World Champion Carles Coll Marti Out Of European Champs, Spanish Nationals Due To Visa Points

U.S.-based Spanish swimmer and 200 breast Short Course World Champion Carles Coll Marti is not going to compete at championship meets this summer season resulting from visa points.

In an announcement along with the Royal Federation of Spanish Swimming (RFEN) on Instagram, Coll Marti mentioned the problems have sidelined him from the nation’s nationwide championships in addition to the 2026 European Championships.

I need to talk alongside the RFEN that for causes associated to my visa, I cannot compete within the Spanish Championships qualifying for the European (Championships)

As a consequence, I will even not take part within the European Championships in Paris this summer season as I won’t be able to compete the choice standards that the RFEN established.

During these months I’ll focus my preparation on (Short Course) Worlds in China in addition to my journey to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

I want the Spanish delegation in Paris all of the luck on this planet.

The 24-year-old Catalonia native, who trains underneath fellow Spaniard Sergio Lopez at Virginia Tech, didn’t go into particulars about his visa points. In many situations, athletes on visas within the U.S. should stay within the U.S. after they have a pending extension or visa change utility.

Coll Marti’s announcement comes towards the backdrop of the FIFA World Cup, an occasion that would put extreme pressure on the athlete visa processing system within the nation. The World Cup has additionally produced a number of high-profile visa-related tales of its personal. This features a Somali referee being denied entry to the country and the Iranian camp being barred from spending the night in the U.S.

Coll Marti reigns because the defending World Champion and European Champion within the brief course 200 breaststroke. In the massive pool, he possesses a private finest (and nationwide report) of two:08.49, which he produced on the semifinals of the 2025 World Championships. He would go on to put seventh within the last and third amongst Europeans within the discipline. This yr, he has been as swift as 2:11.21, which earned him the highest podium spot on the Pro Swim Series in Sacramento. Coll Marti additionally swims different breaststroke occasions and IM, and he has performed a hand in national-record-setting Spanish relays.