Carolina Marin, Olympic champion of badminton, has parked the racket and the shuttlecock while the confinement lasts, a situation that qualifies as “surreal”, but from which he says he is getting positive things. In a talk with journalists in the framework of Santander Talks 123aCorrer organized by Banco Santander, Huelva explains what to do to stay active in this period of inactivity and how she will face a year that for her will be full of challenges, with the Olympic Games and the Huelva World Cup in the summer of 2021.
How long had it been since he had been home that long?
For at least 13 years, since I left at 14, I had not spent three weeks at home. It had been a long time since I lived with my mother. We take it the best possible.
Are you getting something positive out of this situation?
I always get positive things out of everything. From the injury to this moment. The truth is that it seems like a surreal movie, we are going for the third week but I still do not believe it. I take as positive knowing how to value things when we have them, give a kiss or a hug to the family I miss it.
The most successful and egalitarian solution was to postpone the Games “
Do you think postponement of the Games has been wise?
For me the most correct and equal solution was to postpone the Games. I knew that it was not easy for the IOC, there are many things around, the city of Tokyo, Japan, the sponsors, the media, the Olympic village. But the best solution was to postpone it because we were living in a situation of inequality. I have not taken a wheel for three weeks and what I have left. A few games is the most important date for an athlete and we were going to be at 30 or 40%. The most logical thing is that it was postponed. The most important thing is to take care of everyone’s health.
Will a new Carolina Marín come from this?
That for sure, it will be new. The last year has been with many difficulties, since the injury, in November I got sick with a virus, I had a very serious personal problem a month and a half ago … I had quite a few pebbles along the way. So having this year makes me feel relieved, reconnect with myself and know that we have a year to improve many things.
Spain’s Carolina Marín celebrates a point against Taiwanese Tzu Ying Tai during the semi-final of the All England Open Badminton tournament
How do you train while confined?
I don’t pick up a racket and shuttlecock because I’m locked up at home, so we’re focusing on the physical section, although I only train for two or three hours when before I did between six and eight. They gave me an exercise bike but I don’t have any weight or dumbbells. I bought two five-liter jugs of water to be able to make weight, milk cartons, bags of rice, chickpeas, those are my weights. It is true that they could help us a little more, but it has not been easy because it has caught us all by surprise. We must adapt and seek solutions.
What are you doing these days to keep the tone?
For me the first week was a recovery, we did not know how this story was going to be and how long it was going to last. Seeing that it will go a long way, we decided to take a break, we are going to have a very hard year. Next year is very important because I have the World Cup and the Olympic Games. This week I started the physical routine, we have decided that I have an active recovery without intense exercise because this is going to last for a long time.
How have you lived mentally the moment of postponement of the Games, to wait another year?
It is hard to wait another year for the Games, there are those who had been preparing for four years and hoped to retire later. It is not easy for anyone. But I think it was the smart thing to do.
My weights with two carafes of water “
How will being out of competition affect your fitness for so long?
It is going to affect us a lot. It’s super rare not to have a badminton racket and shuttlecock. The day I step into a pavilion again and pick up a racket is going to be like the first time I started playing badminton. So long without that contact, it is clear that it will not be easy and it will require connection time, to regain that ease that he had with the racket.
How did you experience the situation from London when you were competing and this crisis broke out in Spain?
I was following the news on social networks to the minute, and I did not hesitate to return to Huelva because I saw it as necessary and important. When I saw that there was no one on the street it seemed that I was living a movie, in England people led normal lives. Our tournament was not held behind closed doors, precautions were not followed. People continued walking calmly down the street, partying. The surprise was arriving in Seville and seeing the loneliness on the road to Huelva when it is always full of cars.
Carolina Marín, during the interview
Would you be in favor of being able to train in a ward during this confinement?
The best solution right now is for us to stay home. Although we need to do our sport, more than ever we have to join society, make a pineapple, fight against this and let it end as soon as possible. We have to stay at home, every day that I wake up I still don’t believe it and we’ve been there for three weeks. We must all collaborate. This is being surreal, but we must all collaborate. I know these are difficult times, as an athlete I would like to go to a pavilion with precautions and train, but I would not be collaborating and I would not feel comfortable with myself and the best solution is to stay at home and adapt to the situation.
Do you think that other measures for containment should have been taken?
In my opinion, the first mistake was that the Joaquín Blume residence was closed, there are 300 athletes who live there. They had to go home, it was crazy, because if we had been infected it would have spread more. It should have been closed with the athletes inside, to be able to continue with the training sessions. Now I don’t know if it is the most logical thing to return.
We have to value more the people who are working to guarantee our food, also the health workers and nurses “
In football there is talk of a 15-day activation plan, would that be enough for you?
In fifteen days it is impossible to be 100%. It depends on what each sports federation wants. Soccer is a team sport, but in an individual sport in 15 days it could not be 100%. We do not know how long the badminton federation will be able to give us before returning to compete.
What is positive or negative out of all this? Better after the injury?
Regarding my injury, I feel recovered, the fact that the Games are delayed does not mean that I have more time to be better. I am already 100% and I have forgotten about the injury. Now we are relieved in these circumstances to have one more year and dedicate more time to it, now we can be relaxed.
What do you do in your free time?
I have seen a series, the second season of Vikings, also the second will come out of the house of paper and I have read The Greed. I also like cooking and I have taken the opportunity to do DIY. We athletes are used to having so much free time.
Will this change our perspective?
It is going to change many aspects of life, we have to value more the people who are working to guarantee our food, also the health workers and nurses. We have to know how to value that, also from the security forces. I don’t think the sport will change. But we will know how to value many things that we need today more than ever.
What do you miss and what will you do when all this is over?
I miss having my routines and training, but also giving my mother a kiss or hug and seeing my family. And what I’ll do is take a walk on the beach in Huelva.
