Fátima Diame: “Jumping one more centimeter changes my life” | Sports

It is five o’clock on a cloudy but pleasant March afternoon, and a boisterous crowd of primary schoolchildren bursts onto the athletics tracks of the Fuente la Niña stadium in Guadalajara, changes clothes and begins to jog around the circuit. In those arrives Fátima Diame – dark jeans, white t-shirt, yellow chick feathers, Fendi bag and Adidas sneakers, the brand that sponsors her, shining among the kids. The kids don’t even flinch. They are used to sharing tartan with the stars. Here, in addition to Diame, other medalists train, such as Ana Peleteiro-Campoaré, supervised by the Cuban jumper Iván Pedroso, who has established his school here. Diame, flirtatious, has today changed her thick seven-diopter myopic glasses for contact lenses, which she will have the operation when she can afford to rest the time necessary to enter the operating room. She brings with her to show off in her photos, in addition to herself, the Glasgow bronze medal. This weekend she will take it to Valencia, to her parents’ house, where she keeps all of her diplomas and trophies since she began to excel as a child. When we left, Pedroso himself, who was hanging around the stadium cafeteria, had left the drinks paid for.

How long does a 6.78 meter jump take?

A sigh.

What do you think about when you jump?

In nothing. Before, in the warm-up, I ruminate on the jump, visualize it and look at Iván, who gives me the last instructions: the arms, the pendulum, the fall. But, when I start the race I enter a state and a space where there is only me. It’s just me.

Don’t you think about how to surpass your rivals?

No, I compete with myself. I’m not thinking about taking the medal from this one or the other. You jump for yourself, because you know that, by jumping for yourself, against your own limits, you are going to get what you want.

What is a centimeter to you?

A world. Jumping one more centimeter changes my life. In Glasgow I won bronze because I beat the fourth place by one. I jumped 6.78 meters indoors and my personal best outdoors is 6.81. Those three centimeters of difference, the fact that I have gotten so close to my limit, give me a lot of energy for the Games. That means I’m going to beat my record no matter what. I have it very clear.

So for you, jumping 7 meters is like climbing Everest on the flat.

I have already done a 7 meter jump training in this stadium.

Sorry? And isn’t he dying of impotence for not shouting it to the world?

No, I said: wow, I’m doing well. That means that, if I have done it, I can do it again in competition. What’s more, in the Games I’m going for seven meters. Another thing is that you get it.

Is that determination forever?

No way. It’s since I trained here in Guadalajara with Iván. In Valencia, where he trained before, the group was younger and did not have as much competition. Here, we are all on the same level, Iván takes the opportunity to sting us with each other, and with others, because he also stings us with the boys. Iván has changed my way of approaching international competitions. Say: you can, you are like them. If they bite you, bite. It has also helped me a lot to enjoy the competition. He has given me stability. Before, in the championships, I made myself small. I didn’t believe I could be as good as the others. Ivan has opened the world to me. Now, finally, I enjoy jumping.

He will also tell you off.

Many. Note that I was going to go to New York to celebrate the bronze in Glasgow and I decided not to go because, for five days, I was not going to enjoy it and then, on the way back, with the jet lag and the rest, I was going to beat myself up in training. Iván is like a lazy fly, but I need him (laughs).

How does a Valencian handle the silence of Guadalajara?

It was difficult for me to adapt. In Valencia, I didn’t stop, I was from one place to another all day, this is very quiet, and, at first, I thought I was going to go crazy with so much free time. But you get used to it. Now I’m better: I do Pilates, I study English, I was going to enroll in Criminology, which was my second option after Nursing, which is the career I studied, because for my parents, studying was necessary no matter what. But it doesn’t give me life. I arrived very tired from training.

I get tired going up a ramp. Define “tiredness”.

It depends on the training cycle, whether you are in preseason or season. But, come on, for me, tiredness is not being able to get out of bed. Feel like crying. Feeling very swollen. Not being able to sleep because you are so exhausted. And having to keep training. When you come from vacation and return to training, the first few weeks you are KNOWN. You don’t have sore muscles, but rather cuts. You can’t handle your life.

When did you start to like that torture?

I started running and jumping as a child. In Valencia, I lived in front of the Turia riverbed, I saw other children playing sports and it caught my attention. My parents signed me up for athletics, more as a game than anything else. At first, I was very small and thin and just another person, but at 14 or 15 I developed and began to stand out. At 16 I won the absolute Spanish championship in two categories, and no one had done that before. At 19 I started going to absolute international championships, and until today.

Have you ever noticed racism on or off the court?

I have to say no, never. Neither does my sister. Yes, I have friends who have been told unpleasant things or gotten strange looks on the bus or on the street, but not me. Maybe because my environment has never been racist.

Train daily with Ana Peleteiro. Now, they are both world bronze medalists. She in triple jump and you in long jump. How are they going?

And we live on the same block. And we always sleep together in competitions: she next to the window and me next to the door. We are like a family. I admire her very much. Ana is not so much my reference, but my friend. When she wins, she doesn’t surprise me at all. I know how good she is because I watch her train. Now she has been a mother and she has shown that she can compete again and win. I, at the moment, am not considering it, but it is an example.

You have half a million followers on Instagram. What does it give them?

I imagine you like my style. In competitions I use it a lot to show my sporting life. If I make a mark, I share the images. When I go on a trip, I like to share beautiful things. I really like clothes and I suppose people like what I do and what I convey.

Is it considered well paid? Do you earn the same as her male colleagues?

I have never felt sexism in my career. In athletics we charge the same, for medals, results and scholarships. And sponsorships depend on your sporting results and your popularity, on and off networks, of course, but I have to say that perhaps women have an advantage in certain sectors. I am now receiving material and offers from beauty brands, and that is less frequent for men.

At 27 years old, where are you in your career?

I’m at my best. One of the best in my special is 34 years old, but she has a marvelous physique. I think that around my age is when people jump the most, although then there are athletes, like Concha Montaner, another Valencian, who retired at 37, we’ll see.

Who is your idol off the court?

Look, more than a sports idol, I have always loved Naomi Campbell. For all. For her beauty, for everything she has achieved, for the way she modeled. The triumph of a black woman in those years was rare to see and for me she is a reference.

Model conditions are not lacking. Maybe there you have your plan B.

Would not be bad. For now, I’m going to Valencia this weekend to light the Sunday mascletá from the balcony of the City Hall dressed as Fallera. I’ve given up on New York, but I can’t miss the Fallas.

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