Mireia Belmonte

Mireia Belmonte Garcia, born on 10 November 1990, is a Spanish swimmer who has won Olympic, world and European titles. She grew up in the La Salut quarter of Badalona in Catalonia, began swimming at the age of five on her doctor's advice, and trained through the Catalan federation and the high performance centre at Sant Cugat del Valles. She debuted at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at seventeen, won two silver medals at London in 2012 (the 200 metre butterfly and the 800 metre freestyle), and became Spain's first female Olympic champion in swimming by winning the 200 metre butterfly at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, where she also took bronze in the 400 metre individual medley. She has held short course world records in the 200 metre butterfly, 400 metre individual medley and the 400, 800 and 1500 metre freestyle events, and is widely regarded as the greatest Spanish swimmer of all time.