“These are difficult days, they have destroyed a dream, they have broken the illusion for which I have been working all year. Running out of the World Cup is a very hard blow because I did not expect it ”. Jota García, one of the benchmarks of triathlon in recent years, expresses himself with these bitter words, who will not be in the world championship in Abu Dhabi despite his results. He is among the top nine in the ranking, but the federation has not called him up, citing technical criteria.
The blow has been great, above all, after the hours of training, the personal efforts and the money invested to prepare the most important event of the year, since, due to his performance in the international competitions of this course, he understood that he would be within the call. The man from Madrid, the only totally blind Spanish triathlete, appeared on the start lists in the PTVI category to participate in the United Arab Emirates event. His surprise came when the FETRI technical direction did not include him on the list.
“Rumors had already reached me that it could happen, although I did not believe it, this year I have been competitive, I was performing at a good level, I thought I would be in the team. When the call came out I received a jug of cold water. If the coach leaves me out because there is another better teammate and he argues, I shut my mouth and continue training, but the reality is that this scenario does not exist today, ”he laments.
There are other absences, those of José Cristóbal Ramos (PTWC), Nil Riudavets (PTS4) and Cristina Miranda (PTS5), also admitted by the international federation by ranking, although Jota’s is the most sensitive drop taking into account his record and career in recent years. This season he was proclaimed champion of Spain, won bronze in the World Series in Yokohama, was fourth in the World Cup in A Coruña, fifth in the European Championship and left the World Cup in Alanya (Turkey) due to a problem with the tandem.
“I sent an email to the president, José Hidalgo, based on data, on my results. The only thing they tell me is that the decision has been made based on technical criteria, that’s it, there is no further assessment. In triathlon, each category has a level and those criteria they talk about should be individual. High performance is achieved through individualization, coffee is not for everyone. And that is the responsibility of the federation. I am the only one of those who was at the Tokyo Games who has been knocked out and for no reason, it is unfair ”, he assures.
The national coach, Iñaki Arenal, reports that a series of objectives must be met to attend the World Cup: “Firstly, the technical criteria, secondly, being a European medalist, and, finally, being in the Top 3 of the ranking world. Jota doesn’t meet any of them and we don’t consider it appropriate to compete in this championship”.
In his category, there will be Héctor Catalá, Paralympic silver medalist in the Japanese capital, who would not meet these last two criteria either. It has been a difficult year for the Valencian, who had turned to cycling -he competed in the road and track world championships with very positive results- and participated in two triathlon events, being silver in the Alhandra World Cup and eighth in the European. “I have nothing against him, on the contrary, he is a hard worker, I am very fond of him and have the utmost respect, but this year he is below me in the ranking. I asked the technical management what was the reason for having him and not me, and to this day I’m still waiting for an answer”, says Jota.
“The decision when configuring the selection is ours. We have always tried to help all athletes, but there is a limit, now we only take one person per category and gender”, argues Arenal. Although in the Spanish team that will go to the World Cup there are exceptions to this, since in PTS3 for men (significant disabilities) there are two, Dani Molina and Kini Carrasco, and in PTS4 for women (moderate disabilities) two other athletes, Marta Francés and Andrea Miguelez. “There are cases in which we do see the need to expand the places to achieve the best possible result,” the coach qualifies.
an uncertain scenario
“I changed my guide and coach with the aim of going to the World Cup because it has a brutal impact in terms of points for the ranking and scholarships. I am going to be a father again in 15 days, if reconciling with one is complicated, with two you have to give one more twist and I need to organize myself in time. There is another aggravating circumstance, I am totally blind and to train I depend on my support athletes. I no longer have the option of receiving a scholarship from the Adopt Plan, so neither does my guide, and for me it is unfeasible to pay him. That is not taken into consideration either. The federation and the Spanish Paralympic Committee always talk about effort and sacrifice, but at the moment of truth, these values are left behind, they are useless ”, he emphasizes.
Jota, who in 28 international events since his debut has won 14 medals, five of them gold, being European champion in Valencia in 2019 and a Paralympic diploma, now faces a gloomy and uncertain scenario. “The whole panorama has changed for me, without an economic scholarship, everything will come out of my pocket. I will look for private financing, but to be honest, without selling smoke, my situation to go to the next Games has become uphill. I have to be honest with those companies that help me and I do not rule out that some back down ”, he confesses.
If something motivated him to continue one more cycle in the elite of this sport, it is his conviction of becoming a better triathlete than he is. “It is the reason that leads me to want to fight until I go to Paris 2024, no one can take that out of my head. But not going to the World Cup, right now it takes me out of the race towards the Paralympic Games because next year it will be very difficult to plan the season without knowing which competitions I can go to because it will no longer depend on me. And, to be honest, the motivation does not exceed the strength that I have to have to fight even with mine, those who beat themselves in the chest boasting of how good the Spanish triathlon is, but who put sticks in the wheels ”, he emphasizes.
The man from Madrid does not rule out even saying goodbye to high competition, although he does not want to rush. “It is an option that is on the table, everything goes through my head. No matter how optimistic you are or want to see the glass half full, you have to make decisions. I do this because I like it, it’s a passion, but if I’m going to start next season with that fatigue, impotence and inner rage, what starts badly ends badly. This path has to be something beautiful and exciting, and if it is not like that, it is better to leave it, to dedicate myself to other things and to close a very beautiful stage of my life, without any blemish in my career”, adds Jota García.
