Mariano García catches the gold in 800 with a lesson in courage

Awesome.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
21 August 2022 Sunday 11:34
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Mariano García catches the gold in 800 with a lesson in courage

Awesome. By the rope. Without leaving the head. Brave. Huge. Mariano García became the 800 European champion this Sunday with a wonderful race. He was superb and managed to be the first Spaniard to be crowned in the distance in the continental event. "I'm going to be brave, like in the semifinals," Mariano had said.

And he fulfilled it. He took the lead before the end of the first lap (52.06) and never gave it up. Behind came the 1,500m world champion, the British Jake Wightman, opening up to lane two and trying to eat the Murcian's toast. But García resisted, clenched his teeth, endured and even extended his stride to throw himself at the finish line. "I only see shadows, not rivals," says the Spaniard.

He was not afraid of anyone and completed a phenomenal year in Munich. In Belgrade he already surprised by being world champion on the indoor track and in Germany he achieved gold with a tactically perfect race. “I felt very strong, I knew I could fight to be on the podium and I went for it without hesitation. I am very happy”, said the winner.

He started from behind but in the 300 he maneuvered to get ahead to the first place. To set the pace and not run a meter too many. "I was expecting a slower race but it wasn't like that and I decided to take control. When I got in first I knew I had to give everything to not give up. Winning in this Olympic stadium is special, the crowd has pushed me to go faster." Garcia valued. In the end he prevailed with his personal best (1m44s85). That is to say, he practically nailed the time of the first lap in the second, which means that he made a license plate 800. Behind Wigthman (1m44s91), who beat Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Eugene but not Garcia in Munich, and Irishman Mark English (1m45s19) came third.

The Murcian medal is the tenth for Spain in the European Championship, which equals those of Berlin 2018 but with more golds (4 in Munich for 2 in the German capital).

Just before the race, Mariano García moved nervously, winked his eyes, touched his ear, felt his face, ran around and, when they introduced him, made the gesture of starting the motorcycle, a classic that makes him unmistakable. For his head to be daring, as in the semifinals. In his mind, give himself a joy and give it to his countrymen from Cuevas de Reyllo, a district of just over 2,000 inhabitants in Fuente Álamo (Murcia), where the parties are and where they had installed a screen to follow their evolutions in Munich.

Tied to the land, he trains there on a 300-meter triangular track where they set up the market, and he doesn't plan to leave there. With his method and resources that he can, hand in hand with his trainer, Gabi Lorente, García has touched the sky.