The Argentine swimming team traveled to the United States in the last few hours to participate in the prestigious TYR Pro Swim Series, which will take place in the coming days in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The entourage is made up of seven athletes, of which four were born in the Province of Córdoba. Macarena Ceballos, Andrea Berrino and Florencia Perotti for the absolute group and Malena Santillán for the Transition to High Performance (TAR) group.
Berrino, specialist in back style, is a native of Río Tercero; Ceballos, stands out in chest style and is from Río Cuarto; Perotti, in medley, is from Corral de Bustos, and the youthful Santillán, from San Francisco.
“We highly value the fact that four of the five girls are from Cordoba. Although ‘Male’ only trains in Córdoba, Flor trains in Brazil and Maca and I in Buenos Aires, it is of special relevance where we are trained. In my case, I do value it a lot,” Berrino highlighted in a dialogue with PROFILE CÓRDOBA hours before boarding the plane that took them to the United States.
This competition, which will be held from February 27 to March 5, means a preparation for the Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile in October 2023, the Fukuoka World Cup in July and the TAR-ENARD Program for the national team.
Level test. 600 swimmers and swimmers participated in the TYR Pro Swim Series and the presence of the legend Katie Ledecky stands out. The North American constitution recently assisted in the renovated Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, which will once again have a competition of these characteristics after 21 years. The last time was in 2002, when Michael Phelps broke the men’s 400 freestyle world record. This aquatic center for the last three and a half years was closed, so its renovation cost 48 million dollars. This recovery generates that in the United States there is effervescence for this second date. The first was held in January in Knoxville.
Before traveling, the women from Cordoba gathered at the facilities of the National Center for High Performance Sports (Cenard) in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. The swimmers will acquire A marks in different distances and modalities in recent months, although their participation in the Pan American Games is not yet guaranteed.
“It is our first tournament of the year. We are not going with set-up. For us it is a preparation tournament for what is to come. The idea is to swim as best as possible and be able to put finals”, explained the Rio Tercerense.
There is equipment. The other three swimmers are Ulises Saravia and Matías Santiso, from Buenos Aires, and Agostina Hein from Santa Fe. All three are part of the TAR (Transition to High Performance) group. The entourage is completed with the coaching staff made up of the Head of Mission Julio Clement, the DT Gustavo Roldán, the Youth Coach Walter Rodríguez and the Youth Coach Sebastián.
FOCUSED. Berrino, gold in the last Odesur, seeks to have a year with satisfaction in his discipline.
THE MOMENT OF BERRINO
Andrea Berrino started the year with great expectations, with the idea of being able to qualify for the seventh time in a swimming world championship.
—At what point in your career are you?
-What question! Sportingly I am very good, this year comes with many competitions, and the most important is the World Cup and the Pan American Games. We are going to have many rallies, many tours, something that, in previous years, post-pandemic, we could not have. The idea is to take advantage of those competitions and try to be in that group that will have all those tours. I am very focused, eager to meet the objectives for this year.
FUTURE. There is a lot of expectation with the level of ‘Male’ who will turn 15 on March 6, after having competed in the United States.
THE PROMISE FROM CÓRDOBA
The youthful Malena Santillán trains at the Sport Automóvil Club, in the city of San Francisco, and in the United States she will compete in the 200-meter backstroke event. However, she is evaluating whether she will be able to do it in the 400m, 800m or 1,500m freestyle. The first event of the season that the woman from San Francisco will have in her search for a place in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. It should be noted that Malena won the gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke event at the Asunción 2022 South American Games.
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