Falcón Jr. set national record in 800 meters freestyle at Mare Nostrum Swimming

June 3, 2021

The Cuban Rodolfo Falcón Jr. set a national record on Wednesday in the 800 meters freestyle by swimming the distance in 8:16.24 minutes during the closing of the second phase in Canet, France, of the European Mare Nostrum Swimming Circuit.

With this significant performance, the native of the capital not only erased the previous record of 8:23.30 that he had held since 2019, but also secured the A standard required to qualify for the I Junior Pan American Games held in Cali, Colombia, from November 25 to December 5 next.

"We hadn't competed in a long time, but we've been training hard and our expectations were focused on breaking 8:20, so everything turned out quite well," the 19-year-old swimmer told JIT.

"I'm very happy, it's a high-level competition and the most important thing is to improve my times, as well as learn a lot from the great swimmers who participate every year in this circuit," said the son of Olympic silver medalist from Atlanta 1996 Rodolfo Falcón Cabrera.

Rodolfito, as they affectionately call him, made his debut on Tuesday in the 400 meters freestyle and lowered his personal best by achieving 4:03.38, not bad for it not being his specialty, but it is part of his preparation for the long-distance events, which have always been his favorites.

This Tuesday he travels to the venue of the third and final series of the Mare Nostrum, Barcelona, together with Luisa María Mojarrieta, his mother, a former swimmer and coach of the main figures of this sport in Cuba. The competition will take place in the Spanish city on the 5th and 6th of this month.

"I hope to be able to break 16 minutes in the 1,500 meters freestyle and make the A standard for the Pan American competition in Colombia. It's my main event, in which my best time is 16:00.40. In this and the 800, my commitments in the junior multi-sport games are centered."