Ona Carbonell retires after more than 20 years in the elite and two Olympic medals
The Spanish swimmer Ona Carbonell, until now captain of the national synchronized swimming team, announced Friday that she is retiring after more than 20 years in the elite and after participating in three Olympic Games, in which she has won a silver and a bronze, in addition to 34 other medals between World and European Championships.
Games, World and European medals
The Barcelona swimmer has been able to celebrate medals in Games, World and European Championships in many artistic disciplines, since she won her first medal at the World Championships in Melbourne (Australia) in 2007. A bronze in technical team that opened the successful path of the Catalan, who now leaves the professional practice of synchronized with 32 years and after pausing his career to be a mother.
The woman with the most medals in the history of the World Swimming Championships
Carbonell can boast of being the woman with the most medals in the history of the World Swimming Championships and one of the most successful Spanish athletes. Her 23 medals in World Championships, the last three of them in South Korea 2019, place her at the top of synchronized swimming, now artistic, but also at the top of all swimming modalities.
Third place in the ranking of absolute world medalists
The Spaniard surpasses the historic Natalia Ischenko, with 21 medals between 2005 and 2015, and also left behind the ‘siren’ who made synchro explode in Spain; Gemma Mengual — she achieved 20 medals in World Championships –. In addition, he remains in third place in the ranking of absolute world medalists, behind Ryan Lochte (27) and Michael Phelps (33).
In 2012 came his big moment
Until now captain of the Spanish national team, she settled in the national team only two years after her debut, beginning to collect the 23 world and 12 continental medals that her record shows, in addition to the two Olympic medals. In 2012 came her great moment, when she competed in her first Games, when she won silver in a spectacular duet with Andrea Fuentes, now coach of the United States and then leader of the Spanish team, after taking over from Mengual and giving it, shortly after, to Carbonell herself.
In Tokyo he began his farewell
In addition, in that London event Carbonell also won a bronze, in the team routine, in what was one of the best moments of his career. In total, he enjoyed three Olympic experiences, since he was also in Rio 2016, where he competed without a medal (and with controversy over the scores) along with the historic Gemma Mengual, and Tokyo 2020, where he began, without knowing it, to say goodbye.
His farewell leaves a great void
His farewell leaves a big void in Spanish artistic swimming, as for the moment there is no key replacement in the water for Carbonell. So far, the sweet and fast transitions between Mengual, Fuentes and Carbonell seem to have no clear continuity, although the team, with their help, was giving way to a new generation that, without the pressure of having to win, is confident of returning soon to the medals. Mother of two children, Ona Carbonell is an example of effort and self-improvement, standard bearer of an exceptional generation that marveled in the most important pools around the world.
