Chilean swimmer Kristel Kobrich, who had been left out of the Olympic event by one second to make the A mark, was notified this week of her inclusion in the 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle events in Paris 2024 and will compete in her sixth consecutive Olympic Games since Athens 2004, passing through Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020+1. The Paris season gives her a privileged place in Chilean sport, as she will become the athlete with the most games, surpassing former marathon runner Erika Olivera, who reached five Olympic Games, and the swimmer with the most participations in the history of the Olympic Games, surpassing Michael Phelps himself (5 participations). In the French event, she will be the most experienced athlete along with basketball player Rudy Fernández, who will also reach his sixth time and join the select group of athletes who are only ahead of the unreachable Ian Millar, the Canadian rider with 10 Olympic Games to his credit.
The outcome and how the situation changes in a few weeks of being under the games and now in Paris, comes from the hand of the Chilean Olympic Committee and the local federation itself, both institutions raised a letter to World Aquatics requesting a way of exception for Kristel Kobrich, assuming that the possibilities by the criteria of Universality and Olympic Consideration did not apply, therefore, the only way was a direct Wildcard from the governing body of world swimming that in the end delivered.
THE SPIRIT OF WORLD AQUATICS
To understand the selection criteria applied by World Aquatics in the case of Universality is quite cumbersome or discriminatory, forcing athletes to meet two fundamental requirements: first, not to be over 30 years old and, second, not to have participated in more than two Olympic Games. The spirit of this rule is to give the possibility of participation to swimmers who do not have their marks and whose country is not represented in that specific sport. In simpler language, it does not privilege competitiveness, but rather integration and the universality that everyone can access.
The only option Kristel Kobrich had was by Olympic Consideration, in this case, there were 28 slots available, 16 of which were destined for the relay events and the remaining 12 for all the other swimming events, in this distribution there were no possibilities for the swimmer from Chile and she mentally erased herself from the Parisian appointment. But life and sport are about moments and limit situations, while Kristel Kobrich went over and over again the image of that second she missed in the pool in Mallorca, Spain, to qualify directly to the games, in her country the president of the Chilean Olympic Committee, Miguel Angel Mujica did not lose hope of getting “The Cobra” to join the Olympic delegation in Paris.
Mujica Brain himself said “we communicated directly with the World Aquatics to formally request an invitation, because it hurt us that for a second she did not meet the A mark and will be in 16th place and the cut by world ranking gave tickets to the first 15. We emphasized her performance in recent years, the legacy she has left as a swimmer, the importance she has for Chilean sport that goes beyond swimming, she is an inspiring athlete and stands out, also for her human qualities,” he said.
The good news arrived a few days ago from World Aquatics confirming the invitation to Kristel who was excited about what happened: “I did not expect this news, I knew about the efforts, but I am a person who assumes her challenges with the costs involved and not qualifying directly was a very hard blow, therefore, I did not get my hopes up, I let time mark its own course. I had the peace of mind that we put everything in the pool and in training, in the end, the help of the Olympic Committee of my country and the federation surprised us pleasantly. I feel very proud to reach my sixth consecutive Olympic Games, but it is not a matter of surpassing others. I take it as a consequence of the work I have been doing for more than 20 years with my coach Daniel Garimaldi, who has motivated me to continue on this path, without stopping, always demanding the maximum, because he understands that in high performance to reach a high point and be competitive, there is no other secret than to work hard and set goals”, said Kobrich.