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Spaniard Belmonte to miss world championships

Mireia Belmonte of Spain swims to win the women's 200m butterfly event of the FINA Swimming World Cup at the Aquatic Centre in Singapore November 2, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su

By Tim Hanlon (Reuters) - Spanish swimmer Mireia Belmonte has ruled herself out of the world championships in Kazan through a shoulder injury. Belmonte, who would have been challenging for multiple medals including the individual medley and distance freestyle events, has been struggling with several injuries over the last few months and has decided to concentrate on getting fit for the 2016 Olympics. “In the end I am not going to the world championships in Kazan,” she wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “I tried up until the last moment but the injury has prevented me from being 100 percent. “My objective until the start of the new season will be to get my shoulders fully right and start to work toward Rio 2016.” Belmonte won silver in the 200m butterfly and the 800m freestyle at London Olympics in 2012. (Reporting by Tim Hanlon, editing by Pritha Sarkar)