I turn on the TV for the last day just to see that our last contestant with a chance in these games, Laura Heredia, is eliminated from the modern pentathlon final because her horse has made three failures in an obstacle. I correct myself. It was not her horse. It turns out that in the equestrian event the horse is chosen by lot and they present it to you 20 minutes before you start jumping. I understand the behavior of the horse, a wonderful and noble animal, but at the same time I am logically distrustful of someone they have not known for even half an hour. The fact is that from the first change the event has gone to hell for Heredia.
Speaking of thoroughbreds, there is the men’s handball team, which we should never doubt. It is not easy to get your spirits back up when you are one shot away from making it to a final, but this team has had an irreproachable competitive culture for a long time. In their style, that is, agonisingly, they have defeated Slovenia again, and now they have another medal hanging around their necks.
The competition is being held to its last straw with the women’s basketball final. It is difficult to find a better ending, as it was a colossal match where the big surprise of the games was on the verge of happening. The USA in the women’s version maintains its overwhelming streak of 61 games without losing, but this time the photo was needed. finish to decide the winner (67-66). As expected, the Americans took the two golds, but they were never so contested. They suffered like never before and needed prodigious displays like Curry’s with those four three-pointers in two minutes, each one more difficult and decisive than the previous one and which went straight to the list of moments that we will continue to remember in many years.
Now that the competition is over, more or less thoughtful analyses are already arriving to describe the Spanish performance. Have we met our objectives? Are we better off than four years ago? Are we being too optimistic? I find it difficult to get into this game, because I understand that to get an accurate picture, more factors would be needed to be taken into account and enough time to analyse them. Not only medals would have to be included in the equation, but also diplomas, finalists, where and how they were achieved, which athletes have surpassed their personal bests, the difficulty of each specialty, the number of its practitioners, the historical evolution… etc. I suspect that more important than the media balance will be the study carried out by each federation to be able to rectify or insist on the path.
One last aspect that has nothing to do with high competition but rather with sport as an educational tool. If we all agree that sport educates, teaches you values that last a lifetime, shows you the importance of knowing how to work as a team and a lot of other positive things, why is it not treated as it should be in educational plans where it continues to be irrelevant in our schools and institutes? In this case, I do believe that we are behind compared to other countries in our environment.
I would like to end by congratulating all the athletes who have participated. Those who have done well and those who have not met their expectations. Those who have cried with joy and those who have cried out of sheer sadness. Those who will return with renewed energy and those who will watch it on TV in 2028. Those who have the most media-friendly athletes who have fought for the podium and those for whom reaching the semi-final was a huge success. Competing in the Games is within the reach of very few and is only achieved with a stratospheric dose of work and effort. Once you get into competition, as Nadal already said, anyone who thinks this is easy has no idea.
Well, that’s about it. From today on, media attention will once again be monopolized by football fans, 75% of the specialties will disappear from the radar, a few veteran athletes will retire and the rest, after some well-earned vacations, will start dreaming of LA 2028. For my part, I’m putting this diary aside until further notice. It has been a pleasure to share it.
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