Lydia Valentín on transsexuality in sports: "I am very clear that no one is going to change sex for a medal"

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Lydia Valentín is a

woman , very strong.

Because being the best in the world in Weightlifting, a minority discipline in our country, and being in the elite of this sport for two decades is not easy at all.

"The

has been very high," she says, "but so has the reward."

He talks about all of this, about the sweat and tears, about his struggle and also about the rivers of happiness that what he considers his passion has given him in the book

(ed. HarperCollins), which has just been published.

present at the

Dedicated to her two sisters "for accompanying her in her

" and to her parents, present in the auditorium, for teaching her "the value of effort and perseverance", writing this book has been a way for her to "get to know her more

level

, not only as an athlete Lydia", he tells us.

And also the way to make

"everything that is behind a professional athlete, everything that has to happen, everything that has to give up to get to the top," he explains.

"Many times people only see the podium or the

, but there is a lot to achieve that. In this book I say that it has cost me a lot; in fact, being world

has cost me 20 years of my life, of

and of focus. That reveals everything that I have gone through in this long career and that the

has not yet been written , obviously. So we will have a second part, "he says with a laugh.

The idea began to take shape two years ago, during the

.

"I saw the opportunity, it was a moment when life stopped," she says.

Just enough to reflect and have time to look back.

"I started by telling everything that had happened during my sports career for so long, above all I wanted to capture my

, my beginnings and how my journey to

has been ," she explains.

A book that was also born with a

to help those who start in the world of elite sports, to the new generations.

"Many times things have not turned out the way I wanted. But in the end, it is the

that sport gives you. Success is not immediate, you have to go through a lot of competitions for one to go well. And you have to continue and not give up, because nobody starts out winning. That's where true

lies , in getting up and continuing, in learning from each event, whether it's good or not so good," he says.

Alberto DiLolli

The question is forced, how much does glory weigh? Glory weighs a lot.

In fact, not everyone is willing to pay the toll of being at the top.

You must be in your place and be very clear about it, have passion, know how to say no to everything in order to say yes to only one thing, which is your objective, your dream, your goal.

When you have that passion it becomes easier;

if not, it is impossible.

The toll is very high, but so is the reward. And what has that toll been for you?

What have you had to give up? Everything.

In the end you have a completely different life.

What I have been able to resent the most is being away from my family, so many kilometers away.

When I was 15 years old I left Ponferrada and I have missed many things.

And being separated from my two sisters, they also passed their process... Basically that, everything else I have chosen and I have been very happy.

I consider myself very lucky to have been able to dedicate myself for so many years to my passion, which is not easy at all.

In this book you have dared to speak bravely about all the sacrifice, fears and fades to black that elite sport implies and that successes hide.

Few people do it... I don't consider myself brave for talking about it.

In the end, athletes are people, we have the same feelings as others.

You squeeze yourself, you work your physique and your mind at 200%, that's why it's called high performance, because you go far beyond your abilities, and it's normal to have a hard time.

Whoever thinks that things are done without struggle and dedication, without perseverance, without sweat, without tears... It costs a lot, but the same as anything that requires something important in life.

It is true that today we live in a society in which everything is immediate, from one day to the next, where if you don't achieve something, it seems that you have to dedicate yourself to something else.

And no, everything costs a lot, you need to focus, prepare and there is brutal competition, at all levels, not just sports.

If you want to differentiate yourself, you have to work harder than others. To be in the elite of this sport you need to be a strong woman, in every way, from the psychological point of view you have to be too...More.

I am a physically strong woman, because my sport involves strength and requires it.

But if I had to highlight something it would be my mental strength, much more than physical.

Constantly enduring competition after competition, year after year, in a discipline that has very little tradition in your country, with the scourge of injuries...

, that requires mental strength and a different way of thinking than the rest. In your book you also talk about the havoc caused by the anxiety of filling the bookshelf with titles.

What tools do you use to overcome those bad moments? Like everything in life, it is something that is trained.

Just as you train your physique, you have to train your mental state and the way you focus.

This is a sport of immediacy, in which you play everything in seconds.

Those who do not understand much about weightlifting think that you lift weight because you are strong, but no, there is a perfect technique, a skill of movement that requires hours and hours of dedication to that gesture.

And focus, you can only be thinking about what you have to do, because if you don't do it right you can hurt yourself.

Everything is trainable and the mental state too.

I have had a mental coach/psychologist for many years, Miguel Ángel Bureo.

He is the one who has helped me, who has marked a before and after. That before and after goes through what you call 'hacking the mind'... Yes.

It's a technique.

Many times it is about tricking your brain.

Because as a human being, in the end, what you want is to survive and your mind sends messages that try to protect you.

It is a fear that comes to you, and if you let yourself be carried away by it, you are dead. Are there eating problems in weightlifting, as in other sports? No.

But in sport you can't eat just anything, food is your fuel.

When you are going to do a maximum effort, what you eat is vital.

Weightlifting is divided into weight categories.

When you enter adolescence you see with your trainer which one suits you best,

and that can force you to have a caloric superhabit, to drink smoothies, more food... and sometimes there comes a time when you can't take it anymore and you hate it.

And the opposite also happens;

maybe you need to lose weight very quickly, two kilos in two weeks, and you have to control your diet a lot so as not to lose muscle mass, because you depend on what the scale says, we weigh ourselves two hours before the competition. From what you say, stepping on the scale must be one of the most stressful moments...For me it never has been.

I've always been in a high weight category, and how you control it... It's been so many years that you already know exactly what you need.

and you have to control your diet a lot so as not to lose muscle mass, because you depend on what the scale says, we weigh ourselves two hours before the competition. From what you say, getting on the scale must be one of the most stressful moments. ..For me it never has been.

I've always been in a high weight category, and how you control it... It's been so many years that you already know exactly what you need.

and you have to control your diet a lot so as not to lose muscle mass, because you depend on what the scale says, we weigh ourselves two hours before the competition. From what you say, getting on the scale must be one of the most stressful moments. ..For me it never has been.

I've always been in a high weight category, and how you control it... It's been so many years that you already know exactly what you need.

Alberto DiLolli

Lydia

is a woman who takes great care of her appearance, competing with makeup and earrings, something unusual.

"Perhaps it is something that shocks weightlifting, but I consider it normal. I am a

who practices a sport, also a masculine one, that's why I may look more feminine, but I don't think it is, I look the same as my friends. I grew up with my sisters, like them, and the three of us liked

, putting on make-up..., all those things for girls. I love putting on make-up and training with

, but I would say that it

. "

As in the rest, clear things.

Just like on the subject of doping and what she calls '

'.

"It's a scourge. I am possibly one of the most affected athletes in the

, in weightlifting it is constantly present. For me, those who dope are not even athletes, because they are people who do not respect the values ​​of sport and

But I am positive, optimistic, and I know that in the end everyone gets what they deserve. I have three Olympic medals at home and a clear conscience, because no one is going to come to ask me for them. I think being able to sleep well every night is more important than a

or getting on a podium".

Alberto DiLolli

What do you think of transsexuality in sports? For me, everything is fine.

The truth is that I haven't thought about it.

They are athletes who already have a rather complicated situation. Does it favor equality for women in sport, or rather the opposite? It really is an issue that is not for me to judge, but for the Committee, which is the one that It should set the guidelines for us.

I think no one is going to change their sex for a medal, I have that very clear.

Alberto DiLolli

With three Olympic

, of all colors,

championships

and the title of Best 'weightlifter' in the world by the National Weightlifting Federation, -"something unthinkable in our country", points out- Lydia Valentin has few things left to achieve;

"Really, nothing," she confesses.

But she has no intention of giving up competing: "Even

, I would love to."

Later, when she gives up weights, her future also depends on her continuing to be linked to sports, although she still doesn't know how.

"It is my passion, what I like; I am

".

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