Melani Costa

Made it this morning to the most difficult part, getting into the final of the 400 free with the eighth best time in a race where she didn't swim for the best position. In the last heat, with American Katie Ledecky starting to pull away from the first meter, and in lane 1, without references, because the leading positions were occupied by swimmers on the other side, the Balearic managed to scrape off tenths in the last part of the race and sneak into the final this afternoon (4:07.58).

"I already have the final. Now I want to relax, rest, and see what strategy I come up with this afternoon. I have to review the times with my coach," Melani highlighted. The room for improvement is extensive. The swimmer arrived at this World Championships with a personal best time of 4:06.92, far from her Spanish record obtained at the past World Championships in Barcelona, where she won silver (4:02.92). "I felt good, but I focused on my race, I also didn't pay attention to the fact that the race was on the other side," she added. "It's been two years since I last competed at this level," she said, considering that in 2014 she suffered a knee injury that she is still treating.

Costa achieves the first final for the Spanish delegation

which hopes to increase the number in the remaining days of competition. The swimmer trained by Bart Kizierowski has more events in her program: 200 free, 200 backstroke, and 800 free. Although it's the 400 that has the most chances of finishing on top.