BARCELONA, 28 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Osteoarthritis Foundation International (OAFI), the pharmaceutical laboratory Kern Pharma and the marcher Jesús Ángel ‘Chuso’ García Bragado have awarded this Tuesday the first ‘Garcia Bragado-OAFI-Kern Pharma Scholarships’ to 6 young promises of athletics at the headquarters of the laboratory in Terrassa (Barcelona).
These grants aim to promote the values of sport among the youngest and encourage safe and healthy sports practice among future Spanish athletes.
In Spain, it is estimated that 31 percent of elite athletes may suffer from osteoarthritis after suffering an injury. The high level of competition training is one of the greatest risk factors for suffering from this disease, prevention being a key factor to take into account in training. Furthermore, only 65 percent of injured athletes are able to return to pre-injury sport.
In this context, the García Bragado-OAFI-Kern Pharma scholarships have been promoted, which respond to the need to instill from youth the importance of practicing a healthy sport that respects joint health, helping young athletes to develop their careers sports in the best possible conditions.
This first edition of the García Bragado-OAFI-Kern Pharma scholarships has included ‘Chuso’ García Bragado as part of the committee of experts in charge of choosing the scholarship recipients; Dr. Josep Vergés, founder and president of OAFI; Dr. José María Villalón, head of medical services at Atlético de Madrid and patron of OAFI; and Ana Vieta, director of the Scientific-Technical Area of Kern Pharma.
The selected athletes, from 12 to 16 years old, are part of the Salesian athletics clubs of Barcelona; Sports Schools (Catalonia); Covadonga Sports Group (Asturias) and Tajamar School (Madrid). All of them are young promises who have already been recognized in the specialties of hammer and javelin throw, triple jump, indoor track, cross country, cross and outdoors.
For the athlete García Bragado, launching these scholarships has meant “seeding” for the beginning of an action that he hopes will have a long future, “thus being able to reach more children and more families every year, who have opted for this sport as a choice for personal growth”.
For his part, Dr. Vergés stressed that “one of the pillars of OAFI is caring for joint health from childhood, being able to prevent diseases such as osteoarthritis in our athletes from an early age.” “Therefore, it is an honor for us to be able to carry out an initiative like this,” he said.
For Manuel Garrido, CEO of Kern Pharma, collaborating on these scholarships means reaffirming the company’s commitment to sport, which is health and is accompanied by values such as effort, commitment and the desire to excel with which it identifies.
“Furthermore, we like to support young talent because we are a laboratory that is also very young if we compare ourselves with the rest of the pharmaceutical industry and we know that great goals can be achieved with determination and dedication. We are proud to endow these scholarships so that young promises in athletics can continue to develop their sporting career, reaping more titles”, added Garrido.