“There was a moment when I thought that gymnastics was going to become extinct in Spain,” said the Olympic floor runner-up at Tokyo 2020.
PARIS, Jan. 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish-Dominican gymnast Ray Zapata, Olympic runner-up on floor in Tokyo 2020, assured that 'Team Spain' has “plenty of talent” to surpass the 22 medals of the Barcelona '92 Games in Paris 2024, and warned that it despite the fact that his sport “was going to become extinct” in Spain.
“Overcome Barcelona's 22 medals? I think so, because we have plenty of talent. There are athletes who could not compete in the last cycle and who now have a lot of anger stored up and want to go and address it. I think 'Team Spain' “He is quite strong and has a lot of drive. He has always had a lot of drive. That's why we are Spanish,” he declared in an interview with Europa Press.
Less than six months before the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, Ray Zapata confessed that he felt “excitement” and “motivation” to set foot in the French capital thanks to Iberia's 'Talent on board' program just a few days after practicing his first floor exercise , although “not of the difficulty and quality” that he wants when he returns in the summer.
“It's like feeling that it is possible, that it will be possible and it will be achieved, but there is still a lot of work to do. We have to find the perfect combination of those elements to form the best possible exercise and fight in the summer,” he said. .
After the Tokyo Games came the void. When the shine of the medal faded, Zapata considered leaving gymnastics despite winning that silver that had to be gold. Instead, after taking a vacation he found motivation in his newborn daughter Olympia to face the burden of another Olympic cycle.
“I needed to look for motivation because, despite getting an Olympic medal, I ended up satisfied, but not entirely happy. But I think I can give more of myself, keep moving forward and I have proven myself, both in Rio de Janeiro and in Tokyo, which can and can get better every time if you work and enjoy what you like,” he explained.
That Olympic medal weighed on him “quite a bit”, 13 years after the silver of Gervasio Deferr, one of the 'mentors' of the gymnast born in Santo Domingo, in Beijing 2008. “Not everyone can even go to the Games. I “I have the opportunity to get an Olympic medal for Spain and I am going to continue fighting until I stop getting results. I hope thirteen years don't go by like the last time,” he stressed.
“I WENT TO THE PSYCHOLOGIST A LOT”
Ray considers himself privileged to have a physique that comes from “genetics” and revealed that the prologue to his Olympic silver is written with sweat, endless endlessly repeated antics and motivational talks.
“I was a lot of psychologist. The physical and mental part have a great weight for the result to be positive. It's not 50-50 either, I think it's 100 percent of one thing and 100 percent of the other. If you do one thing You're not going to get there halfway. You have to do them one hundred percent,” he said.
In the minutes before the competition, Zapata does not follow a studied ritual, nothing special. “I am a fairly calm guy because what I have worked for is not going to change. I focus on not leaving the track, on 'nailing' the series and on enjoying myself. I have an Olympic medal, but life goes on and you can't stay anchored in it. I just try to trust that it can be done and that it will turn out well,” he explained.
He trusts that in Paris “he can surprise” and “innovate once again” with a singular caper or jump. “I have three elements that I could 'put my hand into', but I really have to see if it's worth it. If the risk in relation to the value is worth it or not, the probabilities of failure, of going off track, of falling short,” advanced to Europa Press.
Within half a year he imagines himself in the final and being able to compete for another Olympic medal. “I think it would be amazing,” she said. Although before that she has a calendar with tests for the World Cup, the European Championship and controls in Madrid. “And then the Games. You have to train, qualify and… the final. And wait for the score to see if you get a medal or not. It is a very long process, which you have to respect and not get ahead of yourself in events,” he described .
THE 'IMPULSE' OF OLYMPIA AND KAYRO
Spanish gymnastics traditionally gives good results in the Games because, according to him, they will be “doing something well.” “My coach is doing a very good job, and not only with me but also with the younger ones. I think it had something to do with it and, if so, I am very very happy. Because there were moments when I thought that gymnastics was going to end.” become extinct in Spain. The majority of children did not want to come to the CAR, they do not have the means to train in the clubs and they do not have coaches prepared to train them. Now it seems that talent is emerging and that the children are more motivated and with more I want to be able to be in the Games,” he said.
He acknowledged that the birth of his daughter Olympia has played a “fundamental” role in his career. “Since before I was born, she has made me work much harder. Now I have another excuse, Kayro, my boy. He is four months old and if Olympia pushed me, he has to push me twice as much. Two pushes for two. I will have to work much more so that tomorrow they do not lack anything and that they are proud of their father,” he said.
'And with a medal from Ray in Paris?' “Man, of course. I hope so, I hope so,” stressed the small gymnast, pure muscle, minutes after posing in front of the camera in freezing Paris, where a group of Spanish tourists were also photographed in the decorated town hall, from months ago, with the Olympic rings.