The Barcelona of our desires
Barcelona has not likely modified a lot within the final 46 years, it has remained the classiest metropolis within the Mediterranean (and thus the globe). Okay, once I visited the Catalan capital for the primary time as a college scholar in 1978, the inhabitants was nonetheless comparatively homogeneous, though even then I purchased a faux leather-based bag for my mom from a Cameroonian peddler (which solely turned out to be synthetic leather-based at dwelling), however really the cosmopolitan character isn’t a lot it worsened the general image, even the intrusive begging of the Romanian beggars slot in with a little bit benevolence.
As a result of what can be objectionable in a metropolis that, with little exaggeration Antoni Gaudí constructed as we all know it immediately, through which it’s Picasso– and Miró-museum, and whose soccer group has kicked and continues to kick the ball like László Kubala, Sándor Kocsis, Zoltán Czibor, Bernd Schuster, Michael Laudrup, Hriszto Stoicskov, Romario, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta or these days Cubarsí, Yamal, Pedri?
The exploits of Krisztina Egerszegi
And let’s not neglect that Barcelona is the town the place Krisztina Egerszeg wrote one among (if not the) most stunning chapters in Hungarian Olympic historical past 32 years in the past, when he received three gold medals within the Bernat Picornell swimming pool up there on Montjuic, within the 100 and 200 backstroke, in addition to the 400 meter medley.
The climate is ideal now, even within the final days of Might, the Mediterranean Sea isn’t but heat, however you possibly can simply swim in it (vacationers bathe too, locals do not even by likelihood), at half previous eleven within the night in your road for six.60 euros, if you end up hungry, you get two wonderful heat sandwiches with premium cheese (queso curado) and improbable sausages from the Chinese language (!) innkeeper, plus a glass of Estrella Damm beer, the place 0.99 cents is a kilo of lemons or oranges on the nook greengrocer (be happy to transform to forints), and the place 4 for one euro within the morning, you get six croissants within the nearest espresso store, whose crunch might be heard as much as the fourth ground the place you reside.
It is one other query whether or not a line ticket prices 2.55 on the bus or the metro, however the bus is model new, snug and naturally air-conditioned, which you would not even think about at dwelling on BKK flights.
The victorious return of Kristóf Milák
Properly, that is Barcelona, the place the second swimming competitors of the Mare Nostrum collection is being held at Membership Natació Sant Andreu, as the principle rehearsal for the upcoming European Championships in Belgrade.
On Wednesday morning, he returned to the worldwide area with ultimate swims Kristóf Milák, who, on the primary day of Mare Nostrum’s cease in Barcelona, secured his place within the afternoon ultimate in each occasions, the 50 breaststroke and the 100 butterfly. Our Olympic champion, who has solely competed right here because the 2022 European Championships in Rome, achieved the sixth finest time within the former and the 2nd finest time within the latter. And together with his efficiency, he additionally commented individually to his personal coach, on the spot, to Index Balázs Virth additionally inspired him to say phrases of appreciation.
Along with Milák (22.44), the quick monitor European champion Szebasztián Szabó (22.52) additionally made it to the ultimate of the 50 m quick. The previous was in a position to tempo himself heading in the right direction seven and the latter heading in the right direction eight within the ultimate beginning a little bit after 6 p.m. Florent Manaudou got here with the most effective time (22.14).
The London champion of the monitor was additionally invincible within the ultimate, crossing the end line with a time of 21.89. However, there was an enormous battle for the rostrum, the Italians Alessandro Miressi, a holland Kenzo Simons, in addition to between Milák. Ultimately, the Hungarian silver medalist from Tokyo took the shortest time, whereas Miressi and Simons achieved the identical time for the century, in order that they tied for second place, with 22.25 – lacking a single century – Kristóf Milák slipped off the rostrum.
It’s memorable that in April, the competitor of the Honvéd received the ultimate of the 50 breaststroke on the ob with a brand new private report – not by the way Olympic degree – with a time of 21.89, forward of Nándor Németh (22.19). Szabó was fourth within the Hungarian championship with 22.33.
Szabó now repeated the 50 meters he swam within the Duna Area for the century, ending tied for sixth place with a time of twenty-two.33.
Simply 25 minutes later, the principle attraction of the day – from Milák’s viewpoint – started, the ultimate of the 100-meter butterfly. If the 50 was the principle take a look at, the efficiency was excellent: he instantly received a gold medal in his comeback race.
After the primary fifty of our class with a time of 24.10 (when he was solely second behind the Italian backstroke specialist Thomas Ceccon), after a second size of 26.85, he confirmed a swimming time of fifty.95, 4 hundredths higher than the time he swam within the ob finals in April, with confidence, by greater than a second defeating Nyls Korstanje (51.97), who took the second place on the rostrum, and Terakado Genki (52.03), who took third place.
Milák’s different king occasion, the 200-meter butterfly, will likely be included in Thursday’s program.
Principal take a look at in Monaco after which in Belgrade
One other a part of the chronicle of the afternoon is that within the 400 meter medley, the place the extent is 4:12.5, Gábor Zombori was third with 4:17.44, and 36-year-old Dávid Verrasztó was fourth with 4:17.90. And within the 100 again, Ádám Jászó completed in fifth place with 54.86 seconds.
We watched the hero of the 2022 World Cup in Budapest, the nonetheless solely 19-year-old Romanian prodigy, David Popovich, who received the 200 breaststroke with a fantastically relaxed swim with a Mare Nostrum report of 1:44.71 minutes. It seems to be very very like the college scholar from Bucharest is again to his previous self after his stoppage final 12 months.
Then Balázs Virth arrived, who evaluated Kristóf Milák’s efficiency on Wednesday.
I’m glad together with his time within the 100 butterfly, he minimize 4 hundredths off his 50.99 on the nationwide championships. However one way or the other I nonetheless had the sensation that he swam the hundred at a tempo of 200, that actual explosiveness was nonetheless lacking from him. However I can solely repeat myself: I am really within the 200 butterfly, and that will likely be on Thursday, in addition to the 100 quick. By the way in which, from right here, Barcelona, we journey to Monaco, the final cease of the Mare Nostrum, which would be the ultimate rehearsal earlier than the European Championships in Belgrade. There, Kristóf swims the 200 breaststroke along with the 100 and 200 butterfly. And talking of Belgrade: within the Serbian capital, I will likely be curious to see how he’ll be capable of swim the 200 butterfly thrice in a row, as a result of he has not performed such a factor in two years. And that requires stamina!
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