Until over a month ago, Esther Navarrete I have never run a marathon. Now he is national champion in the distance and one of the three athletes who will represent Spain in the 42K of Olympic Games in Parisnext August 11.
“Since I was young, people told me that you would be a marathon runner,” said the woman from Vigo in an interview with this medium. “I put it off because I love the 5,000m and the 10,000m. But I did the filming very easily. They sent me filming in preparation for the marathon and I did it like it was nothing, like I was doing it. in my whole life.”
The 34-year-old athlete born in Vigo He started running as a child, at 9 years old. “I started taking it seriously in the promising category (20 years old) and started training more days. Before I trained one or two days a week and then I started doing five or six days. I started with 5,000m and 3,000m and some races are 1,500m. Until last year it was like that,” recalled Navarrete, who then decided to switch to the 10,000m.
“We saw that we had to climb far to achieve things. Last year in the Spanish Championship, we thought about doing the Half marathon of Valencia to see if we can get the minimum for the European Championship. Based on the mark I made in Valencia (1h09:58) we also considered the marathon. Without thinking too much about it, we started working with two and a half months, and there we are,” he explained.
His baptism of fire came on February 18, when he debuted at 42K ng Seville, his first (and so far only) marathon. “I know I’m in very good shape and I’m ready to make a mark around 2h25. But this is my first marathon and I don’t know how my body will react.”
Ester was the first Spaniard to reach the finish line with a time of 2 hours 24 minutes and 40 seconds, the second best brand by a Spanish woman in history, which gave him the Spanish Championship and a direct pass to the Paris Olympic Games. “I surprised myself by the fact that everything went so well. Everything went smoothly. Not only the time but also the sensations. It was all very good,” she remembers.
From that day everything changed. “Before the marathon I became a professional, but now I have more demands because I will be an Olympic athlete and I have to maintain my status. Now I notice that they call me from many places, more people follow me, when I go anywhere someone knows me “It changed my life in many ways,” explained the runner.
The Paris women’s marathon 2024 It is celebrated next August 11 and is the final event of the Olympic Games. Its route is from the French capital to Versailles round trip and accumulates a slope of 874 meters (438 positive and 436 negative) which, added to the high summer temperatures, will make it a very difficult test.
“I’ve seen it and I know it has a slope of 13%, which is scary,” Navarrete said. “We’re doing a lot of manpower because it’s going to be very important.”
The athlete of Cougars He knows that getting a medal is very difficult because of the very high level of African runners, but he aims to be among the best European runners. “My expectations are to do my best and be one of the first in Europe,” he said. “We are a group of athletes with a similar brand. I don’t know them well, but I am guided by the brands they have. There is a French runner and a British one who are my references,” he explained about his rivals .
After Paris, Ester will fulfill the greatest dream of any athlete: participating in the Olympic Games. What other dreams do you have left to fulfill? “One of them is going to a World Cup, something I have never done. I want to compete more outside of Spain at an international level and run in one of the big marathons, in a Major“, said.
Work, motherhood, doping and references
Ester recently devoted herself completely to athletics. “Until last year I worked as a nurse but we decided to bet on athletics. We want to prepare well for the half marathon and the marathon and I can’t recover,” he said.
With a 3-year-old child, she had to combine professional athletics with motherhood. “In the end this is a job and I take it very seriously. When I work I am not with my son. I have to do it well. I have a daycare where I leave my son every morning and I take advantage of those” Therefore, in the afternoons when I do double sessions, I try to get a family member to stay with my son, I ask people who are close to me or my wife.”
His greatest reference in the world of sports is Allyson Felix, the most successful athlete of all time. “As a woman and as an athlete, she is one of the greatest references we have,” she said.
Cases of doping, which is happening more and more in Spain, is one of the things that bothers him the most about the sport. “I am very angry. Sad and disappointed. In the end they are lying to us. Seeing so many frauds and so many lies, and above all that there are so many, I am uncomfortable and angry that there is nothing. more fighting to discover the trap makers. “
Finally, Navarrete left a advice for all people who want to debut in a marathon: “Enjoy every step and every kilometer. There will be bad moments but they will pass quickly. And the feeling of entering the finish line after completing the brilliant distance is a moment. of glory to be enjoyed to the full”.
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.
