The hardest battle is the one inside. To close the eyes and replay the sequence of error over and over. To open them again just to slow the movie down. Rest should come with eyes open, attentive to what’s still ahead.
Laura García-Caro knows this pressure well. She is a walker, 29 years old, almost securing a bronze medal. On Friday, in Rome, after 20 kilometers and three meters from the finish line, she nearly celebrated a win when another runner stepped right onto her path. The scene is brutal: in the tiny fraction of a second when Laura begins to lift her arms in triumph, the rival’s foot finds space and momentum. What races through her mind in those milliseconds is written on her face in an instant. Victory, surprise, despair, surrender, defeat — all flash before the eyes. We watch the image again and again. It’s only a handful of seconds, but they leave a mark that lasts far beyond a single moment.
Other articles by Agnès Marquès
Team sports and individual sports — choosing one of them becomes a test for parents. If you pick tennis, athletics, or taekwondo for your child, you’ll sooner or later meet a parent who questions the choice, arguing that a team sport teaches values, sharing, and cohesion. Yet there are moments, like a weekend during Roland Garros finals, when one person’s solitary focus reveals the sheer difficulty and the immense mental strength required to face a challenge alone. It is all about one match, one moment, and the mental fortitude that fuels performance.
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Garcia-Caro’s bid to conquer those twenty kilometers and finish among the top three was monumental. After two years away from active competition due to a lingering COVID-19 illness that left her exhausted by the lightest effort, she arrived at the Rome European Championship with her best time yet. They say the fall is often harder than the climb. The Olympic Games in Paris loom in sight. Only someone trained to conquer her own fears can pull herself back from the brink — to be both captain and defender and forward and goalkeeper all at once. Admiration follows from witnessing such resilience. The vast majority would not survive without the team’s embrace and support, but there are moments when the solo heartbeat has to carry the load alone.