The moment of the María Vicente generation: "It's their turn and, if not, to endure the downpour"

• Report The new María Vicente: stronger, lives in a hall of residence and studies at Deusto

• Interview Jael Bestué, Spanish champion of 60 meters: "They told me I was adopted"

Last year they already went on a trip together.

Malta, its beaches, many, many sunsets, hitchhiking... This year the destination is different: the Munich European Championship.

and

, three twentysomethings, three lifelong friends, will be from today until Sunday at the forefront of a revolution.

Spanish athletics, historically male, middle-distance and rural, is beginning to be different;

woman, sprinter, hurdler, jumper or all together and cosmopolitan.

In the selection, made up of 49 men and 40 women, the number of summoned with that profile is surprising.

Up to 11 girls have been born from 2000 onwards -for only two boys- and the figure increases to 16 if all those under 23 years of age are counted.

It may seem like an anecdote, but it is not.

It is the result of the work carried out with them as an objective and of the times, of course, of the times.

"They are the reflection of society, of the generation that is coming. For example, we who grew up in a dictatorship, we went out to compete in the 80s and we did it with a complex, we thought that the Germans were eight meters tall. They go around the world like if it were their home, they are highly educated, they speak languages. They are really European", analyzes

, a former triple player, coach of one of them, María Vicente, Spanish coach between 2013 and 2018 and, therefore, although he denies it, pilot of the take off all

When he was in charge of the Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) he allowed them to debut among the majors with a measure that has been lost: the minimum European sub-23.

In their time, it was easier to call young girls to the European Championships, a friendly gateway, and that is how the three of them debuted in Berlin 2018. They were 17 years old, it was too big for them, they did relatively poorly, but they learned very quickly what they had to learn .

"It would be presumptuous to think that this generation is my thing, all I tried to do is not screw it up. This generation comes out of schools, where the number of girls has tripled, and the passion of many young coaches. I'm glad to see them there, in that position despite their youth: in this European they already have responsibilities and, if they don't work out, to endure the downpour", says Cid who, on the other hand, underlines how difficult they will have it.

"We train better"

Vicente attends the heptathlon (Wednesday and Thursday), where there will be the same ones as in the World Cup in Eugene except one, the American

.

Sara Gallego (Friday) will compete in the 400 meter hurdles with the domination of the Dutch

and a lot of equality behind her.

And Jael Bestué will fly in the 100 meters (Tuesday), but above all she will lead the 4x100 relay (Sunday) that amazed Eugene and seeks to rise.

The most anticipated medals belong to others, to

and

, for example, bronze both in the World Cup, but the final grade depends on them

"I don't think our role has changed, but it is true that it has formed a very strong group of women. It is because we train better now, because we give each other feedback and the opportunities we have had, like those minimum sub-23 "explains Bestué, a medical student at the University of Barcelona and he is no exception: Gallego has just finished Business Administration and Management at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and Vicente is also studying Business Administration and Marketing at the University of Deusto.

She, Vicente, was the one who caught the most attention in the formation due to her incredible accumulation of Spanish records in lower categories and her almost infinite potential-she still values ​​whether to compete only in length or in 200 meters.

She was signed by Nike, Iberdrola or Kia and starred in commercials.

"They are very cheeky and they know that it is their turn. Sara, for example, is 21 years old and looks like she is 30. It is possible that in her youth she did not receive as much pressure as María, who was in the same club [the ISS l'Hospitalet] , but she was already in charge of demanding herself. The time has come for the three of them and they are not going to shrink now, "says

, Sara Gallego's coach and Spain coach in the U-23 European Championship last year where they all they said goodbye to their formation.

With María Vicente absent, Gallego and Bestué hung the silver there and contemporaries who are also in this European stood out, such as the sprinters

and

, the walker

or the also heptathlete

.

Then they would have their Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games and little by little their arrival at adulthood.

This European Championship in Munich is his moment.

Have a good trip, the three friends have looked for each other this summer.

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