{"id":2871,"date":"2017-10-17T19:26:46","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T17:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/?p=2871"},"modified":"2017-10-19T10:24:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T08:24:18","slug":"chosen-for-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/chosen-for-glory\/","title":{"rendered":"Chosen for glory"},"content":{"rendered":"
Spain\u2019s first Olympic Games, held in Barcelona in 1992, marked a milestone for Spanish sports. The 22 medals as well as the organizational success bolstered the international image of a country that had been fighting to integrate itself into the modern world. Today, 25 years and 6 Olympic games later, the list of athletes and teams that have reached the top tier in the world of sports \u2013and not only in the area of the Olympics\u2013 is a long one.<\/p>\n
It is important to emphasize the presence of women, such as swimmers Mireia Belmonte, gold medallist in the 200-metre butterfly in Rio 2016 and Budapest 2017, and Teresa Perales, who has won a total of 26 Paralympic medals; high jumper Ruth Beitia, first Spaniard to win an Olympic gold medal in track and field; tennis player Garbi\u00f1e Muguruza, winner of the French Open (2016) and Wimbledon (2017), and the first Spanish Olympic badminton champion, Carolina Mar\u00edn, also two-time world champion, and three-time European champion. Some of the best teams include the national basketball and rhythmic gymnastics teams, both current Olympic runners-up, among others. In recent years, the national synchronized swimming teams have also achieved great success, with names such as Gemma Mengual and Ona Carbonell, as well as athletes in rhythmic gymnastics, sailing, water polo and handball.<\/p>\n
Of all the sports figures, Rafael Nadal stands out as one of the all-time best for his impressive array of trophies, including 16 Grand Slam titles. He is the tennis player with the most victories of the French Open (10), the most important tennis championship on clay, and has two Olympic gold medals, 30 Masters 1000 tournaments and 4 Davis Cup victories with the Spanish team. In addition to his sporting career, fans and the general public praise his attitude and professional ethics, which are fundamental values in the sport. His sporting quality and international projection place him in the select group of great world-renowned Spanish athletes, such as the golfer Seve Ballesteros, who died in 2011, or the cyclist Miguel Indur\u00e1in from Navarre, now retired, a five-time winner of the Tour de France and two-time winner of the Giro d\u2019Italia, which, together with the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, constitute the three world\u2019s three major cycling competitions. Other figures have followed in his wake, such as Alberto Contador, who has confirmed his retirement but was the first Spanish cyclist to win three Grand Tours in stages.<\/p>\n
In basketball, the brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, both NBA players (the former currently with the San Antonio Spurs and the latter with the Memphis Grizzlies) are the most internationally known figures. Since the 2006 World Cup in Japan, the national team, with its unrepeatable generation of players, has won medals in several European championships, the Olympic silver medal in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and the bronze medal in Rio 2016.<\/p>\n
Madrid\u2019s Javier Fern\u00e1ndez is another athlete who has broken moulds in ice skating, a sport that is not especially well rooted in a Mediterranean country like Spain. World champion in 2015 and 2016, five-time European champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and national champion multiple times, he is the best skater in the history of Spain and is ranked number four in the international classification after the World Cup 2017, held in Helsinki.<\/p>\n
Motor sports have also produced world-famous figures such as rally driver Carlos Sainz, world champion in 1990 and 1992; Formula One driver Fernando Alonso, and MotoGP rider Marc M\u00e1rquez, who at just 24 years of age, has won World Motorcycle Championship titles in three categories: 125cc (2010), Moto2 (2012) and three-time world champion in MotoGP (2013, 2014 and 2016). Other champions that must be noted in this section include: Jorge Mart\u00ednez Aspar, Sito Pons, \u00c1lex Crivill\u00e9, Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Pol Espargar\u00f3 and Maverick Vi\u00f1ales, among others. Special mention should be made of the recently deceased Angel Nieto, a pioneer in this sport in Spain with his \u201812+1\u2019 world championships.<\/p>\n
Lastly, there is Javier G\u00f3mez Noya, a Spanish professional triathlete, a five-time world champion and silver medallist in London 2012.<\/p>\n