AUTHOR: Andrés Lomeña
PUBLISHER: AlianzaLit
GENRE: Novel
READER’S NAME: Marshall McCormick
DATE: August 18th, 2023

Podio, the first novel of Andrés Lomeña, narrates the trajectory of Paula Sen as a young swimmer from Malaga, Spain, and the personal and emotional consequences caused by her high level of competition. Narrated in the second person, Andrés Lomeña gives a voice to his protagonist, making the readers part of her thoughts and seeing how she pushes herself to succeed.

The novel highlights the intense twice-a-day swim practices, the multiple trainers she interacts with, and the protagonist’s ambition and desire to win, which at times results in the destabilization of her mental health. The perseverance involved in training to achieve an elite level of competition, starting at a very young age, prevents Paula from enjoying the activities of a typical adolescence, such as socializing with friends or going out. Paula is clearly obsessed with training and finishing among the top three swimmers in her races, so that she is on the winners’ podium or podio – hence the title of the book.

As Paula competes in local and national swim meets, we see that this level of competition can take a toll on many athletes to the point of being overwhelmed and having to take a break in their careers. The novel references a number of well-known swimmers who are in the news due to winning high-level competitions (the Olympics, European Aquatics, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Spanish national competitions, etc.) (Michael Phelps, Federica Pellegrini, Katie Ledecky, etc.) The book also reflects the sometimes unhealthy aspects of being ultra competitive, and the mistreatment of athletes by some coaches, which can be crushing and devastating when the expected levels of competition are not reached.

Paula has a recurring dream: she swims smoothly through the air, propelling herself off the walls of buildings and swims through the ether. She obsessively looks at herself in the mirror, surrounded by images of the great swimming champions, although she does not aspire to equal them, but rather to surpass them. She doesn’t know where her ambition comes from, but she wants to find out what she’s capable of. She intends to break a world record and master all four strokes.

Paula is fortunate in that she has the support of her family in her quest for swimming greatness. She also has extra motivation to do well because her sister Tanya, who suffers from scoliosis, is unable to take part in physical activities at the level that Paula does.

The constant debate over the style of swimming (breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and crawl) is illuminating for non-swimmers, including details such as the order in which a 200-meter individual medley is swum (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle or crawl). Also of interest is the protagonist promoting a “more free” freestyle, which on several occasions disqualified her from the competition. Corner turns, kicking and arm movement were also dealt with in detail. 

Podio is truly a sports novel in which many athletes can see themselves reflected, especially young people who can see themselves represented through Paula’s life. I think the author has achieved his goal by bringing competitive sport to literature since it is a subject that rarely occurs in fiction. In this case, Podio is aimed at a very specific audience because I believe that this book has been narrated with those young people in mind who need to see themselves reflected through words. No one outshines Sen, except at the end, when the author places the swimmer and her ambition in front of a mirror. And it is in those final chapters, where the author strips his protagonist of all pretense, when the reader is able to feel greater empathy with this character. 

Even those readers who may not be familiar with the world of elite swimming in particular or sports in general will see that this is a well narrated novel that tells a broader story about the implications of a life that is solely focused on excelling and reaching a goal.

Podio can be interpreted as an allegory for young people, illustrating how to set goals and achieve them. But it can also serve as a cautionary tale, highlighting the dangers of becoming obsessed with a goal to the exclusion of having a well-rounded and happy life.