Record and recognition Cecilia Bertoncello, Fiamma Peroni, Ana Belén Presumido and Diana Valentini were awarded for their national record in 4x50 relay race.

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By: Horacio Theunynck


2016 was a year of great achievements for River Plate’s swimming. Among them, was the record achieved by the team formed by Cecilia Bertoncello, Fiamma Peroni, Ana Belén Presumido and Diana Valentini, together with their coaches Gustavo Langone and Mariano Varde, who reached the Argentinean record in the 4 x 50 combined relay race in a time of 2.01.65, which made them go into the Honor Hall of swimming.

Diana Valentini, the only deaf woman who got the Olympic medal in the 2013 Olympic Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, has double merit, since she participated in the relay race with the conventional team, besides being part of the adapted swimming team in charge of professor Marcela Belviso.  “I am very happy, for my fellow team members and for myself. Even though this is a prize for the team, I was very surprised when I was notified of the mention. I love competing, moreover with a challenge such as this was," she said, and added that “now I am training together with my coach for the Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey, which will take place in July."

Her coach, Marcela Belviso, thanked Gustavo Langone and Mariano Varde “for letting us be part of the conventional team of our club that constantly obtains so many victories and share this relay race with swimmers as important as Chechu Bertoncello, Fiamma Peroni and Ana Belén Presumido." Also, she added: “I want to keep proclaiming that inclusion and integration are possible and that is the best example that River gives to society by showing respect, comradeship, work and results."

The Argentinean Swimming Honor Hall is a civil association that rewards and diffuse those swimmers who have reached new milestones in national swimming, in order to promote this sport and the community’s quality of life. The prize is awarded to the swimmer whose Argentinean record reached the highest breaking in relation to a preceding record, according to the times supervised by the Argentine Water Sports Confederation (CADDA, for its Spanish acronym).