The Spanish march gives another exhibition

Emotion, agony and victory.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
20 August 2022 Saturday 02:35
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The Spanish march gives another exhibition

Emotion, agony and victory. A sensational victory. Álvaro Martín from Extremadura reissued his gold medal from four years ago in the 20 km walk in a suspenseful final as the Spanish athlete had two red cards and a third would have meant that he would have been stopped by the judges. But it did not arrive and Martín was able to shout with happiness in Munich, also pulverizing his personal record (1h19m11s). His success did not come alone but he did it accompanied by the bronze won by Diego García Carrera (1h19m45s) while the also Spanish Alberto Amezcua was fourth. Three in the top four, only opposed by the Swedish Perseus Karlström (1h19m23s), a wild boar that took silver after vomiting in the 35 km race walk and also competing this Saturday. Impressive performances of the Spanish team

The eighth and ninth medals of the delegation in the championship came in a propitious field, that of the march, that of the school of recent decades, in that of the culture of effort, sacrifice and triumph. “On Wednesday I ate with Asier Martínez and on Thursday with Mario García Romo. Today I am going to eat with myself”, García Carrera said on Twitter on Friday, joking about the fact that he had given luck to two medalists before their races. The same thing happened to him, although he had to suffer the unspeakable, threatened by the reprimands of the judges and by the flatus that came over him. A bronze with a supine value.

The first to give a real change of pace in the test was the brave Karlström, followed by Martín and García Carrera, focused, intelligent and confident. On a humid morning, with the floor wet from the rain and 17 degrees in Munich, the winner broke the test on the way to kilometer 15 to gallop to victory. García Carrera stood next to him to try to repeat the 2018 gold-silver but flatus and the risk of more cards delayed him, while Alberto Amezcua approached him.

Ahead Karlström did not give up. The one from Badajoz, Martín, gritted his teeth and increased the pace, with splits of around 3m50s per kilometer, an outrageous time past the race hour. The Nordic could not with him and Martín became the third Spanish walker to win two golds in a European Championship, after Paquillo Fernández and Miguel Ángel López.

On the way to the final stretch, the man from Extremadura already took the flag to celebrate the victory and raise first one arm and then both. He smile at last on his face. Another monumental morning of the march.