Mexico’s Miguel de Lara Qualifies for 1st Olympics at Age 28 with 2:09.60 200 Breast

Mexico National Selection

• April 4-9, 2023
• University Olympic Aquatic Center, Nuevo Leon
• LCM (50 meters)
• Results on MeetMobile: “Selectivo Nacional de Natación – Monterrey 23”

At 28 years old, Miguel de Lara qualified for his first Olympics with a 2:09.60 to win the 200-meter breaststroke at the Mexico’s National Selection meet on Sunday.

De Lara shaved nearly two seconds off his previous-best 2:11.23 from 2019, sneaking under the Paris 2024 ‘A’ cut of 2:09.68 by less than a tenth. In the process, he lowered his own Mexican national record, which he set during his bronze medal performance at the 2019 Pan American Games, and swam the the eighth-fastest time in the world this season.

“Having qualified already gives me peace of mind and gives me peace of mind to be able to prepare and look for the podium in Paris, which is the main thing, to be able to do a complete preparation as we want to do it in Paris,” de Lara said. “I’m older than the average swimmer here in Mexico, I think it’s about time. We’ve already had two Olympic cycles in which we’ve been very close and it finally happened.”

He also broke his five-year-old national record in the 100 breast with a 1:00.14 and came .03 seconds shy of his national record in the 50 breast with a 27.55. During the last Olympic cycle, de Lara was less than a second away from hitting Tokyo 2021 ‘A’ cuts in the 100 breast and 200 breast. His breakthrough at age 28 is even more impressive considering the fact that he has received little support from the Mexican Swimming Federation (FMN) throughout the process.

FMN is currently being run by a stabilization committee appointed by World Aquatics while former president Kiril Todorov is investigated for alleged corruption and embezzlement. The National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (CONADE) has backed Todorov during the controversy and pulled all aquatic scholarships in the wake of the stabilization committee’s takeover.

“CONADE will not help aquatic disciplines — it is a fact and not opinion,” de Lara said. “We have received unconditional support from José María Alcalá, from COM and FINA and that is the support we will receive for the World and Central American Games. In CONADE, the support is non-existent.”

De Lara is the only Mexican swimmer to have hit an Olympic ‘A’ cut so far and one of three Mexican athletes in any sport to have booked their spots at Paris 2024 along with runner Citlali Moscote and racewalker Alegna Gonzalez.

“​​There is a lot of uncertainty on the part of the organization, of all the swimming events in Mexico, to show that on our own and with the support of their families and coaches, we can do a great job,” de Lara said. “We don’t need them telling us what to do. We know what we have to do and show that there is a lot of talent in Mexico. There are still swimmers who I think will set the mark in Mexico, definitely, and they will set the mark soon and encourage all my teammates to achieve the mark for the Olympic Games.”

De Lara credited his lifetime bests to patience and consistency during training. The Torreon native moved to Auburn when he was 21 years old, where he met current coach Sergio Lopez. After returning home to Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic, de Lara rejoined forces with Lopez at Virginia Tech in January.

“In swimming, there are no tricks — it depends 100% on you, and on the decisions you make,” de Lara said. “If you set out to win, you will do well. There is no escape. I have been very constant and consistent throughout my life. I have never missed training without a real reason, only for emergencies. But I have never been absent due to laziness, or friends, or parties.”

Now de Lara says the next step is finding sponsors to help fund his preparations for Paris 2024. This summer, his goal is to sweep the 50 breast, 100 breast, and 200 breast at the Central American Games in El Salvador and make semifinals in those three events at the World Championships just about a week later in Fukuoka, Japan.

In other highlights from Nuevo Leon, 26-year-old Jorge Iga reset his own national records in the 100 free (48.87) and 50 fly (23.99). He became the first Mexican swimmer sub-49 and sub-24 seconds in the 100 free and 50 fly, respectively. Iga sits just about half a second away from the Olympic ‘A’ cut of 48.34 in the 100 free. He also won the 100 fly (52.85) and 50 free (22.76), but he was off his best times in both events.