Lower only four hundredths the mark of the 1,500 indoors that the chorus had established in Greece and that became the best European mark
26 feb 2023 . Updated at 9:18 p.m.
Look if I’m clueless that on Friday, my partner brought me a cake with candles with the number 24. It was for the anniversary of the Spanish record of 1,500 on the indoor track and I didn’t even remember, he says. Andrs Daz (The Owl, 1969). Barely forty-eight hours later, Adel Mechaal lowered Birmingham (England) the 3.33.32 of the Galician to leave it four hundredths less (fourth best world mark of the year). On Wednesday, in another assault in which four hares helped him, he was one second behind. Last year he had monopolized the European of 3,000.
ADEL MECHAAL???? beating the RECORD OF SPAIN ?? of the 1500 Meters and making the fourth best world mark of the year pic.twitter.com/fxAXocig6Y
— Paris 2024 (@Tokio20206) February 25, 2023
In recent years many records have been broken. When I got my European one, I took it from a person who was my referent, the Englishman. Peter Elliott. She hadn’t expected it to last that long. I ended up getting used to it: ‘Well, one more year’. Once retired, it was a way to continue competing, to be attentive, he says. I’m not going to be a hypocrite. I know the longer it lasts, the more valuable it is, but I’m not angry that Mechaal beat it, he adds.
The record of the chorus had also been a record in Europe at the time. Jakob Ingebrigtsen succeeded him in 2021 with 3:31.80 (now he holds the world record, 3:30.60).
When they took my Europa I didn’t watch the race. I found out by WhatsApp. I got cold. ‘I am already a former record man, I no longer have the record’, she repeated to me. But soon, oddly enough, my mentality changed because doing sports educates you with tools that last a lifetime. Those things stay with you in education and I asked myself: ‘Why do I stay cold? It is not a penalty. It was a joy to have held the European record for twenty-two years. Me, who trained by running around the block in the Outeiro ring road. And I fulfilled my dream of being an Olympian. When you beat the mark, all the memories come. What am I complaining about?, he argues.
Since his retirement from competition, Andrs Daz is dedicated to personal training, not necessarily for professional athletes. I don’t tell my students my records. They found out about the one in Europe when they beat me. And now, again, I receive many messages again. I feel the love. I’ll stick with that, he says.
As old as running is the controversy over the merit of the mark obtained thanks to the advancement of sports practice. Andrés Díaz is a diplomat. Sport evolves with the rest of society. Previous generations would say the same about me. In the end, you have to travel that distance at that speed. The shoes will be better, there is more scientific knowledge, before we spent more time injured… but you win on one side and you lose on the other. For me, Mechaal has a lot of merit. Seeing what he did helps me believe what I did, ditch.
Spain’s new record dedicated its success to Angel Basas, head of physiotherapy for the Spanish federation who died this week, along with his son Carlos, in a traffic accident in New Zealand. Ángel was the guide in the championships: what to visit, where to eat, where to run… At the European Championship in Istanbul (my city) I would have liked for once to be the one to guide him to the best places, he wrote.
SPAIN RECORD ?? 1500 meters.
Dedicated to Ángel Basas and his son Carlos.
Angel was the guide in the championships, what to visit, where to eat, where to run… At the European Championship in Istanbul (my city) I would have liked that for once I would be the one to guide him to the best places. D.E.P. pic.twitter.com/m2ypv4JXkM— Adel Mechaal (@adelmechaal) February 26, 2023
From the Galician Athletics Federationor, on president, Ivn Sanmartn (who coincided with Andrs Díaz at the INEF), stated: To analyze the Mechaal brand, Andrs Díaz’s record must be valued, due to its scant difference, and with all that training and recovery systems have evolved, the athletic facilities and, especially, technology in sports shoes. Andrs must be tremendously proud of his career, as we Galicians are. My congratulations to both.