11 years ago, world champion Álvaro Martín lived a horrible day in Barcelona. The man from Extremadura had already been sixth in the 10,000 march in the World Youth Championship in Lille’11 and arrived in Barcelona as a candidate for the medals in 2012 in a Junior World Championship that elevated Ana Peleteiro from Galicia with her triple gold.
His mother and sister (both Macarena) share a passion for walking, a discipline that the world champion began to practice on the rebound after an injury that weighed him down, in which he excelled. The entire family traveled from Llerena to attend the test. However, for Álvaro Martín it was not being easy.
A hamstring problem and the responsibility of feeling a pressure that he himself imposed were about to prevent him from taking the start. There Chuso García Bragado played a key rolewho helped convince him that he was fine and could achieve a great result if he trusted himself.
No sooner said than done. In a sea of doubts, the man from Extremadura put on his shoes and on July 13, 2012 he was at Lluís Companys ready to fight for a dream of his entire family, of his native Llerena, of Extremadura and of Spanish athletics. In the end, Martín finished fifth in the 10,000 meter walk with a personal best (40:35.52) with the Colombian Arévalo gold, the Russian Ivanov silver and the Chinese Su, bronze.
First in Madrid under the command of José Antonio Quintana and then in Murcia with José Antonio Carrillo, the best athlete from Extremadura in history has been gaining confidence until he became a double European champion and world gold medalist who, half an hour after winning yesterday, was already Thinking of repeating on Thursday in the 35 kilometers.
Graduated in Political Science and two subjects to finish Law (in September if all goes well), Álvaro Martín is one of the spokespersons for the group of walkers who cry out against the IOC cacicada, who has declared war on the march in collusion with an increasingly politicized World Athletics with the ‘lord ‘ British Sebastian Coe at the front.
That the march is not universal? Well, yesterday the four continents were represented among the first nine and, if the Asians had not failed, all five would have been. “I want to vindicate not only my name, because in the end this is something of the team. Raúl Chapado (RFEA president) has congratulated me. We may have our differences but in competition is where we have to be ”, he affirmed after achieving his first medal in a World Cup. And also gold.