Chapado: “Athletes should look at themselves in the mirror and define what they want to be”

Raul Chapado, president of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation, told EFE that “The disappointment” of the athletes who were not selected for the European Championships in Munich is “understandable.”emphasized that meeting the eligibility criteria does not mean going to a major championship and pointed out that Spanish athletes “must look at itself in a mirror and define what it wants to be, whether it is more participatory or more competitive, both models are valid.”.

Spanish athletics lived through a chaotic week for not calling for the continental championship in Munich of the seven athletes admitted by the federation European by ranking and with eligibility criteria. These are Daniel Cisneros (110 meters hurdles), Aauri Bokesa (400 meters), Iker Alfonso (400 meters hurdles), José Emilio Bellido (triple jump), Didac Salas (pole), Carlos Rojas (high jump) and Iker Arotzena ( length ).

“There are people who understand that if you do the eligibility criteria you are already eligible and you are safe. That is not the case. It has never been like this. In fact, it happened to me during my time as an athlete,” Chapado, which he said “to understand the frustration of those who were not chosen”.

“I understand it because I’ve been there. You train all year, looking for goals and when they’re not met for whatever reason, disappointment arises. I’ve felt it myself. I show my utmost respect for any opinion they may have Diversity of thought is like that,” he said.

The president of the RFEA explained that the current system of selecting athletes “has not changed.”

“What has changed is the eligibility system. The selection system is always based on a minimum score and of those who had it, the chooser. Now, today and thirty years ago. Those who are better off are based on certain goals that have been set,” he argued.

“The difference compared to this year is that the World Ranking has been implemented. The scores set by the international federation, whether the European Federation or World Athletics, are more or less homogenized at the sports level because they are statistics. Now the eligibility or participation system is based on a new points system. What is there? There are athletes, especially in Europe, who have more access to competitions than others, in such a way that this system will not be homogenous or even at the moment,” he emphasized.

“26th in the World Ranking, at a European level, maybe 26th in the 2022 brand ranking and 26th in another test, it’s still 73rd. In this system, we need to enter other evaluation parameters that are more understandable in other calls. A minimum brand established by the federation that unifies that, in addition to being among the 26 best, you have to meet a Spanish brand requirement,” he said.

Raúl Chapado explained that the concept approved by international federations to participate has two systems.

“One is the lowest score and the other is by World Ranking. The concept they calculate for these scores is that half enter for one thing and the other for another. Each federation has ability to establish its own criteria for participation in one category or another. There are federations that are more demanding than us. Federations will never lose their authority to establish their criteria to assess their performance and who make up the national team,” he said.

“Spanish athletics needs to look in the mirror and define what it wants to be. We think that if you don’t create an ecosystem of sports demand in your system at an internal and external level, athletics will not grow. Since we have to compete and achieve the best possible results, the best thing is to impose a system that, little by little, improves the performance that exists until now”, he emphasized.

“Spanish athletes have to face their fears and complex about whether we want a very participatory or more competitive athlete, knowing that this means an increase in the level of demand even with the risk associated with it”, he pointed out.

“It’s great that everyone is going but the chances of passing the round also depend on the ranking level. It’s very difficult to reach a good championship being 23rd and pass a qualifying round. I’m not saying it’s impossible but it’s very difficult . What can you do? compete better? Yes, but passing the round is very difficult,” he stressed.

“We believe that the need is greater and the athletes are growing. What matters is that athletes look in the mirror and say what they want to be. All models are valid, from the most involved to the most demanding, but they are not compatible with each other,” he said.

“We have been selected to try to do our best. We have to study the countries that are better than us or that have better results and focus on them. I don’t think the selection of 93 is too strict athlete. And that this year is very complicated because the challenge of making two great championships is very difficult”, he concluded.