Meritxell Sabaté

{{short description|Andorran swimmer}}

{{Infobox swimmer

| name = Meritxell Sabaté

| image =

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| full_name = Meritxell Sabaté González

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| nationality = {{AND}}

| strokes = Freestyle, medley

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|9|8|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Andorra la Vella, Andorra

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| height = 1.71 m

| weight = 65 kg

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| show-medals = yes

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}}

Meritxell Sabaté González{{family name footnote|lang=Catalan|Sabaté|González}} (born September 8, 1980) is an Andorran former swimmer, who specialized in long-distance freestyle and individual medley events.{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Meritxell Sabate |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/meritxell-sabate-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418085006/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sa/meritxell-sabate-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |access-date=23 June 2013}} She represented Andorra in two editions of the Olympic Games (1996 and 2000), and also held numerous national records in long-distance freestyle (both 400 and 800 m) and medley double (both 200 and 400 m).

Sabaté made her first Andorran team, as a 16-year-old teen, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She failed to reach the top 16 final in the 200 m individual medley, finishing in forty-second place at 2:37.38.{{cite web |title=Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Women's 200m Individual Medley Heat 1 |url=http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1996/1996v3p1.pdf |work=Atlanta 1996 |publisher=LA84 Foundation |page=49 |accessdate=14 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523164915/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1996/1996v3p1.pdf |archivedate=23 May 2011}}

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Sabate swam only in the 200 m individual medley. She established an Andorran record and a FINA B-cut of 2:23.24 from the Mare Nostrum Meet in Barcelona, Spain.{{cite web |title=Swimming – Women's 200m Individual Medley Startlist (Heat 1) |url=http://www.omegatiming.com/File/Download?id=000100060046000000FFFFFFFFFFFF00 |format=PDF |work=Sydney 2000 |publisher=Omega Timing |accessdate=14 June 2013}} She participated in heat one against three other swimmers Marina Mulyayeva of Kazakhstan, Alexandra Zertsalova of Kyrgyzstan, and Fernanda Cuadra of Nicaragua. Entering the race with the fastest-seeded time, Sabaté faded down the stretch to touch the wall with a third-place time of 2:30.41, but missed a chance to lower her own national record by 7.17 seconds. Sabaté failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed thirty-fifth overall in the prelims.{{cite web |title=Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 200m Individual Medley Heat 1 |url=http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2000/Masters/sw/SWresults.pdf |work=Sydney 2000 |publisher=LA84 Foundation |page=323 |accessdate=19 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819181023/http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2000/Masters/sw/SWresults.pdf |archivedate=19 August 2011}}{{cite news |title=Malchow sets Olympic record in 200 fly |url=http://www.canoe.ca/2000GamesSwimming/sep18_mal.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615050120/http://www.canoe.ca/2000GamesSwimming/sep18_mal.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |publisher=Canoe.ca |date=18 September 2000 |accessdate=28 May 2013}}