Roberta Perillier analyzes the year of achievements for the red-black artistic swimming team
The coach of Mais Querido highlighted the importance of having the largest number of athletes in the Brazilian National Team
By Romulo Paranhos - inFlamengo's artistic swimming team has countless reasons to celebrate 2018, both in terms of individual and team performances across all categories. Flamengo was a star in every competition, at the regional, national, and even international levels, with numerous athletes called up to represent Brazil worldwide. The truth is that the "Mais Querido" (the most beloved team) performed well in every pool they entered, winning numerous medals for the Gávea club.
At the regional level, Flamengo's dominance remains strong with the state championship title, where the "Mais Querido" (Most Beloved) won 34 medals, reaching the podium in every event. In the Brazilian Championship, held in early December, Flamengo's Junior and Senior teams also secured first place, as well as second place in the Children's and Youth categories.
At the South American Artistic Swimming Championships, the year's most important international competition held in Peru, 13 red-and-black athletes contributed to the Brazilian team's overall victory. The duo of Giovana Stephan and Renan Alcântara won gold in the Mixed Duet event. Maria Clara Lobo, also from Mais Querido, took silver in the Free Routine. The Brazilian team of Maria Clara Lobo, Laura Micucci, Lorena Molinos, Maria Eduarda Micucci, Giovana Stephan, and Jullia Catharino secured Brazil's second gold medal.
Roberta Perillier, coach of Flamengo and the National Team, commented on the results achieved during this year's season.
"I consider 2018 to be an excellent year for artistic swimming. We achieved very significant results, winning the Brazilian title in the Junior and Senior categories, as well as finishing second in the youth categories. Today, we have a large and complete team across all categories, and this is fantastic because it demonstrates that the work is being done well, with Flamengo's swimming team growing steadily," said Beta, who also commented on the importance of having athletes selected to represent Brazil in international competitions.
"The Brazilian National Team is always a goal to be achieved, and we, the coaching staff, want our athletes to participate. That's why we've laid out this path for them from the beginning and demonstrated that it's a goal everyone can achieve. We've managed to field at least one representative in each category of the National Team. Next year, we'll have two athletes on the Youth team, five in the Junior category, and eight in the Senior team, in addition to Renan Alcântara, who will also be a member. I'm very pleased, and we'll continue working hard to increase our representation in the Brazilian squad because we believe the National Team is the easiest way to achieve international exchanges, and, furthermore, competitions are essential for the athletes, whether nationally or internationally," concluded Roberta.
The red-and-black teams have been on break since December 18th and will return to training on January 21st (Junior and Senior) and January 28th (Child and Youth). The athletes who will be part of the Brazilian National Team will return earlier, on January 7th.
The artistic swimming teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo rely on resources from their sponsors – Banco Bonsucesso, Furnas, Estácio, LafargeHolcim/Cimento Mauá, EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR), in addition to support from the Brazilian Confederation of Clubs (CBC) resulting from the decentralization of resources originating from the Pelé Law.