Esther Guerrero: “The injury made me a different athlete”

Catalan middle-distance runner Esther Guerrero, current 1,500-meter Spanish champion, told EFE that the serious injury she suffered last year, and which forced her to miss the most important events of the season in indoor and outdoor tracks , caused him to “built on other athletes”. He completed a good indoor track season this year and in Madrid, at the Spanish Indoor Championships, he once again shone to the applause of the fans who packed the Gallur sports centre.

The Catalan athlete, who arrived in Madrid after breaking his own Spanish record for the mile with 4:24.92 in Boston (United States), who achieved the best Spanish mark of the year in 1500 meters with 4:06.70, started as His favorite and made. did not disappoint on the track, where the clock stopped in 4:10.48.

“The Istanbul Indoor European Championship came as soon as it came. I haven’t prepared all the time I wanted to prepare for it. Since the injury last year, it was very difficult for me to start. I started training in August, I had to stopped in September “In October I didn’t run and I came back in November with sciatic problems. Suddenly, without further ado, in December it was like I hit the key, I started training without pain and I had two months to prepare for it,” said Guerrero, before leaving with the Spanish expedition to Istanbul.

“I myself was surprised by how far I have come and how much we worked on the bike and the elliptical, so the return to running was not so difficult. I got in shape quickly,” confessed the Catalan athlete, who has He. smile again after leaving a serious injury.

“I will go to the weapons that I have and I will try to bring them out. This European Championship came at a good time and I need the illusion of an international competition. I feel that I can run fast, the issue of speed changes I wasn’t able to do them like I wanted, but I think I can defend it. I think I can do it well”, he pointed out.

Two years ago, at the indoor European Championships in Torun (Poland), he was one of the favorites for the podium but in the end he finished fifth.

“In Torun I didn’t achieve the goals I had. It was a very open 1,500, I considered fighting for the gold and in the final I don’t think I know how to manage it properly. It was a competition where I learned a lot,” he said.

“Opportunities passed, I saw there, and I think I am stronger in other competitions because what is your life you have experiences so that it does not happen again. The level of Torun is not what we will go to in Istanbul but I’m not myself and I feel it,” he said.

“You learn a lot from bad times but you suffer more than what you learn. What I’m proud of is not throwing in the towel, continuing to believe and keep working even when I can’t run and the pain doesn’t go away. I learned to relativize everything, see it with more perspective and enjoy each emotion more and be more calm. The injury made me a different athlete and I hope I have time to prove it”, said Guerrero, which has not yet seen what you will see in the Turkish lands.

“I didn’t think too much about what I was going to look for in this European Championship and it was one of the things that surprised me because it was something I would have done. I learned to focus on myself. I know very well what my strong and weak points and I don’t have to let what happens around me influence me,” he emphasized.

Besides this European, the main goal of the season is the World Cup in Budapest (Hungary) outside of August.

“Indoor track gave me hope for what’s to come in the summer. I know I can run fast again, work, develop myself and enjoy the outdoors with a full schedule. I want to be competitive, improve my personal best and reach Budapest, which is something we all want”, he concluded.