Swimmer Becali Continues Preparation for Santo Domingo 2026

The Cuban swimmer continues her rigorous preparation for the Santo Domingo 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games at the World Aquatics Development Center, located at Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia.

Becali, who will celebrate her 22nd birthday on April 24, is in her second consecutive year benefiting from a scholarship earned through her results and sacrifices. She stated that her current focus is improving her personal bests in freestyle, where her records stand at 25.87 seconds in the 50m, 56.09 in the 100m, and 2:00.70 in the 200m.

"I always approach every competition with the goal of continuing to lower my times, because every tenth of a second counts and is part of my athletic growth," she expressed.

Regarding medal prospects, she noted: "In swimming, everything depends on many factors: preparation, strategy, the competitive moment, and the general level of the event. Improving my times would bring me closer to good results, but I prefer to focus on doing my job in the water, competing at my maximum, and letting the results come as a consequence of the effort made."

As for her rivals, she mentioned that she constantly studies her opponents and monitors the competitive level of each event. "At this moment, among the strongest swimmers I may face are Venezuela's María Yegres and Colombia's Tiffany Murillo, especially in the freestyle events. It will be a demanding and very motivating competition," she said.

Becali currently trains nine sessions per week in the water, supplemented daily by gym work involving both "cardio" and weights. In her free time, she focuses on resting, recovering energy, and engaging in quiet activities to disconnect. During her second season on the island continent, her communication with coach Kyle Samuelson and her teammates has improved significantly thanks to her English language progress—a vital factor in her adaptation.

"After Santo Domingo 2026, the main objective will be to continue preparation for the World Short Course Championships, to be held in December in Shanghai, China. This is another important challenge and a great opportunity to continue growing at the highest level," she highlighted.

She explained that her scholarship extends until 2027, though she hopes to continue through 2028 with the Olympic Games in mind. For the Lima 2027 Pan American Games, she currently holds "A" standard times and aims to maintain or improve them. "Regarding the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, it is one of my great dreams, and I will work every day to make it a reality," stated the fourth-year Physical Culture student.

Reflecting on her career, Andrea confessed that her most cherished moments remain her performances at the San Salvador 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, where she was part of the gold-medal winning 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays, in addition to earning two individual bronze medals in those distances.