of the Olympic Games has dissuaded quite a few stars from going to Doha.

To Katie Ledecky, for example, who, on the other hand, has been having some troubles lately. Ariarne Titmus, Summer McIntosh and, again, Titmus snatched the 400 freestyle world record in 2022 and 2023. And on Friday, McIntosh, the prodigious Canadian teenager (17 years old), defeated her in the 800. Ledecky had not bit the dust (chlorine) in that event since 2010.

In Doha, among other stars, David Popovici, Caeleb Dressel, Léon Marchand, Titmus and McIntosh themselves, Kayle McKewon, Haiyang Qin… but there will be no shortage of others of maximum brilliance. Michael Andrew, Hunter Armstrong, Nick Fink and Kate Douglass (United States), Cameron McEvoy (Australia), Bingjie Li (China). Tom Dean, Adam Peaty and Ben Proud (Great Britain), Florian Wellbrock (Germany, Daiya Seto (Japan), Ruta Meilutyte (Lithuania), Sara Sjöström (Sweden), Gregorio Paltrinieri, Benedetta Pilato, Simona Quadarella (Italy)… A Championship of this caliber is never naked or orphan of great attractions.

Doha starts and ends in Doha. And also where Doha ends, Paris begins.