AS DEL DEPORTE AWARDS 2022 “A better year could not be, but it also makes me dizzy”

Asier Martínez Echarte has been the Spanish sensation of athletics in 2022. The Navarrese from Zizur Mayor (22 years old) has entered the world elite by kicking the door, the complete opposite of his clean style of exquisite technique of passing through the fence based on the French school. Champion of Spain, bronze medal at the World Championships in Eugene (USA) and gold at the European Championships in Munich in the 110 meter hurdlesWith its main headlines in a historic season that has endorsed him as the great promise of a very difficult specialty that he dominates like few others both on a continental and planetary level. The silent giant has already pointed out ways and touched the metals in 2021 with fourth place in the European Indoor Championships in Torun (Poland) and sixth in the Tokyo Games.

-World bronze and European gold. Better impossible, right?

-Without a doubt, but it also makes me dizzy to see how my career can evolve from now on. These are also analyzes that are done once that high has passed and the subsequent fears begin to appear. But as you can imagine, the memory I will have of 2022 is that it will have been incredible and I couldn’t describe it in words.

-You are prudent and humble, but without fear of rivals. He has full confidence in his possibilities and in the work. And it doesn’t fail in important championships…

–(laughs). Failures will come for sure and that is something that both my team, my coach and myself are clear about. Of course, I admit that for the moment I am also very satisfied with that part because it means that, despite the fact that there are some things to improve, we have focused the competitions psychologically well.

-His coach François (Beoringyan), his team, the environment… He transmits the peace of mind that although total control is not possible, what is in his hands is very stable.

-Yes, totally. Unfortunately, having everything under control is impossible and it is precisely this intention to control situations that is often what stresses us athletes and generates anxiety. That is why I believe that a large part of the key to everything that is going well is precisely that: tranquility and confidence in the work done but without being overwhelmed by trying to feel that everything was under control. I have been lucky that things have turned out well because of course something of everything that happened must be attributed to luck and be clear that perhaps at other times it will not accompany me. There can always be small inconveniences, even unrelated to the athlete, that may appear and that will have to be valued as such, without expanding them to a gigantic magnitude. Understand that there are many factors that do not pass through your hands and that when they fail, they will have to be given the value they really have, without amplifying them.

-Some attributed Eugene’s bronze more to the luck of what happened to other rivals than to his own merit…

-I arrived in Oregon in good physical shape and in optimal health. In addition, I managed very well the moments of great tension and I did not make mistakes neither in the studs, nor in the fence, nor during the races. All these aspects make this sport and especially this discipline so difficult. In other words, if the one who is in the best shape or the one with the best quality wins here, everything would be much simpler and it would not have that magic that athletics exudes. Errors, injuries or problems managing the 110 meter hurdles, whether at the start, the obstacle course or the finish line are part of the test and the competition. These things happen and are attributed to the athlete or his preparation, but many times they are inherent to the difficulty itself. That is why it cannot be said that my bronze was solely a matter of luck, although of course there was a factor of luck and I am the first to recognize and admit it. The value that this medal has had for me has been incredible and with a very large magnitude. That is why I am very satisfied in that sense, although there will always be someone who does not value it enough or will go looking for the three feet of the cat even if everything turns out perfectly and your work has been exceptional.

-Then came the perfect European. Gold with victory by one thousandth over his idol, Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, the pure essence of the French school…

-Without a doubt it was magical, above all because of how it happened. It was not, among many quotes, a simple gold in a European Championship, but that magic of being able to compete against Pascal, one of my idols, who was pushing me from behind and demanding the most from me was impressive. And beating him by a thousandth was something almost symbolic. Martinot is one of the great international references of the fences and of that French school that Fran and I follow. Without a doubt, in addition to the success, he has had an added emotional value with the component of how everything developed even after crossing the finish line. That it seemed that he had won, then me, the emotion, seeing all the people I love there and who support me every day. As I say it was a magical moment with incredible value.

-All these successes have earned you the AS Award. Does it excite you?

-Of course I like recognition of any kind, but this one especially because a media outlet rewards and sees the work you do and what you give to sport is valued is incredibly important to me. And it’s a bit the engine of all those workouts that sometimes don’t go the way you want. These kinds of things also drive you to continue.

– Is fame digested well?

-I live in Pamplona, ​​which is like a town where we all know each other and if not, it sounds familiar or you have common people. I am also lucky in this because at the moment everything is very pleasant, easy and sweet. I have not had run-ins or bad experiences.

-Always ask that people be fair with athletes. What is it referring to?

-To that demand that the fans themselves generate and that is where I also include myself in that group because in other sports I am a spectator. And I have also seen myself demanding that the athlete perform at all times, but the reality is that within certain rules you cannot always perform at your best or be in optimal shape. So starting from that base and from a fair and clean game, we must take into account the factors that we talked about before and that can influence the performance of an athlete, sportsman or in general any person who has to perform physically. That is why any athlete, whatever their level, has also earned their right to do things wrong at some point.

-In 2023 there is an indoor European Championship and a World Cup in summer. The plan?

-The intention is to follow the same line of these years. That is to say, prepare and compete on the indoor track, taking into account that the main objective and where we focus all the training is 110 and that is in the outdoor season and therefore in the distance of the World Cup in Budapest. In principle we will try to win a place for the European Championship in Istanbul and take the indoor as a test, but be calm because everything is focused outdoors.

-And Paris 2024?

-It has always been good for me going in the short term and I don’t think about the Games yet. I want to meet the objectives set to be able to get to the next championships well. At the moment Paris is not something on my mind.