From the tragic loss of her father to her relationship with athlete Gen Esteban: Carolina Marín

This Sunday, Carolina Marin She is making her Olympic debut in Paris, where she could become Olympic champion for the second time after her triumph in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The athlete will face the Swiss Jenjira Stadelmann, an opponent she knows very well, as they met during this year’s European Games, where the Spaniard won.

It is worth remembering that she did not participate in the Olympic competition in Tokyo due to injury. In this sense, Carolina is a clear example of overcoming. Two serious injuries kept her off the badminton courts: the first in 2019, when she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee; and the second in 2021, when the same injury was repeated but in her left knee. Almost a year later she returned to win her sixth continental crown, a very emotional title for her.

However, the hardest moment in the badminton player’s life was the death of her father in July 2020. Her father, Gonzalo, passed away after the after-effects of a fall he suffered while working. Thus, the aforementioned victory in 2022 was a well-deserved recognition of the athlete’s efforts after continuous injuries and the hard blow of losing her father. It is true that Marín is very family-oriented. Very close to her mother, Toñi Marín, she travels to Huelva to visit her when her schedule allows.

However, Carolina’s hidden passion is flamenco, a discipline she left at the age of 12 to dedicate herself to the sport that would later lead her to Olympic leadership. A passion she also shares with her mother.

But if there is someone who has occupied the athlete’s heart, it is Gen Esteban, the young athlete with whom she shares her life. Despite being very discreet about her personal life, Marín has been seen on numerous occasions with Gen on her social networks, exuding love and complicity. What’s more, last year they decided to take a step further in their relationship and adopted a dog, who sadly died two and a half months later after being hit by a car.

It was last May, when the Huelva native was awarded the 2024 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. She will receive the award next October at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo. Three-time world champion and eight-time continental champion, Marín succeeds the world marathon record holder, Eliud Kipchoge, in the list of winners.