[ad_1]
March 14, 2024
A giant in sports such as soccer, tennis and basketball, Spain can be called an expert in summer sports. It is rare for a star winter sports athlete to emerge from Japan. Spanish athletes have won just five medals at the Winter Olympics and 44 at the Winter Paralympics.
Most of them are in alpine skiing, one of the winter sports in which Spain has won gold medals at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Despite not having a large number of players, the country has been participating in curling for several years, including competing in the men’s A division at the 2022 Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships.
However, wheelchair curling is a new venture for this country, with a four-person team making its debut at the World Wheelchair B Curling Championships late last year. Skipping that team was Anna Nadal Rodríguez, who only took up the sport a year ago after taking part in a trial event organized by the Spanish Ice Sports Federation. The second camp for player selection was held, and the team began training for the World Wheelchair B Curling Championship, and the team finished in 10th place.
Skip is now part of the team making its debut at the World Wheelchair Mixed Doubles Championship.
“I’ve been training for a short period of time, but I was happy with the results,” Rodriguez said, admitting that adapting to the sport was a bit of a shock to the system.
“When they started explaining the rules, line names, seat sizes, etc., I couldn’t understand anything.
“I felt very lost, but once I got out on the ice I could see clearly and started throwing rocks.
“At first, I was throwing stones pointlessly, just seeing how far the stones would reach.Later, I started aiming and checking the shot line, and little by little I learned how to aim and how to calculate force, and I spent many hours throwing stones.” I have improved based on my training.”
Rodriguez’s introduction to the sport came via television, and he says curling is “interesting.” Even though she is very active in sports, she had never played sports competitively. Currently, she is 38 years old and is relatively late in taking up her sport.
“Until this wheelchair curling day was held, there was no ice rink in Spain to practice curling or a curling team that I knew of, so I had never played before,” she said. added.
“I’ve always loved playing sports, but I’ve always played as a hobby and have never competed on a national level.”
She plays on the wheelchair rugby team in her hometown of Manresa and also takes up horse riding.
Also alpine skis and hand bikes.
“It took me a long time to be able to sit on a chair and ski, but now I’m starting to ski to some extent. Also, I don’t ski to compete, but to enjoy the scenery, nature, and mountains. I love skiing.
“Handbikes are for staying fit, going out with friends and acquaintances, and enjoying good company.
“I used to ride horses before my injury eight years ago and I still continue to ride them, but now I do it more therapeutically to reduce spasticity and improve my balance.”
It’s been a difficult journey for Rodriguez, her four-person team and mixed doubles partner Beltrán Tramón. Like other curling developing countries, there are few resources. For Rodriguez, it takes more than three hours to drive to the haka, the country’s only dedicated curling facility.
“The problem in Spain is that there is only one ice rink dedicated to curling. In Madrid, there is an ice rink that is not dedicated to curling, and they try to attract us players by holding an open day once a month. , that’s not enough.
“I think it would be great if we could get more athletes interested in curling and have more competitions at the state level.”
As the Spanish Ice Sports Federation continues its expansion across the country, Rodriguez and Tramonto are ready to make history in South Korea.
Written by feature author Michael Huston
[ad_2]
Source link
