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"I am envious of the athletics team because it sends a great team to all the international championships, they are a lot and they get results within their aspirations," the swimmer

Joanllu Pons

acknowledged in conversation with EL MUNDO .

As confirmed in the recent Europeans, Spain lives in opposition in the two top Olympic sports, athletics and swimming.

In the tartan, a party, the second best result in history:

four golds

,

three silvers

and

three bronzes

.

In the pool, a funeral,

zero medals

, something that hadn't happened since 2006.

Beyond tradition and a certain imbalance in the number of licenses -85,000 for athletics for 65,000 for swimming-, two such disparate realities can only be explained from top to bottom.

The merit or the fault of those who rule.

Because there is plenty of talent in both fields.

"A Structure Problem"

In fact,

those who were closest to the swimming podium were just teenagers

, such as the members of the 4x100 free relay and the long-distance runner

Paula Otero

, both fourth.

But it is unknown what will happen to them in the coming years, heading for the 2024 Paris Games.

In the penultimate European Championship a star appeared for Spain, a miracle,

Hugo González

, a three-time medalist at the time, and he has already disappeared, fed up with the lack of help.

Before, some of her colleagues, such as

Judit Ignacio

,

María Vilas

or

Catalina Corró

, already retired very young, at 26 or 27 years old, tired of the same thing.

"

There is a problem of structure and method. Right now we are all failing

. The Spanish Federation, the territorial ones, the clubs, the athletes fail...

And where it is most visible is not the World Cup, it is in the lower categories, where there is no level

. Either we wake up or the elite train is leaving us",

Albert Tubella

, former technical director of the Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEN), recently analyzed for this newspaper.

a hidden mistake

In recent years, many clubs have experienced economic problems due to the pandemic and the consequent decline in membership, but the elite have suffered more from changes in the RFEN's criteria.

The dissolution of the training groups that were in the High Performance Centers (CAR) in Madrid and Sant Cugat was a historic mistake that was hidden by the successes of

Mireia Belmonte

and now recovering them is complicated.

To achieve this, she has hired foreign coaches such as the Irish

Sean Kelly

or the English

Ben Titley

and

Robert Greenwood

, the latter with a dark past, but the result is yet to be seen.

Mireia Belmonte, Spanish swimmer. KEMPINAIRE STEPHANEMUNDO

The path, without a doubt, is different from the one that resurrected Spanish athletics.

Because not so long ago, the same drama was experienced on the track as in the pool and, suddenly, everything changed.

The entry of a new management in the Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) was important, although work had already begun before.

"This generation comes out of schools"

The team was modernized with the entry of former triple player

Ramón Cid

as technical director in 2013 and now, despite the recent confrontations over the distribution of scholarships and the controversies over the list of summoned, the push is maintained.

In comparison, a clear example is

Mario García Romo

, bronze in the 1,500 meters, also a student in the United States like the swimmer

Hugo González

, but satisfied with the federative aid, unlike him.

"It would be presumptuous to think that this generation is my thing;

the only thing I tried to do is not screw it up. This generation comes from schools

, where the number of children has tripled,

and from the passion of many young coaches

," commented Cid himself .

According to his point of view, the success of athletics stems from clubs and technicians in their thirties such as

Gabi Lorente

, in charge of

Mariano García

and

Mo Katir

, gold and silver in the 800 and 5,000 meters.

Actually, nobody knows the formula.

Although at the center of the method there is always support for the base and the rise of young people.

In the last Under-23 Swimming European Championships, held this July, there were only two Spanish medals, the two of

Emma Carrasco

, absent from the absolute championship, while in the past Under-23 Athletics European Championships the team celebrated up to 15 podiums, with young people who later became absolute medalists such as the hurdler

Asier Martínez

or

García Romo

himself .

The joy in the tartan and the sadness in the tartan seem to last for several years.

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