Lucas Sáez-Bravo Madrid
Madrid
Updated Sunday, January 28, 2024-23:43
Diego García Carrera "But how is the march going to disappear!"
Seven years ago, Paco (Huelva, 1937) was hit by a car in a bad way on Avenida Juan de la Cierva in Getafe and, with his bruises and his shattered right knee, anyone would have reasoned that this was the end of his sporting career. Mainly because he had already turned 80 years old then. "Two months later I broke the Spanish indoor track record of 60 meters," he is proud of with his perennial joke.
Francisco Javier González Martín
is 'El Señor Paco'. Or 'Super Paco'. "Or 'Paquito Correcaminos', as they call me here in the neighborhood." And, at 87, he continues in the gap, with his scar and the prosthesis that two years later was placed on that knee that always takes a long time to "unlock" and with absolutely overflowing energy.
Paco is a Don Quixote with the makings of Sancho, a passionate man who pursues sporting astonishments, incombustible to the passage of time and the rigors of age. He recounts in a troubled way his movie life, full of adventures, as an Andalusian child well into the post-war period "because my uncle was
Millán Astray
's secretary ", of 12 years of emigration in Paris to find a life as a turner, living in May of '68 French in first person. And a return to Spain as a heating plumber in which he found himself fully involved in athletics, already in his forties, when he went to pick up his three children from the Getafe Club after work. From those pioneering beginnings, the first Madrid Marathon in 1978 (in less than three and a half hours), to more than half a century of competitions in all corners of the world, because when he discovered walking no one could stop him.
Paco's cap features the emblems of championships from half the planet, from Mexico to Australia. A world map of pins. The penultimate adventure took him to Tampere (Finland): in July 2022 he was proclaimed runner-up in the world masters (in the 85-90 age group) 10 kilometer walk, with a time of one hour, 23 minutes and 42 seconds, only behind
Alexis Jordana
. "The Frenchman's kid always beats me," he protests, while explaining how he himself sets up the infrastructure for his trips, always alone, looking for his flights and accommodations. «I go on the internet and I always go to the cheapest. To Grosseto (Italy), to the European Championship, I arrived the day before, competed and left the day after. "I usually sleep in student residences, sharing a bedroom with young boys," he recounts his adventures, the next in a few weeks in Zaragoza (Spanish walking championship) and shortly, in March, in Torun (Poland), to compete in the European master's degree. and try to beat the "French goat" once and for all.
Paco González, on a bench at the Juan de la Cierva Stadium in Getafe. SERGIO GONZÁLEZ VALEROMUNDO
For Paco, who belongs to the
Artyneon Athletics Club of Getafe
, the only thing that makes him smile a little is the lack of recognition from the institutions and the little financial aid. "I haven't earned a penny, athletics is always difficult for me," he says. But, above all, what makes him get serious is the situation of
his wife Vitoriana
, whom he has been taking care of since Alzheimer's began to take its toll on him a few years ago. For this reason, Paco gets up at six in the morning to train: "I stretch, I go down to a park where I have already marked up to a kilometer with a wheel, and I train for approximately an hour and a half, until eight or so." «When I finish, I come home and wake up my wife. "I prepare her, we have to control her diabetes, I give her lung sprays... And I'm the cook, I do the shopping, the food," he describes his unstoppable routine, which is completed with a nap and an afternoon walk with his wife. : "I like that she is active, I give her small tasks."
"The secret? "What do I know... My granddaughters tell me that I'm like a cowbell." Mr. Paco's incredible feats include World Championships (World Masters Athletics) and European Championships (four continental medals), but also Spanish championships (he has been champion of his age group uninterruptedly since 1978 in running and also in other sprint and middle-distance specialties). , duathlons and triathlons - a couple of years ago he completed the one in Casa de Campo in Madrid and "I wasn't last" -, mountain bike tests, popular 10k that he usually does walking, the last one in Ponle Freno, in the Castellana...
Paco assures that the doctor is "astonished" during routine check-ups, that he hardly goes to the physiotherapist, that he has never been sick, that he does not take any medication - "now I drink royal jelly before races, because a lady from the hospital gave it to me." herbalist" - and that about the diet... "I don't have any diet. Now I make the menu at home. On Mondays, lentils, with their chorizo and everything that is due. On Tuesdays ribs with potatoes. On Wednesdays white beans... The usual thing. For breakfast, some toast with butter. And coffee. What I don't do is have lunch, nothing until lunch. "I barely drink sweets and a little bottle from time to time," he reveals without giving himself importance, like his training habits, just one day of rest every two and some visits to the gym and the pool.
Paco, with his cap full of pins from the championships he has competed in all over the world. SERGIO GONZÁLEZ VALEROMUNDO
Question.-
Paco, and it doesn't hurt at all?
Answer.-
Pain? Everywhere. At 87 years old, how can it not hurt? It's bone stuff, osteoarthritis, that's it. But if I go two days without training it seems like I'm missing something. As if I was missing food. My body hurts more. What I always wear is a smile on my mouth. They tell me: 'Paco, but you're always laughing man.' What do you want, it hurts here and you won't be able to fix it. Why am I going to tell you? I take life with humor.
Q.-
What do your rivals tell you?
A.-
I have no one left. I have retired them all. I aired them all. I had the Spanish record for 45 to 50 years, a mark that has been in force for many years, until
Josep Marín
became a veteran, 49:03 in 10 kilometers. Not even the juniors did it.
Paco González, with Jordi Llopart, in a Spanish championship.EM
Paco is a mystery of athletic adventures and his old backpack accumulates documents, photographs, diplomas and lots of medals, ancient and modern, which he displays on the table with the affection of someone who shows off his treasure. Among the most special, a black and white print, hand in hand in the middle of his career with
Jordi Llopart
, with the dedication of the first world medalist athlete from Spain (recently deceased), and also a letter of recognition from
Esperanza Aguirre
when She was president of the Community of Madrid. "Look, this is the coach's diploma, which I was also for many years," he adds and there, his most beautiful triumph, the affection of those who were his pupils - he also worked as a physical education teacher at the Severo Ochoa School. from Getafe -, the one they give him on the streets of the neighborhood or the hugs he gets in the tests he attends. "They are like my children." Everyone knows and everyone loves Mr. Paco, always on the podium, incombustible in the most classic events of the Spanish walking calendar, from the
Espada Toledana to the Gran Premio Cantones de La Coruña
, part of the landscape with his cap, his unmistakable glasses, his mustache and his fanny pack.
«Next challenge? Maybe when I turn 90 I'll do the Madrid marathon marching," she challenges, with her mischievous giggle. «Running is my life and I have made athletics a life plan. I will continue in the gap as long as I can," concludes the incredible Mr. Paco.