Josep Lluís Blancowinner of the Silver in the 2006 Europeans and of Championship of Spain in the year 2009 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, he has taken his passion and dedication to athletics to a new stage in his life. Currently, the Lorraine presides over Club La Sansiwhich since 2007 has been dedicated to the organization of sporting events, such as the Race of the Noses and the one of the Mercè de Barcelona. “I have been very lucky to be able to live through athletics”explains Blanco about his career, who at forty-eight years old has still not stopped training: “I broke the Spanish record in the Master’s category for over forty-five years.”
The Lloret champion remembers his beginnings in a very special way: “The 1994 World Youth Championship changed everything”Blanco narrates how, aged 19, he took sixth place in the Junior World Championship held in Lisbon, only surpassed by another European and four Africans (the great historical dominators of the competition). “Up until then I was working as a waiter, but this result made brands and sponsors notice me and I could devote myself exclusively”, the athlete points out that without sponsors you cannot live in this sector. Blanco also reflects on the importance of the clubs he has been to in achieving his successes, the elite athlete fondly remembers his time at the Girona club GEIEG: “I finished eighth in the 2003 World Cup thanks to them ». In the same way, he adds that the work of the Diputació de Girona is very important: “It is one of the reference Provincial Councils in supporting young athletes”the athlete thanks in this way the “push” of the Girona government organization when he started his brilliant sports career.
The president of La Sansi speaks with special esteem of the Spanish Cross Championship from 2006, one of the titles that has generated the most excitement for him: “We all knew it was the last Spanish Short Cross Championship and I was lucky to win it”. Likewise, the previously mentioned competition from 2009 will also accompany him forever: “It was in Barcelona, with my family and friends, it was incredible”. The athlete, who defines himself as a “persevering” and “fighter” person, proudly adds that when he achieved it, he felt accomplished, since it had been thirteen years since he had reached the finals of the 3,000 meter hurdles without the expected reward. The adjectives with which he is qualified acquire a deeper meaning when in 2010, a year after his remembered triumph, he is surrounded in a controversy of doping. A case that led to justice and that he won: “My lawyers and I fought a lot because we knew that the test was not positive”. That time was complicated for the athlete from Girona, but it also helped him to become mentally strong and to see who was on his side: “Fortunately, many of my sponsors trusted me”.
On the other hand, he didn’t just have to strengthen the mental aspect, as elite sport takes its toll on everyone: “I’ve been running 3,000 meter hurdles for 33 years, one of the most physically demanding events there is, this has caused me two cervical hernias”. However, he does not consider stopping doing what he is passionate about: “I run at least 4 km a day. My life experience has taught me that the most important thing is to be constant».
Currently, the sports reference is focused on a new project approved by the European Commission: “We want to offer sporting events that are more sustainable, innovative, beneficial for health and that promote social inclusion”. On Sunday 17 September in Lisbon, within the Marc de la World Bike Tour, Sansi, together with three other organizations from Portugal, Serbia and Poland, started the European initiative. The final presentation of the project will be made by the Girona club, in September 2024 in a Catalan city, still to be defined. “The aid of 60,000 euros granted by the European Commission will be used to create a guide, which will serve as an example to other international organizers” Blanco concludes about his current purpose.
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2023-09-24 04:30:51
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