Perucho’s journey, from Olympic glory to resurgence from oblivion

Fourteen years after proclaiming himself Olympic champion on the Beijing channel together with Saúl Craviotto, after almost a decade in sports ostracism at the highest level, the name of Carlos Pérez Rial, from Perucho, will shine again this weekend among the applicants to a medal in the Canoeing World Championship. An emotional and full of effort resurrection. Of dedication to a sport that he loves and that he never gave up even though things didn’t go his way. Return from sports hell based on struggle and self-confidence. Unexpected irruption that, at 43 years old, he will seek the podium together with Galician Roi Rodríguez in the K2 500 of the World Cup in Canada. After winning gold at the 2008 Games, everything began to go wrong for Perucho. The change of Olympic distances -it went from 500 meters to 200- harmed him and little by little his presence in the national team was diluted. Neither the work shifts nor some personal problems, such as the death of his mother, helped. The difficulties affected him so much that his last participation in a major championship was the 2013 World Cup. Since then, although Perucho never stopped rowing, he was never among the best until a few months ago, when everything changed. “I had a few years where I kind of let loose and didn’t take care of myself like I do now. I got to 93 kilos (his ideal competition weight is 85) and I dedicated myself to rowing to enjoy myself. I disconnected a bit and that liberation was good for me, because now I feel very good again », he explains to ABC, a few hours after flying to Canada. Perucho and Craviotto, with the gold of Beijing 2008 EFE Both form a unique duo. Perucho, 43 years old and with a career full of successes (Olympic gold and eight world medals), seeks his redemption; Roi, one of those pure talents of national canoeing, wants his first metal in a World Cup after years chasing that joy without success. The two met almost by chance. Perucho’s physical improvement invited him to look for a partner with whom to fight for higher levels and Rodríguez did not finish finding his place in the national team. «They gave me the opportunity to try Roi and from the first day we saw that we were doing very well. We had been together for a week when the selective came and we were third. At the World Cup in Poznan, bad weather meant that we couldn’t play in the B finals, but we continue to train and believe in the project. In the selection of the World Cup we were able to reflect that work in the water, we were the best and here we are », says Perucho, proud of his partner, of whom he speaks wonders. “He is a great guy. He is missing a great medal, which he has been chasing for years, and hopefully we can get it in Canada », he points out. I never stopped rowing, but the change of distances was very bad for me and I had to go back to work. Combining the Police with the canoe was not easy Perucho He, who has the windows full of metals, faces this World Cup as if he were the first. In fact, it is as if it were, since nine years have passed since the last one. Almost a decade in which many thought that Perucho had retired, because his name disappeared from the national team calls. «I never stopped rowing, but the change of distances was very bad for me and the bad results made me have to go back to work. Combining the Police with the canoe is not easy. Working in the mornings and training almost alone in the afternoons made everything more complicated. In addition, the youngsters, of which we have many very good players in Spain, were a very difficult competition. It was a cocktail that took me away from the high level and that dragged me for years, “acknowledges the Galician. Everything Aligned While he moved away from the major championships, his teammates, with whom he had shared successes, continued to win and make canoeing the Spanish Olympic sport that won the most medals in each Olympic cycle. «I was happy for them, but I can’t hide that I felt a healthy envy, that I would have liked to be there with them too. I know it is the law of life, but that moment came to me suddenly and unexpectedly. Still, I think I was prepared and I didn’t get bitter », he explains. In fact, those who know him say that Perucho never lost his joy. The one that permeates every encounter with him. The one that drives the group in each training. “For us it is fundamental, because it is the joy of the team. Everything is more bearable when he is by our side. It’s pure positivity and that adds up to a lot. I think he deserves what is happening to him and it is a source of pride to see that after fifteen years of that gold in Beijing he is once again fighting for everything. I see it very strongly. More than I’ve seen him in the last ten years. Although he has always been very involved, this year we have all seen a change and what he is achieving at 43 years old is incredible. Fighting with twenty-something kids at that age is outrageous », Saúl Craviotto, his alter ego, tells ABC. The partner in that 2008 gold and, over the years, the most successful Spanish Olympian. Related News report Yes OLYMPIC GAMES Miriam Blasco and Almudena Muñoz: the judokas who changed the history of Spanish sport Lorena Gamarra standard Yes Olympic Games Sailing’s triumphant swim in Barcelona ’92: the golden harvest of the children of the wind PEDRO SARDINA One of the keys in the resurrection of Perucho is Miguel García. The coach in charge of the group that trains in Trasona (Asturias) is one of those who knows the Galician best, whom he has pampered over the years in the hope of seeing him compete with the best again. “Miguel is essential for me. Just by looking at my face you know how I am. If I am going to perform well or not. They are so many years together that it is not necessary to speak to tell me things. That knowledge is a plus. It is very important to me », explains the cangués, who a few months ago decided to take a radical turn in his life. He started working in the afternoons, which allowed him to train in the morning with the elite group, and he began to take better care of himself. «The Police Sports Association has behaved very well with me. They have given me a lot of facilities to prepare for the World Cup. If not, it would be impossible because I would have to go to work as soon as I finished training and recovery, which is what costs me the most at 43 years old, would not be adequate. As he admits, it seems that everything has suddenly aligned in his life and he wants to ride that wave. He wants to return from the World Cup “with the feeling of having given everything.” His is an example for young people, as highlighted by Javier Hernanz, Perucho’s former teammate on the national team and current president of the Federation. «Perucho is an out of series. He is one of those sports talents that appear in the country every many years. What he is achieving at the age of 43 is incredible and should serve as an example for the younger ones », affirms the manager, who will closely follow the participation of the Galician and the rest of the national team in Halifax. There, Perucho hopes to lay the foundations for a much bigger dream. One that seemed impossible just a few months ago and that he no longer sees that far. “The 2024 Games? Sometimes it’s easy to give up and I’ve never done it. Many younger than me threw in the towel and retired long ago. I never thought about that. I know that the day I leave him my ears will hurt and as long as I’m healthy, I’ll continue here. Being in Paris, at the Games, is very complicated, but now I see it a little less impossible. The only thing I know is that if there is an opportunity, however difficult it may be, I will fight for it », he warns ambitiously. The same one that has taken him out of the sports sinkhole in which he lived for years and to which he does not want to return after this resurrection that has restored his illusion.