The story of Mo Katir's trainer: from the bakery to the elite in three years

• Success Mo Katir culminates his dream summer: silver in the 5,000 meters of the European

• Profile Mariano García, world champion 'indoor' of the 800 meters: the gold that will never leave the town

Three years ago,

worked in her brother-in-law's bakery in her town, Fuente Álamo, near Cartagena;

he now manages two of the most outstanding Spanish athletes,

and

.

The first hung silver on Tuesday in the 5,000 meters of the European Championships in Munich;

the second seeks from this Thursday (the series at 10:24 am, on Teledeporte) a medal in the 800 meters.

How has your life changed so much?

In his explanation, a lot of humility.

"I don't know why.

I don't do anything that the rest of the coaches don't do.

I just try to apply everything I have learned, in the best possible way, with all my effort.

Over the years I have been polishing what I was doing and more or less I have created my method », he points out in conversation with EL MUNDO from Germany.

The celebration of Katir's success was brief, he notes, because he immediately focused on helping Garcia.

She has been training the two of them for less than three years, but they have both known him since they were kids.

They were all kids.

Including the technician.

Because Lorente is only 32 years old: he is younger, for example, than

, the Spanish champion of the 35-kilometre walk in this European Championship.

«I started working as a coach when I was 21. The usual coach of the Fuente Álamo club,

, left him and I, who was one of his athletes, wanted to continue his work.

I bottomed out, but it wasn't very good.

And in that group there were already very good boys, like Mariano, who was 12 or 13 years old at the time », recalls Lorente about his beginnings.

While he directed the young people in his area, he finished Sports Sciences at the University of Murcia, studied a Master's Degree in High Performance at the Autonomous University of Madrid and little by little the joys came.

In 2019, a very young Mariano García finished fourth in the indoor European Championship and shortly afterward Katir called him on the other end of the phone.

«I knew Katir from the competitions there, in Murcia, since he was a cadet.

He competed against Mariano, for example, and ways could already be seen, although he still had a lot to do.

He was with the coach of his town, in Mula, until a little over two years ago he called me and we started working together.

He told me that he needed a change, we analyzed it and got down to it », recalls Lorente, used to directing from a distance.

He does see García every week, although the middle-distance runner usually trains in a field in his town, Cuevas de Reyllo.

He directs Katir via mobile phone, more recently, with the distance runner concentrated for many weeks at altitude, at the Sierra Nevada High Performance Center (CAR).

"I had to make a living"

«Until three years ago, I combined athletics with my other job, I had to look for the beans, earn a living.

Since then, being part of a club [he is the technical director of UCAM Athletics Cartagena], I can make a living from this, "acknowledges the coach, who like his pupils has never considered moving to the CARs in Madrid or Barcelona.

None of the three need it.

No training group in Spanish athletics can come close to the results they have obtained this year.

Now here near.

In winter, García was indoor world champion in the 800 meters and this summer, Katir won bronze at the World Championships in Eugene and the recent silver at the European Championships in Munich.

«With Katir we plan the whole season like this, to get to the summer very well.

He competed little until now, but that was part of the plan »,

"I don't really do anything very different.

I try to compensate well for loads, volume, work on strength well... I don't discover anything new, "concludes the coach who can leave the European Championship with two medals.

Three years ago he worked in his brother-in-law's bakery in his town, Fuente Álamo, near Cartagena;

now he manages two of the most outstanding Spanish athletes, Mo Katir and Mariano García.

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