Spain is not making the Olympic leap

The optimistic predictions of Alejandro Blanco, president of the COE, did not come true. The reality of Olympic competition has put Spain in the same place where it has been anchored for 20 years. In the last six Olympic Games, the Spanish crop has not moved within a narrow range: from 17 to 20 medals. In Paris there are 18, with 5 gold, 4 silver and 9 bronze. More gold than three years ago in Tokyo (3), but less than in Rio (7). Blanco, excited by the great international results in this Olympic cycle, always talked about surpassing the 22 medals of Barcelona’92, although he did not see it possible to equal the 13 golds at the time, a huge number. Some more optimistic forecasts spoke of 25 or 30. But Spain did not make, even in Paris, the Olympic leap to the next level, despite the absence of Russia, a major rival in many sports.

The law of the medal table keeps Spain in the middle class, 15th, very far from the numbers of European neighbors like Italy or Germany, not to mention Great Britain or the host France. Gender equality in the Spanish team does not have any correspondence this time on the podiums: 11 men, six women and one mixed. In Rio alone, eight years ago, women won more medals (9) than men (8). And only three from Tokyo are repeating: women’s water polo, K4 500 and handball.

unlucky? Fragility under pressure? We can talk about the first factor if we remember the saddest image for Spain in these Games, the injury of Carolina Marín when she went straight to the final and towards a new medal. Or the enormous number of fourth places (at least 9) and fifth places (18) that Spain accumulated in its 46 diplomas in Paris There were disappointments, such as the fourth place of the women’s soccer team, world champion , the fall Alberto Ginés, gold in Tokyo in the 7th, to Jon Rahm after leading the last day, taekwondo or a mixed 470 who suddenly found himself without a medal if it could be gold.

But on the other side there are also great achievements such as gold medals in men’s soccer and women’s water polo, the unexpected silver in 3×3 basketball, the stability of canoeing, which is always increasing, and Saúl Craviotto who , with his sixth medal, which is the greatest legend of Spanish Olympic sport. And the great performance of athletics, with Jordan Díaz and the stellar duo of walkers, María Pérez and Alvaro Martín. Between them, three added four podiums, equaling the record from Barcelona’92. The two podiums of reborn boxing or tennis, in Nadal’s Olympic farewell, with Alcaraz as a huge runner-up after a legendary match against Djokovic or the crucial bronze in women’s doubles.

The Olympic leap worthy of Spanish sports will hardly come if we don’t bet on it. The ADO Plan that introduced Spanish sport in Barcelona’92 has been modified for decades under one constant: less private investment and more public investment to reach at least decent figures in the preparation of athletes . It is not the path chosen by other countries, such as Australia or the United Kingdom, or France itself, which has made sport an issue of capital at the budget level. A worthy Patronage Law, with more competitive tax exemptions than at present, will bring back more sponsors of Spanish Olympic sport. And that does not depend on the athletes, who did in Paris everything possible and more.