They say that sport is one of those parts of life that teaches others to be better people because of the values it transmits. That many of its disciplines help to cope with personal problems or the disappointments that life keeps in every corner. In short, it is home to incredible stories that often become lessons, engines and examples to move forward.
All these sensations and some more are transmitted by the feat that Daniel Gavilan stream every day. The Spanish judoka has just completed what has been a milestone for him, a dream, an objective that he has pursued for many years. Bakuepicenter of his epic, has seen him crowned world medalist in the sport that is now his life.
However, this athlete from Madrid is used to winning constant battles due to the ups and downs and complications that life has thrown at him. During his adolescence he became blind as a result of an illness and now sells coupons from the ONCE in the well-known Madrid neighborhood of Vallecas. However, many people who come to his humble kiosk do not know that they are dealing with a true elite athlete with an admirable track record and that he has even participated in some Paralympic Games.
[Teresa Perales, al rescate de su rival Olena Akopyan: así huyó de la guerra en coche durante 5 días]
That hero who competes against the best blind judokas in the world with the same naturalness with which he tries to distribute luck among his neighbors has just won the bronze medal at the Judo World Cup for people with visual disabilities that has been held in Azerbaijan thus closing a magic circle.
Daniel Gavilán during the World Judo for the Blind in Baku 2022
medal for perseverance
From November 8 to 10, the Heydar Aliyev and Concert Complex of Baku, in Azerbaijan, has been the venue for the 2022 Judo World Championships for the blind. A long-awaited competition for Daniel, who had spent many years pursuing what was until now the great challenge of his professional career.
250 athletes from 41 different countries gathered in the various categories included in this important championship. Along with Daniel, three other national athletes also competed. Martha Maple y Sergio Ibanezwho finished fifth, and Mary Manzaneroseventh.
The man from Madrid has made a superb contest that began with his victory over the Indian Deepak Kumar and continued with his victory against the Korean Min Jae Lee. With these two conquests, Daniel was fully involved in the fight for the medals. However, in the semifinals, he was defeated against the Ukrainian Davyd Khorava.
That defeat did not prevent him from showing his best version again to take the battle for the bronze medal against the Uzbek Sherzov Namozov. A fight that was full of tension, emotion and controversy since the judges decided to annul an ippon to Gavilán’s opponent. He tried to abstract himself from everything that was happening in the Azarí pavilion so as not to lose concentration. Finally, Namozov was the victim of a penalty in the last seconds of the golden technique that ended up giving victory to the Spanish judoka.
[Marta Fernández, premio León del Deporte de El Español: “De niña tenía fobia al agua”]
The medal obtained by Gavilán, together with the good positions of Marta, Sergio and María, serve to improve the result achieved in the 2018 World Cup when the Spanish delegation did not bring home any medals. In addition, the good participation of the national army has also allowed them to add a significant number of points for the qualifying ranking of the Paralympic Games in Pariswhich began on September 1, 2022 and will be open until June 24, 2024.
Daniel Gavilán training during a concentration in Valencia
An example of life
Daniel Gavilán is a sports star, but he is also one of those star that shines with its own light in the firmament of life, lighting up and illuminating the path of all those around him. If someone falls, he is there to pick them up. Either from your ONCE kiosk or from the most important judo championships in the world.
At 32 years old, this professional National Organization of the Spanish Blind he attends to each and every one of the people who come to his stand with the same naturalness with which he prepares for his great sporting challenges. A regular in the J2 – 60 kilos category, there are few spaces left in his showcase for more trophies and medals.
Daniel is the eldest of a saga of brothers who have a great passion for judo. In fact, another member of the family, Álvaro, also practices this sport, following in the footsteps of someone who for him is an absolute reference both inside and outside the tatami. This judoka from Madrid combines his job as a coupon seller with his life in the High Performance Center from Madrid. There he goes about five times a week to undergo intense training programs.
[La nueva vida de Niko Shera en el judo: una dura adaptación, derrotas y su primera medalla europea]
Gavilán has been going to CAR almost every day for the last five years to train against professionals who do not have any disabilities. He has always done it that way and despite his problem he was not going to change his way of exercising, the one he started with when he was only 6 years old in the Vallecas Budokan Gym.
He modeled his technique under the watchful eye of a legend like Sacramento Moyano and he spent a total of 23 years within the walls of the Vallecano enclosure going to his unmissable appointment with his brother Álvaro. Now, who has stayed with the square of both is Arturothe youngest of all, although he opted for karate.
A tireless worker, Dani does not need to see like the others to have everything under control. The tatami, thanks to his talent and his ability, offers him something that life took away from him because of an illness: the possibility of being equal in conditions to the rest. Over time he has learned that he does not need to have his ‘eyes open’ to see beyond what others can see.
Daniel has always been in love with martial arts. He began kicking everything that moved to cultivate his love for taekwondo, a discipline that he would later combine with judo. However, when his vision problems began, at the age of 17, he decided to bet on a sport of grappling and closer contact. His hands would become his new way of seeing the world and the sport.
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At that time, Daniel was nearsighted. When he got worse, she put it down to that. However, it took him several years to learn that what he really had was the stargardt disease. It is a problem that cancels the central vision of the eye and causes the appearance of a spot in the visual field as well as the total reduction of the acuity of this particular sense. To make matters worse, it is greatly affected by contrasts, both in dark environments and in very bright ones.
In addition to fighting his illness and for his sport, Daniel also managed to advance in his studies until he became an assistant football technician.weaponry and parapharmacy. In his day-to-day life he does not use a cane or a guide dog, since he considers that for the time being he can lead a normal life despite his great handicap.
He did not switch to adapted judo until he was 23 years old. Now, all his fights start with the grip between both rivals already made, the biggest difference with conventional judo. During his career he has been accumulating important successes. He has four bronze medals in European Championshipsone silver and two bronzes in World Cupsvarious medals in Grand Prix and his participation in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. There he finished ninth.
A Tokio could not attend after staying at the gates of the classification. However, that disappointment made him bet harder on trying to get to Paris. The challenge will be difficult, but he is at his best. This is how he has managed to overcome his best position in a World Championship, 5th to the bronze in Baku, and this is how he hopes to head to France in 2024.
