The Spanish skeleton passes through Latvia

Dedicating yourself to skeleton in Spain is already something striking in itself.

It is even more so that the national championship of this sport, held last October, was organized in Sigulda (Latvia), more than 3,000 kilometers from the Iberian Peninsula.

And the fact that six of the nine participants came blindly to the event, without ever having jumped headlong on a sled, makes it quite an adventure.

But skeleton has captivated several of the contestants, all of them young, who have fallen in love with the icy track and already dream of emulating Ander Mirambell, the first Spanish Olympian in this discipline, already a participant in four Winter Games (24th in Vancouver 2010, 26th in Sochi 2014, 23rd in Pyeongchang 2018 and 24th in Beijing 2022).

"When you get on the sled there is no turning back," sums up Eloy Fernández,

The Spanish Ice Federation conducts a

every year to participate in the national championship.

The first is a pre-selection by sports curriculum and the second is physical tests.

Later, those selected are concentrated to live together and carry out experiences that involve adrenaline, such as

.

The ice rink cannot be touched until the trip, because Spain does not have any facilities for practicing skeleton.

Eloy Fernández was bitten by the bug when he received an email from his faculty, the Department of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences.

“I saw that they were looking for a fast and explosive athlete profile and I signed up even though I had no experience.

I had only ever seen it on television, ”he says.

Eloy had practiced swimming, handball and triathlon, but he seems to have found his vocation in sledding.

In the Spanish championship there are two modalities: in pushing he was second and in descents, third, which has meant a double medal in his debut.

"I am very happy, there is also a promotion that promises a lot," he says.

Podium of the Spanish skeleton championship, in the men's downhill category.

Even earlier is Clara Aznar, who at just 15 years old won gold in the female category in both modalities.

This young woman from Zaragoza was speed skating and was injured when her mother saw a publication about skeleton from the Spanish Ice Federation.

She signed up for the tests and agreed to the concentration, which she defines as a “very mental” experience.

Then, in Latvia, came its premiere.

“It was hard for her to learn the circuit, but then the descent was amazing,” she says.

"I took the gold, but it was very close."

Aznar, from now on, intends to combine the other sport in which he competes, athletics, with skeleton;

and he hopes that at some point Spain will have its own facilities.

“If they had agreed to hold the Winter Olympic Games here in Spain [Aragon and Catalonia by 2030], we would have a clue.

I hope they try again, ”she says convinced.

Actually, in the plans of the failed Pyrenean candidacy there were no plans to build a slide for skeleton, luge and bobsleigh, the three ice disciplines that share very expensive facilities.

After Ander Mirambell

The first place in the two disciplines of the men's category was achieved by another Cantabrian, Adrián Rodríguez, 26 years old.

Unlike Clara and Eloy, he is no longer a rookie and has been practicing skeleton since 2018. He admits with a laugh that his first contact with the sport was the movie

(

, 1993), where four Jamaican athletes, without hardly any resources or adaptation to the snow seek the gold medal in bobsleigh at the Calgary 98 Winter Games. Adrián also combines skeleton with speed in athletics, 100m and 200m sprinter, and he does not regret his life on ice , although he admits that not everything is positive: "It's hard to spend so much time outside and you suffer from falls."

The Spanish champion highlights the "good vibes" that exist in some concentrations in which he is already a veteran: "I am the official cook and I try to advise those who are starting out.

It is a luxury to share extreme sports with other people because a very strong bond is formed between us”.

Adrián sets increasingly ambitious goals and seeks to finish the season among the top 70 in the world to go to the World Cup in Switzerland in 2023. Last season he finished in the top 90.

In the not too distant future he sees himself emulating Ander Mirambell: "Going to the Games would be a dream come true."

Like the Jamaican bobsledders, Mirambell managed to go to four Games with few resources.

After his retirement, he is the technical director in the Federation and tries to attend most competitions to train the new pilots.

"For us he is a benchmark," the three young people remark.

Although Adrián is the outstanding student, the adventure does not end with the Spanish championship for Clara and Eloy either.

After the national success, both have traveled to the Copa América, an international championship that is held in Canada and the United States.

They acknowledge that at first her family and friends thought she was crazy, but now they are very proud of them and even accompany them on their trips.

"There are fewer and fewer blows and more performance," they summarize.

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