MADRID, 2 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Venezuelan athlete Yulimar Rojas, Olympic champion in triple jump in Tokyo 2020 and two-time world champion in the open air in 2017 and 2019, is clear that pressure is a “fundamental part” of the elite athlete, although she acknowledges that competing at the highest level generates “anxiety and illusion” in equal parts, at the same time that he claims to be “in optimal physical and psychological conditions” to face the Indoor World Championship in Belgrade.
“Pressure is a fundamental part of athletes. It accompanies you, shakes your hand and helps you not to lower your arms, not to trust yourself and to always be prepared for what may happen. Being an important athlete, with prestige, generates anxiety and enthusiasm, because many children want to achieve what I have achieved, they see me as an example, I transform it into a positive, it relieves me and makes me calm. I know they are going to enjoy what I am going to do, “he explains in a Europa Press interviews a Yulimar Rojas who will be one of the big stars at the closing of the World Indoor Tour in Madrid this Wednesday.
The Venezuelan confesses that she is “in very good physical condition” to face this final stretch of the ‘indoor’ season, which will close with the World Championship. “I’m very happy with the work done, very motivated,” she says before competing in an event that is “fundamental” in this preparation and that it takes place on a track that she has “a lot of love for and is very special” and in a city that he considers his “home”.
“The one in Belgrade is a very important World Cup for me and I hope to continue winning titles. I feel in good condition, both physically and psychologically, I am in excellent condition. I hope to be able to go to Belgrade and arrive at my highest level”, he wishes. “This year I will go to two World Championships and it is something that motivates me a lot, it makes me work very hard. I will take advantage of these opportunities”, adds the Olympic champion.
“I HOPE I CAN LEAVE A BOOK WRITTEN IN GOLDEN PAGES”
Although his desire and motivation to win medals do not cease over the years, Rojas reiterates that the legacy he leaves in the sport is “more important”. “I keep my medals very fondly, I keep them very present, they are my personal merits, but what makes me work hard is being able to leave a legacy, the Yulimar Rojas legacy. Leaving a book of sacred pages, of gold, that when athletes that they see me and follow me, open it, find themselves with a lot to read and tell, that is what fills me”, he expresses.
“The medals fill me up, but more the feeling of having done well, seeing how the children get excited when they see me compete and that they see me as a benchmark. That helps me to work and think that everything I do now will be reflected in the future”, underlines Rojas.
And it is that for the Venezuelan, trained by Iván Pedroso, who directs a group of athletes who exercise in Guadalajara, she also enjoys the process until she reaches some medals that “are important”. “They require a lot of effort, discipline, perseverance, you give everything every day to improve yourself and walk little by little until the achievement you want,” he says.
“You will remember the medals, but what you have done, how you have prepared and what you leave on the track is what is going to give you the feeling of having done it in a good way”, settles the outdoor world record holder and on the indoor track.