The basketball player Laia Palau you will receive the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit, after the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Minister of Culture and Sports, Miquel Iceta, approved this Tuesday the Royal decree by which it is agreed to grant the athlete the highest decoration of the State in sports matters.
Thus, the base, that last November announced his retirement from the Spanish team, joins the select group of athletes who hold this distinction, including Rafa Nadal, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Xavi, David Cal or, the most recent, Pau Gasol.
Born in Barcelona in 1979 and currently in the ranks of UNI Girona, Palau has accumulated a record in which, among others, three gold, one silver and four bronze medals stand out in the European Women’s Basketball Championship; one silver and two bronzes at the World Cup; and a silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Palau, absolute international since 2002 and captain of the women’s basketball team since 2014, is the Spanish athlete who has worn the national team’s elastic the most times – a total of 314 games – and also the one who has been on a basketball podium the most times. At the club level he has played at the CBF Universitat de Barcelona, Bourges Basket, Ros Casares Valencia, CCC Polkowice, ZVVZ USK Prague and at UNI Girona.
For all these merits, Laia Palau is considered the best Spanish basketball player and the great captain of the national team.
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