The elite of Spanish artistic swimming met at the Parquesol Municipal Pool in Valladolid from June 27 to 29 to compete in the prestigious Spanish Children's-Absolute Championship, and the Pingüinos de Lanzarote Sports Club left an indelible mark, achieving extraordinary results in the Children's category and standing out for its innovative male participation.
The championship, which brought together 21 clubs from eight federations (four of them from the Canary Islands) and a total of 225 athletes in the children's category, was the scene of three intense days where grace, strength and synchronization were the protagonists.
The ten promising children's athletes from Club Pingüinos, Daniela Brito Espino (2010), Dolores de León Delgado (2010), Victoria Romero Martín (2010), Eduardo Curbelo Plata (2010), Miguel Martínez Morales (2011), Sofía Méndez López-Socas (2011), Nora Díaz Molina (2012), Lucía Martín Barreiro (2012), Noa Nieto Marrero (2012) and Lucio José Bethencourt Romero (2012), competed in all the modalities of their category: figures (225), free duet (36), free mixed duet (10), free team (20) and combined routine (20) under the watchful eye of their coach Alessandra Mauri.
One of the most significant milestones for the club was "the notable male participation, which emphasizes the club's commitment to inclusion and diversity in artistic swimming." Club Pingüinos not only presented two mixed duets, but also prides itself on being the only team in all of Spain to have "three male swimmers in its combined routine, setting a precedent in the competition."
The results obtained by the Penguins in Valladolid are a testament to their quality and effort:
- Historical Male Dominance with Double Podium: Gold and Silver in Male Figures! The club demonstrated a clear superiority in the male children's category with Miguel Martínez Morales (2011), who took the GOLD, proclaiming himself Champion of Spain, and Eduardo Curbelo Plata (2010), who won the SILVER. A historic double that fills us with pride!
- Silver Medal in Mixed Duet: Excellence extended to the mixed duet routine, where the pair formed by Victoria Romero Martín (2010) and Miguel Martínez Morales (2011) won a SILVER medal. In addition, the mixed duet of Sofía Méndez López-Socas and Eduardo Curbelo Plata also shone with a well-deserved seventh place.
- 11th in Combined Routine: A Giant Effort! Our 10 children, with some more veteran and others making their debut in the category, joined in a collective effort to swim the combined routine. It was a titanic effort, achieving a remarkable 11th place!
- THIRD OF SPAIN by Clubs: The icing on the cake: THIRD PLACE in the general classification by clubs in the Children's category! This is something HUGE for a small club like ours. We have shown that with passion, hard work and teamwork you can be ahead of clubs with many more resources and high-performance facilities!
A shared success and a season that continues
The president of the Club, Isabel Martín, points out that "During three intense and hot days, we saw pure art, strength and heart-stopping synchronization", she is proud to have been part of the "green stand", together with other managers and family members, who provided unconditional support that boosted our young athletes, making each stroke worth twice as much.
This extraordinary success is the result of everyone's effort and dedication. "It has been possible thanks to the tireless commitment of each of the athletes, the constant and expert work of the technical team led by Sylvia Hernández, with Alessandra Mauri and Ylenia Felipe at the foot of the pool, as well as the collaborations of Arantxa Quesada and the sisters Nayara and Hiurma Peña, whose guidance has been crucial to achieving these goals."
Special thanks to the hosts of the CNS Fabio Nelli for offering their facilities to host this event.
And our most sincere thanks to the public institutions and all our sponsors, whose support is essential for sports projects like ours to continue and achieve these ambitious goals. These successes are the result of the joint effort of the families, the Club, the RCNA and the institutional support of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, EPEL-CACT, Arrecife City Council, Government of the Canary Islands, Teguise City Council, Lanzarote Foreign Promotion Society and collaborating companies. "Thank you for supporting us!"
With the pride of this achievement, the children's category is already enjoying their well-deserved vacations. But the season does not end here for Club Pingüinos. We wish the "penguins" of the Alevín category the best of luck as they travel to Barcelona this Thursday! They will participate in the Spanish Alevín Promotion Second Division Summer Championship, which will be held from July 4 to 6.
And to close a dream season, our first Alevín team and the Junior category are preparing for the final event: the Spanish Alevín and Junior Summer Championship, which will take place at the CN Metropole (Las Palmas) from July 10 to 13, 2025. We are sure that they will continue to give it their all!
This Spanish Championship not only consolidated the position of Club Deportivo Pingüinos as a benchmark in national artistic swimming, but also highlighted the immense potential and commitment of its young athletes.