Belmonte Claims Spain’s First Medal at the London Games

London Olympics 2012

Mireia Belmonte García has put Spain on the scoreboard at the London Games

The 21-year-old Spanish swimmer earned silver in the final of the 200 meter butterfly in women’s swimming on Wednesday with a time of 2:05.25 to give Spain its first medal of the 2012 Olympic Games in any event.

Mireia Belmonte Garcia

But that’s not all… Belmonte’s surprise performance was only the second Olympic medal in swimming for a Spanish woman.

Belmonte was thisclose to swimming her way to the gold medal, leading the pack throughout the race. But China’s Jiao Liuyang produced a potent last lap to zoom past Belmonte for the gold and set a new Olympic record with a time of 2:04.06.

Mireia Belmonte Garcia

Japan’s Natsumi Hoshi finished third to take the bronze.