Abascal’s surreal anecdote: “We’ll put you in Franco’s room”

The former athlete and first Olympic medalist from Spain in the 1,500 meters at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, José Manuel Abascal, highlighted this Thursday that in sport and in life “you have to be brave” and not be afraidbut he also warned that when you’re among the elite “the only thing you can’t do is fool anyone, least of all yourself.”

“You have to have the honesty to know how to leave, because if not the review will be given to you.he highlighted.

Jose Manuel Abascal participated in the Ateneo de Santander in a talk-colloquium, organized by the Bansander Clubwhere he recounts the milestones of his career and some details and personal anecdotes that he has experienced in half a century dedicated to the sport.

The winner of the first Spanish Olympic track athletics medal He said he started running “since he was little” and, drawing a parallel with his land, he “climbed the mountains” until he was “in the world elite.”

At the age of 15, they brought him to Barcelona, ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ and with the help of the Spanish Federation. There he had “an extraordinary person” as a coach, Gregorio Rojo, a “teacher” who guided his steps towards success.

“You practice multi-jumps to build legs and the next day you wake up with your entire shoulder purple. and no one complained, nothing happened,” he recalled.

Franco’s room

Abascal liked to train at altitude, and in fact he prepared in Áliva, in the Picos de Europa, for the Olympic Games, with sheep and cattle, at 1,500 meters. “When climbing above 1,500 meters the air is less dense, there is less oxygen and the body accumulates red blood cells to defend itself.. “Then you go down to sea level and it’s like they’re removing a backpack, you run faster,” he explained.

During that training phase, he experienced an anecdote at the Áliva Shelter, with his director. When he arrived he was given a “traveling” bed, one of those used by mountaineers, but, after a visit from the regional newspaper to interview him and ask how he was preparing for the Olympic event, the director told him of that facility. : “Sorry I didn’t meet you, we’ll put you in Franco’s room“.

And, “from day to night,” he went from sharing a bathroom in a hallway to having a large room with its own bathroom, which “made the stay better,” he commented with a laugh.

In any case, staying in Áliva and Picos helped him a lot, it gave him “inner peace.” “I have realized training in that field, surrounded by nature, everything is peaceful, my spirit has strengthened, I have come out better and with moral proof of everything,” he stressed.

The importance of morality

Abascal insists that, although it seems cliché, “morality is key”. “I’ve lost as many races as I’ve won, and sometimes you get demoralized, but you don’t have to get carried away,” he said.

In Los Angeles he demonstrated the importance of strength and confidence. “My coach told me: ‘Abascal, there are only 500 meters to go, you have to give up your life’, and that’s what I did.. Sometimes faith moves mountains,” he added.

From that historic career he drew a lesson: that “you have to be brave, you don’t have to be afraid“. “It was difficult to get a medal at the level of athletes back then”, with greats like Sebastian Coe, Stephen Cram, Omer Khalifa or Jim Spivey.

The best and the worst

After the historic bronze in the 1,500 in Los Angeles, Abascal realized how much that victory was valued in Spain. He got the medal, he knew it was important, but until he returned he didn’t realize the full dimension it came with.

First, because when he arrived at the airport from the United States he was surrounded by a cloud of journalists who asked him for statements and photos “biting and kissing” the bronze, despite the fact that in the Spanish delegation there were good ones that athlete who brought gold and silver.

Soon, as he arrived at the Picos de Santander cafeteria at 4 o’clock in the morning, the customers stood up to applaud him.when he thought that in Cantabria, at a time when there were only two television channels and no cellphones, race tracking would have been reduced.

And also because when he finally got home and fell asleep because he was “doubled up” on the trip, his mother picked him up because there were “about fifteen journalists” in the living room.

“It’s been a year that I’ve been on a cloud, but in this sport you have to be like a Spartan all day without rest. Otherwise, you’re lost,” he warned.