García Romo: “Doping seems disgusting to me, it’s cowardly”

Mario García Romo ( Villar de Gallimazo, Salamanca, 23 years old ) has been one of the best news in Spanish athletics, the revelation of the 1,500 meters. Yesterday he closed his season in the Lausanne Diamond League (sixth place, with 3:32.71, he already has the minimum for the Budapest 2023 World Cups), in a new duel with the intractable Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen (first, with 3:29.05). A good time to take stock of a course to rub your eyes that has placed him in the world front row, in which he has cut his personal record of 1,500 meters in more than five seconds to an unimaginable 3: 30.20. —Raúl Chapado, president of the Federation, commented surprised that you were not happy with the bronze you just won in the Europeans. —It’s that I went out to win, I only thought about the gold. I approached the final with a lot of ambition, convinced that after Jakob I was the best. I decided to go out very brave and maybe there I sacrificed the money. Well, there will be years to improve. “How is the Norwegian Ingebrigtsen superior?” —In resistance. He has an engine that allows him to go 3:32 whatever the race conditions. I have to improve my resistance a lot to beat him and I’m going to work on it. However, in speed he is not fearsome. If we get even to the last 100, I win. —You have improved your time in 1,500 meters by more than five seconds this year. Has it surprised you? Yes, it was a surprise, yes. I could expect a 3:32, but a 3:30… I didn’t count on it, really. What happened is that in the World Cups he had tremendous motivation. I wanted the medal, I came strong to the last lap and I threw everything at the end. That’s why I got that time. What goals do you set for the coming years? —I only think about winning the gold of the World Cups next year and the gold in Paris. —He is now going to train in Colorado… —Yes, but my plan is to return frequently to Spain, return from time to time. I’m excited to do a cross-country test and even be selected for the European cross-country. —Do you have among your objectives the Spanish record, to beat Katir’s 3:28? “Now that’s complicated. Maybe in a few years. I am more interested in medals because medals transcend time. Records come and go. —And the world record of El Guerrouj, those 3:26.00 with which nobody can? “People underestimate this record. I think that not even Ingebrigtsen has it within his reach. The perfect conditions would have to be given and a hare that would pass very quickly. It will last for years. —And the 3:47 of José Luis González in the mile? —Ugh. That record is very, very hard. “He’s going to be 40 years old. —I would be excited, but that record is within the reach of very few. —Do you personally know González, Cacho? -Nope. Neither of the two. Cacho congratulated me on WhatsApp the other day, but I have never spoken to them. —Who have been your referents? —The American Centrowitz, Olympic champion in Rio, and Álvaro de Arriba, who is from a town in Salamanca, like me. —Will you stay and live in the US? -I don’t think so. In the future I would like to return to Europe because here we have things, and I don’t know how to describe them, that there are not in America. —To beat Ingebrigtsen you will have to increase your mileage in training… —Yes. Now I’m doing between 90 and 100 a week. The most I have done in my life has been 130 kilometers a week. I’ll have to go up to 160, which is what Ingebrigtsen has been doing since he was 11 years old! —What is the future of Ingebrigtsen? “I think he’ll climb away. It is the natural evolution of any runner. He really is better at 5,000 than 1,500. He controls those runs better. He gets in front and period. —Were you in better shape at the World Cups or now at the Europeans? —In the World Cups, clearly. “Your favorite workouts?” —I like the series at the rhythm of competition, that is, 500, 400, 300 meters, that type of work. —How do you see Spanish athletics? -Very well. We were third in the Munich medal table and I see that passion for competing in my teammates. We motivate each other a lot, at meals, talking, we send each other energy. And the best thing is when someone does it wrong, he is very supportive. This is going to make us grow. —Katir, Mechaal, Fontes, Gonzalo… what do you say about your rivals? —Katir is one of the best middle and long distance runners in the world, he has a very good running technique and his endurance is magnificent. And de Mechaal would highlight how good a competitor he is. Although this has not been his year, he has amply demonstrated it. I really like how easy it is for him to get through the eliminatory rounds, he doesn’t have a hard time with Fontes. And Gonzalo has incredible humor, he was nervous before the final in Munich, but he makes up for it with brutal joy. He is always happy. What do you think about doping? “Doping seems disgusting to me.” It’s cowardly. We have to eradicate it completely because it undermines our credibility. When a case appears we are all affected, even if you are not related. In addition, there are many dreams of athletes that do not come true because one who was doped beats them. Now there is a debate about the biological passport in Spain that I hope will be resolved soon, because if not, abroad they will think that we do not have a clean sport. Right now in Spain you cannot be sanctioned for a biological passport. We have to solve this as soon as possible. —It will not be easy to choose the best Spanish athlete of 2022. — Asier Martínez, without a doubt. And that Katir is close. Related News standard Yes athletics Australia, technology and demand: the reasons for Spanish growth Ignacio Romo standard Yes Athletics «I want to feel bad, I need to be angry and sad» Javier Asprón —Hobbies outside athletics? —Few. Because the funny thing is that while I was studying in Mississippi, the hobby was athletics! Now that I am going to be a professional athlete is when I have to look for ‘hobbies’. I want to learn Italian, German and also play the piano, if possible. “How’s your reading?” —I recommend ‘The Meditations’, by Marco Aurelio. It is very good. And I wasn’t a fan of fantasy literature but right now I’m with Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’. -A movie? —’Gladiator’. I see it before competing, it gives me a lot of motivation. And in series, ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’.