Agostina Hein swam like never before in 15 years, qualified for another World Cup final and left a strong message: “A weight has been lifted from my shoulders”

The Doha Swimming World Cup will be unforgettable for Agostina Hein. At his 15 yearsthe Argentine swimmer achieved the best time of her life this Friday in the 800 meters freestyle and he will repeat his presence in a senior final, just as he did a few days ago in the 400 meters. They 8 minutes, 29 seconds and 44 hundredths They represented fifth place in the standings and were just 20 hundredths away from the Paris 2024 B mark.

But these numbers, often classified as ‘cold’, hide a background that the protagonist herself took care to reveal, already in the hotel, with a crude post on her social networks, with a special dedication: “For all those who doubted when we couldn’t get up. For all those who spoke, without knowing what it means to be there, without feeling the slightest part of what it feels. For those who didn’t care to put their pride and also the image before dreams. For those who always have something to say and nothing to add.”.

“Four years ago I didn’t think I’d get to where I am. It’s been 1 year since I lowered my marks in the main tests. In the middle there were doubts, why didn’t I succeed by doing everything right? The answer was too simple, a certain part of me “I doubted, I doubted myself, what I could do. Today all those doubts are certainties. Certainty that I am stronger than I think.”complete.

Hein, bronze medalist at the 2023 Junior World Cup with four seconds more than the finish line marked on Friday, will go out into the pool at 2.23pm (Argentine time, with DSports television) in search of a dream and a central goal: “For my family, for my friends and, above all, for me”.

The fact is that she also did not want to forget those who accompanied her during this period, those who believed in her dreams. “For those who hug me when times are not easy. For my family, who supported me from day one and always believed in me. For my friends, my colleagues and friends who are always there and have a word of support. For me, coach (Sebastián Montero), who dreams of me, who loves this sport as much as his family. For my work team, who never doubts me, even when I do it alone. And finally for all the people I won’t name, but who supported me from day one”he assured.

More calmly, some time later, he spoke to the public sports channel (Deportv) and admitted: “I took a burden off myself, I hadn’t been able to lower my grades for a year. I couldn’t do it. In the middle I was crying a lot, I wondered why I couldn’t do it. When I touched the plate I “started crying”.

Six of the nine competitors in the final are under 24 years old and there are two names known to the Argentinians, because they are rivals of Delfina Pignatiello: the Italian Simona Quadarella and Hungarian Ajna Keselywho won two gold medals at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games.

In the 400 meters final she placed eighth, with a time of 4:10:33, while she also competed in the 1500 meters, where she placed 11th with 16:21.68.