I am a Spanish long jumper. I have been practicing track & field since I was six years old. I started to compete in a high level when I was fifteen years old. Sports works different in Spain than in the U.S. Education and sports are not related to each other. I used to go to school and once I was done there, around 5pm, I drove where my club practice. Back home, I start to practice every day around 6pm. Sounds late but for us it's kind of normal. Just think that Spaniards eat dinner around 10pm... Now make sense right? Anyways, track and field is my passion, it's my other half. It is not my life tho. I know I cannot depend of a sport. However, I do love it because track has given me the opportunity to meet incredible people as well as travel, and the most important one: living the american dream.
I am an international athlete. I represented Spain in the I European Trials in Moscow, I Youth Olympic Games in Singapore as well as European and World Youth and Junior Championships as well as Under 23 Mediterranean Games in France. The most important thing, track is making me the person that I am today. Strong, brave, hard working, with perseverance and patience.
When I was little I tried every event and then I saw that I was pretty good in long jump as well as in sprints. Because of this, I just focussed myself in these two amazing events. However, I have always had the feeling of trying high jump. It is a event that make me feel really excited and I always wanted to try it. I couldn't because I was good at long jump and my coach did not allow me to try high jump just in case I got injure.
Since I have the opportunity to learn something new, I pick how to high jump. It is a really good time because my coach here in Akron was a high jumper. Also we have on the Akron Track & Field team the current number one on the nation. Now it's the time! I know I am not going to jump 6 feet but I want to learn the basic concepts. My goal is to jump around 4 feet 35 inch.
This week I practiced twice a week. The first day was on Tuesday and the second practice was on Thursday. We based the first practice by talking. My teammate and my coach explained to me some key terms: the technique that I should use, how many steps my approach is going to have, the speed that I should run, how to arch my back and how to hold my feet on the air. They want me to have the perfect idea of high jump instead of jumping. In the second practice I did some exercises on the high jump pad as well as with hurdles.
Here I leave a short interview of my teammate Claudia Garcia Jou. She is currently number 1 on the Nation in High Jump Division 1.
- What means to you "high jump"
- High jump it's not only my passion. Throughout my whole live has become an essential part of my live as well. High jump is one of the first things that I think of when I go to sleep and when I wake up in the morning. It means challenging myself, setting goals, getting better and over all, personal growth.
- How many days do you practice in a regular week? What do you do on practice?
-I practice every day of the week except for Sundays, when I give myself some time to relax and get recovered from the week. My workouts are focused mainly in two points. Leg strength and technical skill development. This means that some days I lift at the weight room in order to gain the strength that I need to assure an explosive takeoff. Whereas other days I can spend the entire workout doing drills that resemble the different phases of the high jump, like the approach, the takeoff or the flight.
- If you have to give me a advice to achieve my goal. What would you tell me?
- Besides following an appropriate workout plan that includes weight lifting and technical development, I would definitely work on what they call invisible practice. Don't get obsessed with your goal, take some rest periods when needed, eat healthy, trust your coach and what is more important, enjoy every single jump! It's amazing how your running technique can change when you feel happy and relaxed without even noticing it!
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