Diego García Carrera: “If you don’t train hard, you don’t win”

EWe had a very busy day to learn about the preparation of the Spanish marching team. Diego García Carrera meets us at 10:30 a.m. at the Madrid High Performance Center. From there, after half an hour of activation in the gym, they will head to Casa de Campo where they will have their series tomorrow: “It is about 3km away and neither bikes nor cars are worth it to come, so we are taking the opportunity to warm up,” he explains. .

I need to train in a group, otherwise I wouldn’t last so many years

Diego García Carrera

Ten series of 400 meters, one of 2000 and another ten of 400 is the menu that awaits you under the Madrid heat. “This training is very important because it gives us spark and speed for the competition.. We do the 400, for example, at a faster pace than the world record for the 20km walk, but it is necessary so that, when you compete slower, you don’t have the feeling of going completely to the limit because your body already remembers some intervals. What have you done faster? It is the perfect complement to the kilometers we do during the year to get ready to compete.“, says Diego shortly after finishing the series and going to rest before the afternoon session: a 12 kilometer run.

Rivals and companions

Athletics is an individual sport where many athletes, in order to improve, need to grow by training with teammates who will be their rivals. “There are many people who train alone, but in my case it is the opposite: I need to train in a group, otherwise I would not last so many years. I find it easier to face hard training when you have the support of teammates. In moments when you feel bad, you focus on following your partner’s back,” she confesses.

The positive thing about these situations is that the atmosphere is usually good. In training groups, walkers need each other and help each other to be better. “Athletics has one very good thing and that is that, since it is an individual sport, you are forced to get along with others, unless you are the grinch. Since they are all rivals, there is a climate of respect and healthy competitiveness. Regarding the training group, those of us who are enemies and most of us are allies are numbered.“.

The goal of Paris

Diego will fight for a place in the Paris Olympic Games at the European Championships in Rome. His test will be on Saturday, June 8 and he hopes he does well so he can be on the Paris circuit, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Quintana, his coach, fully trusts in his possibilities and Diego is very grateful for his work: “Here is one clear thing that has no mystery and that is that if you don’t train hard, you don’t win.. He wants us to train as much as possible to have more chances to win,” she says.

Your feelings are good. And after training like the one he did with MARCA more. “I’m happy, after training like this where you show yourself that you are capable of going at very high rates. It gives me extra confidence. This is the beautiful moment of the season, the time to enjoy“, wishes Diego.