Quique Llopisthe current Spanish 60-meter hurdles indoor champion with a national record (7.48), will face the European indoor event in Istanbul (Turkey) with maximum confidence and with the aim of committing himself to a great championship by taking the podium.
Llopis (Bellreguard, Valencia; 2000) will face this European Championship after completing a good season in terms of indoor track resultswith victories in the Valencia rally, the World Athletics gold circuit test in Karlsruhe (Germany) and the Spanish Championship.
Q: How did you end up in this European?
A: Very good, very confident after two months with good feelings. I will try to run as much as possible and achieve the goals.
Q: Do you see this year as a year of provision?
A: Last year was great, but we have to finish. This year he is on the right track and we have to finish doing well in this European Championship.
Q: Asier Martínez will not be going due to medical leave. How does it feel to know that you will be the focus of all eyes on billboards?
A: I talked to him about all this, I send him my encouragement and I am sure that in the summer he will give his best version. As for me, it’s something I don’t mind if there will be a lot of people waiting. I play it to relieve the pressure. I like to have fun and run.
Q: From the outside, the perception is that you are a very confident athlete. Is that so?
A: Yes. This is something I have improved a lot this year compared to last. I have a lot of confidence and I think a very good European will come out. I want to continue with the same confidence, the same concentration and I believe that everything will work out.
Q: How do you see this European?
A: We are 32 athletes in the competition. I see 31 rivals on the track and I will try to do my best, compete and commit myself to an international level, achieving a great championship.
Q: Of the competitions you’ve had this winter, which was your favorite?
A: In the desert, really. In Karlsruhe I achieved my first victory on the indoor circuit, something quite special, but the Spanish Championship was amazing and the rally in Madrid was crazy because of the atmosphere. In those three competitions I remain.
Q: Is Asier Martínez a mirror in which you look at yourself?
A: We are from the same year, we have been competing together for a long time and we are rivals on the track but outside of it we are good friends. It helped me a lot, it inspired me and motivated me to continue working and training to the maximum to achieve great results. It is a mirror, because seeing what he has achieved is extra motivation. It’s quite complicated because he achieved incredible things.
Q: Spanish athletics has always stood out for its midfielder, except for some individuality in other disciplines. What do billboards have to be fashionable?
A: It’s something I think about, seeing the level that fences have reached on a national level. It all started with Orlando Ortega a few years ago. It is the great inspiration that the level is raised so much. These days with scores where you wouldn’t have entered the final of the Spanish Championship years ago you’ll get a medal. This is something very good for the event and it will be very useful for everyone to keep improving.
Q: What does the figure of Orlando Ortega represent?
A: He was Olympic runner-up and third in the world among other things. It is an inspiration and motivation to know that we are with him and that we are competing with him. I hope to find him on the slopes again soon.
Q: Why did you start blocking and not another discipline?
A: As soon as I started in athletics, they put me in the fences. I think it was because of his height. Toni Puig took me immediately, after two or three months, because he was in the high performance group, and he took me with him to train. He has a good eye, I think, and got me on the right test.
Q: Why did the fences catch you?
A: At that time there was a training partner, Luis Salort, who did the hurdles, and I remember seeing him jump and saying ‘how cool’. It was a great motivation to want to improve, to be like him and he helped me a lot.
Q: Very good athletes have been coming out of Valencia lately. What does Valencia have for this emerging generation?
A: A good coach joins good people. Nothing strange happened. The luck factor of a good coach with a good athlete always influences and together everything explodes.
Q: Do you see yourself with a medal in Istanbul?
A: There is always the thing of getting a medal at the international level but that’s it. I will fight, to try to give my best version and if it comes a medal and if not for the next one.
Q: After Istanbul, the priority goal is the World Cup in Budapest?
A: Indoor track is important but outdoor is more important, where it’s pure athletics and I’m better at it than the 60 hurdles. The indoor track should be used as preparation for the open air and I am looking forward to the year because I feel very good.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
