The illusion of the Chilean swimmer Kristel Kobrich to reach Paris 2024 and add her sixth consecutive Olympic Games went up in smoke at the end of the recent competition held in Mallorca, where she was unable to meet her goal: to be among the top 15 in the world ranking. She won the 1,500 of the Spanish Open Trials, with a time of 16:22.15, but it was not enough for a second to qualify for the five-ring event.
Kristel Kobrich’s disappointment was absolute, she knew the moment she left the pool that the higher goal had not been achieved. Her face expressed that inner pain, that frustration of knowing that the Olympic dream was closer than ever, but she also assumed that she gave everything, until the last strokes, she literally left her breath in the water. The Cobra, as she is affectionately known, is a woman of inexhaustible mettle and energy, and she assumes with her sometimes strong and indomitable character, that to get where you have arrived, you have to go through these sporting moments and stand up and continue in the search for new challenges.
Kristel’s life story is an example to follow. She started swimming in the late 1990s. Her passion for the water was a family tradition, of course, her energy at an early age outlined the first signs of the attributes and talents she had for the pool. One of her friends and swimming reference of that time, Romina Canoni, once expressed that “Kristel has in her DNA something that is not usual to find in an athlete at a young age. I feel she will go far, she is a girl who has no limits, she always goes beyond, she trains with the discipline of an adult woman being a teenager. Her character will help her to set higher and higher goals and when she achieves them, she will go for new challenges.”
“She inspires you, she motivates you, she captivates you with her work, she spares no effort”
Twenty years ago Kristel Kobrich made a decision that marked her sporting life forever: she emigrated from Santiago de Chile to the city of Córdoba, in Argentina. There she was welcomed by the outstanding coach Daniel Garimaldi, who had in his corral several local and selected swimmers from that country. He added this outstanding Chilean athlete without imagining that with the passage of time she would gain the affection and respect of Garimaldi himself, who every time he has the opportunity to talk about Kristel is moved and highlights her conditions as an athlete and person: “Kristel is an example for all of us; she inspires you, motivates you, captivates you with her work, she spares no effort and time for her training. You will never hear from her, even when she is very tired because of the long routines in the pool, any complaint, on the contrary, she leads you to be more and more demanding and professional, because she understood from the first day that to succeed it is imperative to work, nothing is the result of chance”.
IN ATHENS SHE COULDN’T HAVE IMAGINED IT
The legendary KK has put the name of Chile at the top of world swimming. She enjoys and is proud to be an ambassador for the world of this long and narrow country. Her heart beats faster when she has been flag bearer in Pan American Games and Olympic Games, the highest distinction for an athlete of excellence. She will never forget her first experience in an Olympic Games, such as Athens 2004, even more, when she stood up to applaud the gold medals in tennis of Massú and González. That day she vowed internally that she would return to an Olympic event, without imagining that she would eventually become the Chilean athlete with the most Olympic Games in the history of her country: Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020+1).
The legend of Kristel Kobrich never ceases to amaze. The Chilean, who will turn 39 this August, participated for the twelfth time in a World Championships (Doha), making her the swimmer with the most participations in planetary events. And how not to remember the PanAm Games Santiago 2023 and bring back the memory of the 1,500 meters freestyle and see a standing audience shouting and chanting “Si se puede, si se puede, si se puede! In the end, with the encouragement of millions of Chileans, Kristel Kobrich won the silver medal and came within seconds of gold, but the color of the metal was not the most important thing, because Kristel, still ecstatic, continued to hear her name being chanted? It was the farewell at home, as she deserved, as she worked for so many years, paradoxically, away from home, because she built her career on the other side of the mountain range, on Argentinean soil, she felt that there she was closer to the high performance, without pause, without truce, where there was no room to improvise, just train and compete.
Kristel Kobrich, these days is going through her bitter pill with her closest people, the failure to qualify for Paris hit her combative spirit, but it did not break her. If there is something that characterizes her, it is her ability to stand up again and again, because success does not come easy for her.
Kristel Kobrich, these days passes her bitter pill with her closest people, the failure to qualify for Paris hit deep, hit her fighting spirit, but did not bend her. If there is something that characterizes her is her ability to stop again and again, because success is not in how many times you reach the top, the real triumph is in reaching that inner balance that takes you further and further and you can dream again with new challenges.
Today is not the time to ask questions, it is time to pay tribute to an exceptional swimmer, unique, of fine lineage, a woman who honors the sport with her passion and will continue to leave her mark, because there is no time for recriminations, there is time to keep dreaming.
