The president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), Alejandro Blanco, affirmed that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be “the most important in history” due to the COVID-19 health crisis that forced its postponement to this year , and expressed his support for Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marín, absent due to a serious injury to her left knee.
“These Games are going to be one of the most important in history. We are going through a very complicated situation. Last year 3,000 million people were confined, and now the measures are rigid to prevent Japan from being a source of infection in the world.” , said in the act of farewell to the Olympic and Paralympic athletes promoted by Sanitas.
At the event, presented by former handball international Eli Pinedo, there was also the president of the Spanish Paralympic Committee (CPE), Miguel Carballeda; the CEO of Sanitas, Iñaki Peralta; Carolina Marín, and, telematically, the paddler Saúl Craviotto, champion of the Spanish Olympic delegation together with the swimmer Mireia Belmonte; Paralympic athlete Sara Andrés and Paralympic triathlete Eva Moral.
Blanco predicted that Tokyo 2020, in which athletes from 206 countries will participate, “will be the most watched Games in history.” “They will have a special color and warmth. We will not experience them in the stadiums, but through the media,” he said.
“Carolina is the best in the world, she is a galactic, but that she is able to recover on that silent path is an example for everyone else. She is the best in history. We are not aware of who Carolina is. Let them prepare in Huelva , who is going to win the medals two by two, “he commented on the Badminton World Cup, the date of a possible comeback for the Olympic champion.
Blanco stressed that Saúl Craviotto is the leader of the Spanish team in Tokyo. “We have a luxury of athletes that any country in the world would like to have. Carolina is in Tokyo, even if she is injured. After Tokyo we are already in Paris. Carolina and Saúl are great representatives of the fighting, competitive, egalitarian Spain and the one that it has no limits, “he declared.
For his part, Miguel Carballeda admitted that Tokyo 2020 will be a “somewhat different” Games and also wished Carolina Marín a speedy recovery so that she could once again be “that champion that this country deserves and needs.”
The CEO of Sanitas, Iñaki Peralta, expressed his “greatest admiration” for the work and the illusion that has led the Sanitas athletes to Tokyo 2020. “An illusion that has made you delay your goal, but you have never thrown in the towel It is an honor, an obligation and a responsibility to take care of our athletes who are going to represent Spain, “he said.
MARÍN: “IT HASN’T BEEN EASY TO GET UP”
Carolina Marín regretted that the serious knee injury occurred a few weeks before the Olympic event. “It’s a shame because my preparation was going very very well. In my head I was revalidating the gold. It has not been easy to get up, I have had a very bad time because I have seen myself very down. Then you get up and think that the next Games are three years. Paris 2024 is no longer out of my head, “he said.
Saúl Craviotto assured that he will “miss a lot” the Huelva woman in Tokyo. “I have gone through many injuries, but none have left me out of the Games. Carolina remains for a while, with how young you are you are going to arrive in Paris, for sure,” he said.
About his options at the Games, Craviotto was ambitious. “I would be lying if I say that I am going to participate. I am going to suffer, to leave my life in the canoe. I am going for everything. The 6 medals are to shoot very high. Being a flag bearer is the most beautiful and special thing in my sports career. wanting to live it, “he confessed.
SARA ANDRÉS: “I DREAM BIG, A MINIMAL MEDAL”
The athlete Sara Andrés expressed her satisfaction that, at last, the light is seen at the end of the tunnel. “I want to dream big because when you do it and believe it, you can get it. I want a minimum medal. In 100 meters I think I can win a medal; in long jump I have it more difficult, but maybe that day I am splendid “, he predicted.
During the pandemic, Andrés explained that she set close goals to overcome the confinement. “There is nothing more permanent than change in life. Athletes have to be adapting. This year and a half I have focused a lot on routines, putting small achievements on myself but without losing sight of the focus of Tokyo 2020,” she recalled.
In the debut of triathlon at the Paralympic Games, Eva Moral stressed that she is enjoying this ‘journey’. “Let’s go for it. We all go out to train to be number one in our sport. There are good and bad days and I hope it’s my good day. My secret has been to follow my routines and be very disciplined,” she revealed.
