The ice tube pilots: Mirambell’s madness finds successors

Traveling to South Korea or the United States with a bag of ham in the suitcase is a risky sport, but Clara Aznar is not even afraid of that. Already accustomed to throwing herself at more than 120 km/h through an ice tube with the only armor of her body, this Aragonese woman is clear that she can travel without many things in her suitcase, but never without her favorite gasoline. The food that her mother gives her every time she undertakes a journey around the world chasing her dreams. “It’s the secret of my results,” she jokes in conversation with ABC shortly after signing a sixth place in one of the qualifying events for the Youth Olympic Games. Youth Olympics. The great objective of this teenager who leads the relay of the Spanish skeleton after the withdrawal of Ánder Mirambell. Related News Standard winter sports No Ander Mirambell, the pioneer of the Spanish skeleton, announces his retirement He closes 17 years in which he has achieved that Spain was represented in a sport with little tradition Aznar, champion of Spain a few months ago with only 15 years, dreams of emulating the pioneer of this sport in our country. His idol and, now, guide. The guy who, after hanging up the sled, has devoted himself to building a program that lays the foundations for skeleton in Spain. A future that is already underway and that has its eyes on Cortina D’Ampezzo 2026, the next Winter Games, where the ice federation hopes to maintain its presence in this sport that was unknown in Spain until Mirambell insisted on placing it in the media spotlight. «The best news of these months has been to verify that there is life in the Spanish skeleton after my retirement. And there is far above the expectations I had in my head. We have planned a four-year project and in just one we have already achieved many of the objectives set. We have nine athletes in the program – five men and four women – who have started a family and are already achieving good results. Obviously they are not yet the ones we had in recent times, but there is life and in four years I hope to see one of them contesting the Games », Ánder Mirambell himself points out to ABC, halfway between South Korea and the United States, to where he has traveled to accompany Clara Aznar. Clara Aznar and Ánder Mirambell, at Lake Placid ABC «Clara is a natural talent. At only 15 years old, she won the Spanish Championship and here – in Pyeongchang – she has made a sixth place competing against girls who have many more drops in her history. But everyone on the team has something. Serena (Juan) and Agur (Castrillo) are two great competitors; Eloy (Fernández) is evolving very well and was just on the verge of the top 20 in the European Cup in Innsbruck; Javier and Daniel Basas both have very good things, but they lack continuity… We are breaking the ice and, although they are not results that invite us to say that a star has been born, they do deserve to pay attention to their evolution and we give them the necessary support to continue forward. The words of Mirambell, sports director of the federation and coach of the team, serve to name the newcomers, who joined the project (in which Adrián Rodríguez, Ana Torres-Quevedo and Alberto Porras were already present) in the last call released on social media. A push track in Madrid For him they are like his children, whom he takes care of and helps to walk a path that he had to travel alone. «I look at them and of course I see myself reflected. One of them, for example, did not tell me until the third day that he was going down with one eye closed, because it hurt. Going down to 100 km/h for an ice tube with one eye! Those kinds of crazy things remind me of what I did when I started. Others have financially and personally mortgaged themselves for this sport and then there is the illusion with which you see them taking notes on everything. Each one has something from me and I hope to keep something from them, “says the former athlete, with a touch of emotion. Because the work is a lot and the resources are few. And that every day the conditions of new athletes are improving. Next April a push track will be inaugurated in Madrid (one of Mirambell’s historical claims) that will help improve the start, essential in this sport that mixes strength, skill and courage. «I would not speak of fear, but of respect. Especially on the first descents. As you pass the curves, the speed increases, you are glued to the ground and the feeling of adrenaline you have is very strong, “says Clara, happy with this new stage in her life. She is one of the family that has been created around Mirambell and the Spanish skeleton. A very well-matched group that enjoys growing together. Where the successes of one are those of all. Where the objective is to maintain the upward path started by the pioneer and extend it until the next Games. There is life and there is relief to achieve it.