Mireia Belmonte · Biography

Mireia Belmonte García made her major senior international debut at the European Short Course Championships in Debrecen in December 2007, where she took silver in the 400m individual medley in 4:31.06. Born on 10 November 1990 in Badalona, she is a versatile Spanish swimmer who raced the medley events, butterfly and distance freestyle. She won the Olympic 200m butterfly title at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Early years in Badalona and Sant Cugat

She took up swimming at the age of five at Club Natació Badalona, on medical advice. In 2003 she earned a scholarship to train at the High Performance Centre in Sant Cugat del Vallès under Jordi Murio, who coached her for around six years, including her spell at Club Natació L'Hospitalet. By 2006 she was winning at youth level, taking world junior titles in the 400m freestyle and 400m medley and European junior titles in the 200m freestyle and 400m medley.

Beijing 2008 and short course success

In 2008 she became European champion in the 200m medley in Eindhoven and went to her first Olympics in Beijing aged 17. She finished 14th in both the 400m and 200m medley, 24th in the 200m breaststroke and swam the 4x100m medley relay. That year she also won silver in the 200m medley and bronze in the 400m medley at the Short Course World Championships in Manchester, and in December she set a short course world record in the 400m medley with 4:25.06. In 2009 she left the High Performance Centre for Club Natació Sabadell, coached first by Michael Piper and then by Fred Vernoux. At the 2010 Short Course World Championships in Dubai she won three golds (200m butterfly, 200m medley and 400m medley) and a silver in the 800m freestyle.

London 2012

She won four titles at the 2011 European Short Course Championships in Szczecin, and in 2012 took gold in the 1500m freestyle at the European Championships in Debrecen. At the London Olympics that summer she claimed two silver medals, in the 200m butterfly in 2:05.25 and in the 800m freestyle in 8:18.76, both Spanish records. They were her first Olympic medals.

The records of 2013 and 2014

In 2013 she registered with UCAM Club Natación Fuensanta of Murcia while continuing to train in Sabadell. At the World Championships in Barcelona that summer she won bronze in the 200m medley and silver in both the 200m butterfly and 400m medley. In August, at the World Cup meet in Berlin, she lowered the short course world record in the 800m freestyle to 7:59.34 and, the following day, the 400m freestyle record to 3:54.52. In December 2013 she won four golds at the European Short Course Championships in Herning. In 2014 she became European 200m butterfly champion in Berlin, and at the Short Course World Championships in Doha she won four golds: the 400m and 800m freestyle, the 200m butterfly and the 400m medley. On 3 December she set the short course world record in the 200m butterfly at 1:59.61.

Rio 2016 and Budapest 2017

At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics she became Olympic champion in the 200m butterfly in 2:04.85. At the same Games she took bronze in the 400m medley (4:32.39) and finished fourth in the 800m freestyle final (8:18.55). A year later, at the World Championships in Budapest, she won gold in the 200m butterfly (2:05.26), silver in the 400m medley (4:32.17) and silver in the 1500m freestyle in 15:50.89, a Spanish record. In August 2017, in Eindhoven, she broke the short course world record in the 400m medley with 4:18.94.

Tokyo 2020

In December 2020 she secured qualifying times in the 800m and 1500m freestyle in Castellón for the Tokyo Olympics, postponed to 2021. In May 2021 she was named Spain's flag bearer alongside canoeist Saúl Craviotto. At her fourth Olympics she finished fourth in the 400m medley final in 4:35.88, placed 15th in the 1500m freestyle heats and also swam the 800m freestyle and the 4x100m medley relay. At the European Championships in Rome in August 2022 she was tenth in the 400m medley heats, first reserve for the final. She did not achieve the qualifying standard for the Paris Olympics in 2024.