González Shines At European Championships
BUDAPEST, Hungary – California men's swimming standout Hugo González won three medals – gold, silver and bronze – for Spain in an impressive individual performance at the 2021 LEN European Aquatics Championships, held at the Duna Arena complex on May 17-23.
González was one of three current and future Cal men to compete in the swimming portion of the two-week long European Championships in Budapest. Björn Seeliger, who just completed his freshman year in Berkeley, and 2021 signee Robin Hanson both competed for Sweden at the championship meet.
González captured his first medal of the meet on May 18, throwing down 24.47 seconds in the 50-meter backstroke finals to earn bronze and set a new Spanish record. Two days later, the rising Cal senior tripled his medal total with silver in the 100m back (personal-best 52.90) and gold in the 200m individual medley (1:56.76). His winning time in the 200 IM smashed his own Spanish record (1:58.03) by more than a second and moved him into fifth in the 2020-21 world rankings. González totaled 943 points at the meet, the 18th-most among all male swimmers.
Incoming freshman Robin Hanson earned a spot in the 200m freestyle finals, taking seventh overall in 1:47.34. He and Seeliger swam on Sweden's 4x100m free and 4x100m mixed free relays. Seeliger's top performance of the meet was an 11th-place finish in the 50m free (22.10).
50m Backstroke – May 17
3. Hugo González (24.47)
400m Freestyle – May 17
27. Robin Hanson (3:54.48)
4x100m Freestyle – May 17
9. Robin Hanson (48.93 split, first leg), Björn Seeliger (48.37 split, second leg) (Sweden – 3:15.83)
100m Freestyle – May 18
14. Björn Seeliger (48.99)
42. Robin Hanson (49.61)
200m Butterfly – May 18
26. Hugo González (1:59.64)
4x100m Mixed Medley – May 20
7. Hugo González (53.00 split, first leg) (Spain – 3:46.60)
100m Backstroke – May 20
2. Hugo González (52.90)
200m Individual Medley – May 20
1. Hugo González (1:56.76)
200m Freestyle – May 21
7. Robin Hanson (1:47.34)
200m Backstroke – May 21
15. Hugo González (1:59.10)
50m Freestyle – May 22
11. Björn Seeliger (22.10)
47. Robin Hanson (23.03)
100m Butterfly – May 22
35. Hugo González (52.87)
4x100 Mixed Freestyle – May 22
6. Robin Hanson (49.53 split, first leg) (Sweden – 3:27.30) (Björn Seeliger – 49.77 split, first leg in preliminaries)
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