death of Carmen ValeroHer death, announced this Tuesday after a devastating stroke last week, shocked fans of the sport who consider the Aragonese woman from Sabadell to be the best of the 20th century. And not just because of his sporting victories decades ago. His legacy now assumes extraordinary proportions because of its importance in the midst of a wave of crisis. women’s empowerment. Valero was not aware of its value at the time. Champion and example for womenNot just athletes.
Over the years and after filming a commercial for a sponsor of Olympic sports, a Basque energy company, he emerged as a true leader in what he did, such as running, and eventually realized that his success transcended sports. His passion was always running and running. As a girl according to legend his father put a bell on him Knowing where you are walking, or more accurately, where you are running.
The Teruel native had tremendous natural talent for running and also had a strong and passionate character to dare to win the World Cross Country Championships twice in a row. Cross of Nations breaking Dawn. His success turned everything upside down.
They were supposed to be men like ‘El León de Becerril’ from Palencia. Mariano HaroThe most international athlete of the 1970s had to achieve sporting glory in black and white Gallinacean Spain, when women ran in underpants and men stood to watch the “spectacle”.
Punch the table
His victory was like a thump on the table to announce the start of the Transition (in sports). Valero said years later that on the eve of his first cross-country World Cup, which he won in 1976 in Chepstow (Wales), runners were not invited to the technical meeting of the Spanish Federation. He asked a member of the Federation about this meeting and they replied: “We have already done it, do what you can.” Women, you have big asses and full breasts.».
The next day, after defeating Tatyana Kazankina (Olympic track champion), she revealed this with the title in hand: rebellious character with a cause and the foundation that at times cost him more than many disappointments, but which he could not and did not want to give up.
“Look how girls with big asses and big breasts earn”
He met the manager and said: “Look, how girls with big asses and big breasts earn.” He repeated his victory over another Russian the following year in Düsseldorf (Germany)Lyudmila Bragina1,500 Olympic gold medals in Munich, 1975. In 1976, she qualified for the Games, rising to the top 10 gymnasts. Nadia Comanecci, in Montreal. Valero became the first Spanish Olympian in athletics.
She had to run the 800 and 1,500 as longer distances were not planned for women at the time. That wasn’t very “feminine”. Given her enormous potential in long distance racing, she had to race over very short distances.
Carmen Valero often complained that federation aid was not reaching the athletes, and rightly so. I am working at a job savings bank it was to maintain mom He contracted the disease in the ’80s and raced again, winning the national cross-country race against all odds and quitting when he was selected for the World Cup. Genius and figure as always.
Yesterday social networks were filled with condolences and tributes to the Spanish athlete of the 20th century. Only nine months have passed since then Josep Molins, His coach was dead, and just a few weeks later Valero was in the ashes of the University track in Madrid, commemorating Quadra-Salcedo.
Alex CalabuigOne of the event’s organizers summed up the void left by the event in a tweet (X) yesterday: A photo of the athlete giving a medal to a child, above which is a direct message to the heart: ‘I love you.’