2024-08-01 12:41:11
Page 12 in France
From Paris
It took eight years for Argentina to win a gold medal againsince those obtained by Paula Pareto (judo, 48kg), Los Leones (field hockey) and Santiago Lange and Cecilia Carranza (Sailing, Nacra 17 mixed) in Rio de Janeiro 2016, and twelve since a man last did it in an individual sportSebastián Crismanich (taekwondo) in London 2012.
The Evil One went down in eternity in a “new” and different sport for lovers of the Olympics who are accustomed to other traditional sports such as fencing, gymnastics and athletics, among others. José Torres Gil achieved what no one had achieved before, a score of 94.82 that marked a record in the short history of BMX freestyle at the top multi-sport event that debuted on the Olympic programme in Tokyo 2020.
Also born in Bolivia but living in Córdoba since he was 11 years old, On Wednesday he left an indelible mark that very few athletes have achieved, be a champion throughout the Olympic cycle. From Asunción 2022 to Santiago 2023 until reaching Paris and being crowned on Olympus.
The road to Paris
Torres had two chances to qualify, first the Pre-Olympic in China and then in Budapest. In the general classification he had not achieved the Olympic place but due to a reassignment by the International Cycling Unionwhich had a lot to do with the ninth place achieved at the 2023 World Cup, Maligno was among the twelve riders who would seek to reach the top in Paris 2024.
The qualifying phase was on Tuesday and only nine of the twelve participants would make it to the grand final. Torres finished seventh and achieved his first objective: to enter the finalOn the first day of competition, the riders made two passes and the scores were averaged to obtain the final record. The Evil One had an average of 86.66 above a Brazilian and a Latvian, the last to reach the final.
This Wednesday The final stage was different: two routines were performed with the difference that the worst record would be eliminated and the best score would remain valid.This is how the Argentine made a first pass for history that will make him would lead her to take the gold with her score of 94.82.
“I am very happy, I can’t understand what is happening. I’m sure that when I get to the Olympic Village I’ll understand what happened. I try not to show my emotions because I don’t want to make anyone feel sorry for me, but I’m devastated right now. I had a bad time in qualifying, but today I managed to enjoy myself,” said the Cordoba native in the mixed zone.
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino was in charge of presenting the medal to the Argentine athleteThe Italian has been a member of the IOC since 2020 after five years in which football had no representation in the highest Olympic institution.
“I was waiting for the Australian to come through, and when I saw that he couldn’t get past me, I knew I had a medal. At that moment I didn’t care about the order, but then when there was only the British man left who could win the gold, I didn’t want to watch his round. When he finished his round and I saw that he didn’t do one of the strong tricks that he had to do, I automatically realized that we were golden,” Torres commented on the moment he knew he was going to stand on the top step of the podium.
The road was not easy for Torres, who was a gold medalist at the 2023 X Games in California, the most important extreme sports event. “I kept changing my goals, The first was to get into the Olympic Games, the second was to get into the final, which was already very difficult. and when you get in there all the objectives change. I put together my round and I knew that if I managed to do it I would get on the podium in one way or another, And when I did it I felt very satisfied. I felt that I was able to put pressure on all the athletes. I always feel less but this time was the first time I could feel on par after my routine,” confessed the Argentine athlete.
That routine was thought up after qualifying for the final: “When I trained I felt that something was different today. I hope to be able to organize a bike ride to show off the medal.“I’m already looking forward to getting home and seeing the whole family.”
The Cordoban, who will have to begin a stage of physical recovery due to injuries on the left side of his body, He referred to the entire national delegation“We are having a hard time winning medals and all the athletes are doing an immense job representing their sport. It was kill or be killed, luckily I didn’t die”concluded the Maligno who will remain immortalized among the 22 golden medals that the Argentine delegation has had since 1896.