The Olympic champion who stopped training to sew chinstraps: “Don’t make the mistake of Spain, the situation is critical”

Iker Martínez is one of the greatest Spanish legends in the world of sailing. Within his award-winning curriculum stand out the Olympic gold medal in Athens 2004 and the silver medal in Beijing 2008, both in the 49er class. In addition, he was three times world champion: United States 2002, Greece 2004 and Bahamas 2010.

However, now it is news for showing its most caring side in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic that has everyone paralyzed. The athlete belonging to Movistar team He practically put aside his sports training in Palma de Mallorca to help one of the hospitals in the area (Son Espases) in making chinstraps.

Spain, as of today, is one of the countries most affected by COVID-19, with more than 80,000 registered cases.

In dialogue with InfobaeIker Martínez explained how this project originated, the critical situation in his country and sent a message to the rest of the world: “Don't make the same mistake as us, thinking that this is an exaggeration. No, it is not. The best thing is to stay at home ”.

How did this move start?

All this movement is born out of a problem. I was going to say in Spain, but it is in several countries. I am in Palma de Mallorca, and there are a lot of professionals who created this move. I arrived a little later. I am not a professional neither cutting nor cooking, I contribute much less than them. They sew faster and spend more time on it. Mine out there is more notorious for being an Olympic champion. I joined a working group, which did the most difficult thing: getting the materials and organizing everything. They bring me the material and I do whatever it takes. I add a little effort to many to make these chinstraps. It is a group of people who started to do a great job, I have simply joined them. I got on the easy part.

But her presence helped her gain visibility and other people can join

That is the important part: that it reaches people, as it has reached me. Everyone knows that I am not a specialist in this, nor do I have knowledge, but I can contribute. We can all contribute. That is the important message. You don't have to be from a specific guild or a specific profession to be able to help this end as soon as possible and to be able to protect the elderly, who are suffering the most now.

Did you already have a sewing machine in your home?

No, that was the most complicated part. I asked for a normal sewing machine, the one used in homes. I asked some friends and tried to buy it online, but the shipments are not working. In the end I got one, my ex-wife gave it to me. When he brought the kids over the weekend he brought me the machine. So I could start. It also served to entertain the children, which is very hard for them to be locked in a flat. They lingered. After doing the homework they gave me a hand.

Is it true that you had to see a tutorial to know how to do the chinstraps?

Yeah right. It had been 20 years since I had used a sewing machine. I saw it and thought: how do I start, where do I pass the thread. I put a tutorial on the internet. It was fun. The machine worked, so we hit it off.

How is the current situation in Spain?

The situation in Spain right now is critical. I was going to say dramatic too. It is really hard. No one of our generation has ever been in a situation similar to this before. The older ones spent the war, but fortunately we did not. We were lucky that things went well and in peace. Suddenly we are dying the elders. Also some young people, but the vast majority of older people are those who attack with very aggressive aggressiveness. Neither thought that this could happen. It seemed excessive to us. It seemed like a joke to have to stay home. From film, science fiction. I recently saw a video of Santiago Lange, seeking to raise awareness within the people in Argentina. I was saying ‘boys, this is for real. I come from Europe and I saw something that I did not believe. It is a very serious thing. ’ It is important that people become aware as soon as possible. This is totally exponential. The only thing I can convey is that it is a very hard thing, that you have to take it very seriously. Otherwise we will lose many people. How times will be is unknown. You have to take care of yourself and listen. You have to stay home. Do not make the mistakes that we made, thinking that this is an exaggeration. No, it is not.

What is confinement like in Spain?

We can only go to the supermarket or the pharmacy. I go out once a week. The last time I went to the supermarket the police stopped me. They asked me for identification and I explained where I was stopping and where I was going. Since they considered that where I was going was close, they let me continue on my way. We cannot go to one that is far away, there is strict control. You have to follow the rules. It is the only way for people to understand the seriousness of the situation.

How long does isolation rule?

At first they told us two weeks, but after a week we were told that it would last two more weeks. The confinement today is one month, a priori. We are now two weeks. The thing is, it seems like it's highly unlikely. In the first week, 70 or 80 people per day died, and now about 600. Hopefully in two more weeks this is solved, but it doesn't look good. It looks like it will go for much more.

With this panorama, how do you keep fit and train?

The first thing I have realized after a few days is that we are not going to be able to get in shape. What you have to try is lose as little as possible. And, above all, to be able to carry all this time in the healthiest way possible. At the beginning I started with a lot of energy and made a bicycle. One day I stopped to do the chinstraps and slept badly. So I started diagramming a routine to make the day go by fast. The important thing is to have small goals a day.

Many tournaments were postponed, such as the Olympics. Will you try to find a place for Tokyo?

It was evident that the Olympic Games could not be carried out with this type of situation. Changing this type of tournament, of such great size, is not easy. But that's what there is. It takes me already thinking about future plans, looking for interesting projects. I am calmer than the people who are thinking that this Olympic Games is coming to them. But I think the important thing now is that all this happens, then we will see where we are and what we can do. We have no idea what society will look like when this is over.. It will depend on how long it takes. It is impossible to imagine now what will happen in the future. I have no idea what I'm going to do.