Eloi Rovira: “When I publicly announced that I was gay, some friends fell by the wayside, but I didn’t care”

What are your goals this season?

Basically, when you are a Master, I also compete in Absolute, it gives you the opportunity to enjoy athletics without too much pressure, enjoying the experience and sharing the track with your teammates. For now, I enjoy the season, with the challenge of trying to maintain and improve grades, because now every year subtracts more than adds; having luck with injuries and continuing to train. I am happy, and at the senior national level, entering the top ten in the ranking is a goal, as is trying to beat the Spanish record.

He has eleven indoor championships and is the athlete with the most titles in Catalonia, that’s something to be happy about, right?

Yes, it’s true that I’ve always competed well indoors and I’ve had some injuries outdoors. The truth is that I didn’t know that he had so many titles and getting eleven this year made me excited, even more knowing that he is the Catalan athlete with the most titles, in a sport with very good ones athlete

Why do you perform better indoors?

Regardless of the fact that the launching surfaces are different, wood or concrete, the fall is made with a protective cage and it reduces the proper fall zone. And on an inner track this cage is placed that limits and lowers the fall area. For a weight athlete who is centered throwing is no problem, but those of us who tend to throw to the side make a lot of null throws. It affects me at the level of brands, not injuries. The only limitation is that the landing zone on the covered track is affected by the safety cage and we lose a place to carry the weight.

He started in athletics and shot put when he was 16 years old.

Yes. It was in several sessions held at the institute, at the Institut Leonardo da Vinci. I remember we went to Rubí and I stood out in the shot put compared to my other classmates. My physical education teacher, who is a swimming coach at the CAR of Sant Cugat, told my current coach, Luis Lizaso, to try it. I went to CAR, did some tests and started competing. At first I combined athletics with football, but I realized that I prefer shot put.

How did he do it in football?

He played for Penya Blaugrana de Sant Cugat, as a center back. It’s not that hard, no.

And why the weight and not the disc, for example?

It is also true that of the types of shot put there are, this is the one that suits me the most. Javelin throwers are more athletic, discus throwers are usually taller, and weight throwers are stronger. Until now I also launch the album without any problem. They are the two that can be combined naturally, the others are more exclusive. I chose the weight because I like it better and it suits my physical condition better and I always enjoy it.

He played football at Penya Blaugrana in Sant Cugat and is still a Barça athlete, always loyal to the colors of the Blaugrana.

I signed for Barça because my coach became the captain of Barça and, obviously, when they told me if I wanted to sign for Barça, I didn’t have any doubts. They always treat me very well and always recognize me and I respond with good marks.

You are the captain of the Barça athletics section, how have the cuts the club had to make in sections, including athletics, affected you?

The club is going through a difficult financial situation. Sections are not professional. Yes, we saw our financial contributions reduced, we had to tighten our belts, reorganize the objectives of the section until the economic situation improves again and we can face other challenges.

Can you make money in athletics?

Ours is a sport of professional dedication, but not of professional compensation. We have to find other sources of income and I focus on sports management from the political field, because I work in the sports area of ​​the town hall of Sant Cugat.

He always calls a spade a spade and speaks openly about his homosexuality. How has your sexual orientation been?

When I was a teenager I obviously dated girls, but there’s always something inside that tells you whether a girl’s gender is what you want or not. Sometimes you’re not old enough to deal with this internal debate and you focus on training, competing and finding a job. I avoided facing my inner truth until a time came when I saw that it was not what I wanted.

What time did you decide to go out?

I am 30 years old and I spent several years without any relationship, because responding and accepting this situation itself takes some time. From here you start thinking about whether you should take the plunge. There is family, sports, friends, work and you wonder how they will react. Coming out after 30 years is not the same as coming out at 15. Nowadays you see how young people express their sexuality freely. I thought that maybe someone would be mad at me and say that I cheated on them, until I was clear about what I wanted and I met the man who is my husband now. Once I made the move, everything was very fast. Two weeks later I said I was getting married and I wondered why I had to explain myself, I was still me and my sexual orientation was mine and unique.

Why is it necessary to publicize his homosexuality?

I remember a friend telling me why would I say I was homosexual if I didn’t say I was heterosexual. It’s true that you want to tell the people closest to you and in a way it’s part of my inner process.

Are you afraid of possible reactions?

Because I have so many characters, I don’t care what people might say. Being a chubby kid gave me a strong character and a very reinforced self-esteem at home. I took the step. I published a photo of me with Gus, my husband, and there were some jokes on the networks. A few friends fell by the wayside. You see they are no longer part of your closest circle, but I am not too worried. On the contrary, you accept more people who accept you as you are, whatever you love, and I am lucky to have a very normal context and environment.

You can be a reference for young athletes who find themselves in a situation similar to yours from years past.

Yes, it is like that and I am a gay reference for them, glad, as we all want to have professional and sports references. If my case helps other young people see that they can live without problems, perfect. I am happy to help and explain my story. In any moment that everyone needs to evolve when it is their turn, let other people see that we have taken the step and that we are living it with joy and naturalness.

Perhaps in a sport like athletics it’s easier to show someone’s gayness with less problems than in other more popular sports like soccer.

I would like to think that in other sports it is a small part of the fans who show inappropriate behavior. And today we still see racist, homophobic and sexist behavior. They are a minority but minorities are often very noisy; and the institutions, the clubs, have the duty to explain the story and to punish. Just as throwing things on the field is not allowed, neither should it be allowed to insult a boy or girl playing sports based on sex, gender or race.

You from the town hall of Sant Cugat can also work to ‘normalize’ this situation.

Probably. In politics there are also many people who openly show their sexuality very naturally. There are also top political leaders who are homosexuals, male and female. In women’s sports, I think, on the issue of homosexuality the environment is more accepting. In the male context we need to take an example from what is happening in women’s sports, which is more tolerant, compassionate and inclusive.