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María Pérez García (Orce, Granada, 27 years old) and Álvaro Martín Uriol (Llerena, Badajoz, 29 years old) placed Spain third in the medal table at the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships. Four golds, two each in 20 and 35 km, in a historic and exciting week for the national sport and the specialty of walking in particular. “I still haven’t been able to see the evidence (laughs), but Yes, I am aware of what both Álvaro and I did. It is a historical milestone that is difficult to repeat. “It is time for society to see that the march is necessary in Spain, that it gives many and very good results,” explains the wonderful athlete from Granada to AS. “We feel very proud that all the work done came out that week,” says the man from Extremadura who has a degree in law and political science.
Dreaming is an obligation to achieve great challenges… although sometimes they are even overcome as María reveals: “I am happy because in the end the work I try to do is to be a good reference for the little ones. This double success makes children see that all dreams are possible… although they do not always come true in the way we dream, sometimes reality even surpasses them. “I feel lucky to have been able to do something that is history.” Pérez and Martín not only share the journey, they are also united by extreme sacrifice for work. And a very hard head. “I’m very stubborn, if I get something between my eyebrows I won’t stop until I get it,” she says. the only Spanish woman with two world gold medals and also the pioneer in holding a universal record, the 35 km time of 2h37:15.
In the men’s category, Abel Antón also has two golds like Álvaro, but in the case of the marathon runner they were in different editions. “I hope I can repeat it, but I don’t know if it will be possible so now I am enjoying the moment,” says this tireless worker who has achieved fantastic successes (he is also a two-time European champion) by pushing himself when the rest reach their limits. “I don’t have María’s talent,” he says humbly. The Andalusian is a prodigy… who has had to work like no one else after a horrible 2022 where she was disqualified in the World Championships in Oregon and the European Championships in Munich for irregular running. Two broken dreams. María modified the way she got around and worked thousands of hours to reign in the world as she had already done on the continent in Berlin 2018. “I have learned more from the bad things than the good. The road is hard and things feel very good when they come after difficult moments,” assures this newspaper.
“We are telling many places that we cannot attend, but we couldn’t say no to AS”
Alvaro Martin
As it could not be otherwise, both are great defenders of the march and fight off the asphalt almost as much as on it. And they agree in believing that their enormous results are the best way to defend their specialty. “There is no better feat than doing things well and having them work out. Spain had never been third in a World Cup medal table and in 2023 the march has placed our athletics in that position, which shows that it is in very good health. We train 100% every day to give our best version on D-day and H-hour, but the problem is that we are human beings and sometimes the body fails. That’s why we have to really enjoy this success,” says María. And ÁlvAro gives data of optimism: “Right now we are, as far as possible, in a good situation. At first they painted everything very black, but in principle in the program of the Tokyo 2025 World Cups the two tests continue so it seems that they have not been able to kill it as they wanted. “That makes us think that the news could be good for Los Angeles 2028.”
UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS.
The feat that both achieved in the capital of Hungary has elevated them to an unprecedented media boom in the last three months. Something that they appreciate, but that also pressures and limits them. “It has had an incredible impact, but sometimes people ask for more than the athlete can give. It is also difficult for us to say no to things, but to make our dreams and those of people come true we have to work hard for it. Great results don’t come without hard work and sacrifice. And that is what I have to do again now,” says María, who is still recovering from a stress fracture in the sacrum. “We have been up and down collecting prizes and awards, but it is true that now we cannot complain about the impact we asked for. It is simply a slightly anomalous situation, it is like a wave that is already passing and now we are much calmer,” completes Álvaro.
One of those recognitions is the AS del Deporte 2023 Award, an award that both are grateful for. “It is not just another newspaper, it is one of the most read in all of Spain. I have already been to different galas as a guest and now as the winner my role will be very different, and I am very excited. “We are telling many places that we cannot attend, but we could not say no to AS,” explains Álvaro. Something that María corroborates: “All recognitions are good when they are granted to you for your professional merits. In Spain the level is very high and fighting with all the athletes there is a real source of pride. And receiving the AS award is very nice. In addition, I have had distinctions that are almost more valuable than the medals themselves, such as having my lifelong school named after María Pérez.” Recognitions that also come on a daily basis, as Martín tells with an anecdote: “The other day I was studying in the library and a girl came to ask me for a photo. Athletics is a minority sport and we are not Cristiano or Messi. That’s why on a personal level I remain the same. These successes are not going to change me for better or worse.”
“Spain had never been third in a World Cup medal table and in 2023 the march has placed our athletics in that position, which shows that it is in very good health”
Maria Perez
In 2024, the Paris Games appear on the horizon, where they could aspire to three medals in total: the two individual medals and the relay where, a priori, they will represent Spain. A new goal on the horizon. “The dream has begun truncated. Fortunately, after almost four months trying to see what he had, we gave him a first and last name, as Miquel Ángel Cos (physio) says, my guardian angel along with his wife and to whom I have a lot to thank for the two medals. I need to feel like an athlete and forget about the crutches, recover 100% and see that the bone is well welded so that this joint allows me to get to the Games as best as possible,” explains María.
Feet on the ground, the same as Álvaro: “As we come from what we achieved in the World Cup, everyone thinks that we will repeat. Of course we are ambitious, but we are also humble and we cannot be selling the bear’s skin before hunting it. We are going to train as well as possible and try to give everything we each have during the tests. If that means two medals, great. If it is one or none, but I have given everything and it was what I had trained for, well for my part I will also be satisfied.” And he concludes: “The Spanish marching team comes from three fourth places in the Tokyo Games and obviously we want to get rid of that thorn in our discipline, whether María and/or I, or some of our teammates, succeed. “All the preparation and planning is focused on Paris, whether or not I compete in the National or the European Championships in Rome.”