Pioneer, reference and resilient.Carolina Marín (Huelva, 1993) has always been characterized by growing without setting limits and by her attitude in the face of adversity and triumph. Nobody has given anything to the brand new Princess of Asturias of Sports, who is in the process of recovering from her third knee injury, which caused her to say goodbye to the Olympic Games when she was a few points away from a new Olympic medal. . The badminton player met again this Thursday for the first time with her rival that day in Paris, the Chinese He Bing Jiao, in the ‘Relevo x Change’ gala in which actions that seek to improve society through sports were rewarded and in which there was a memory of solidarity with the victims of DANA.
The Huelva native received a surprise tribute from Minister Pilar Alegría, moments after she herself presented an award to the Asian athlete. Carolina, despite living with pain for a long time, has the determination and character to get back up one more time.
–He reunites with his rival since his injury. What feelings do you have?
–Very happy. Since I broke my knee in August I had not seen her again, we have hugged each other and we have both felt very excited. He had a very nice gesture [He Bing recogió su medalla de plata en París con un pin de España en solidaridad con Carolina Marín] and I will always be grateful to him for that.
–Wherever he goes he receives the affection of the people. How have you lived this last month?
–It is being very special. I went to Paris with the goal of achieving my second Olympic gold and I have brought back another medal in the form of love, affection, support and empathy from all of Spanish society. And this, without a doubt, I will carry in my heart for life. I had never felt so loved.
–Does it compensate in part for the medal that I couldn’t achieve in Paris?
–It is different because I had the very clear objective of winning it, and it is very traumatic not to have achieved it because of an injury. It is true that all this that people transmit to me can relieve a little of the pain that I still have.
He Bing Jiao and Carolina Marín
–Is it worth trying one last time? You have always been an example of strength.
–My greatest hope, not obsession, is to reappear on a badminton court, and that an injury does not end my sports career. I’m in no hurry and I’m clear that I want to retire playing.
–What was Carolina like before this last injury and what is it like now, months later?
–I am still the same, what happens is that I am living in a very different time. At the end of the day, since I broke my knee I haven’t picked up a racket again and I’m very focused on my rehabilitation, on continuing to gain muscle in my leg, and also knowing how to take advantage of my time on other things.
–Do you dream of your last match in Huelva like Nadal will do next week in the Davis Cup?
–My idea was to retire at the 2025 World Cup in Paris, but the injury changes everything. I know that Spain is going to host the 2026 European Championship. I would love for Huelva to be the venue and to be able to retire at home. It is my great dream and what I want to fight for.
–Is it one of the examples that the emotional part goes hand in hand with the physical part and has helped to understand the more human side of sport. How important is it to talk naturally about mental health problems among athletes?
–I train the mental part every day. It is one more muscle to work in our body, so we also have to exercise our brain. It is very necessary to have that help, to give it a voice and, above all, naturalness. You don’t have to be crazy or bad to work on this aspect. No one is less strong for having problems.
–Their motto is ‘I can because I think I can’, which is also patented. What can?
–Carolina Marín What she can, above all, is enjoy and be happy with everything she has done, what she has achieved and what life presents before her. I have a clear path to my goals.
Group photo of the winners at the first ‘Relevo x Change’ gala
Relevo honors in its awards the sports behaviors that improve society
Knowing how to win, knowing how to lose and knowing how to be. Sport is full of curiosities, stories that mix destinies and many other amazing parallels. And many of them gathered this Thursday night at the first edition of the Relevo sports media gala, in which actions that seek to improve society through sports were rewarded, in which different personalities participated and where was carried out a small tribute to the victims of the DANA of Valencia.
Symbols that are a driving force for change in a Spain that is more diverse than ever; as Sheila Ebana or María Arthuer, mothers of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams; the self-love of Paula Leitón, Olympic gold in water polo, in her defense of body diversity; the humanity of Paralympic athlete Elena Congost, disqualified from the Paris Games for helping her guide; the speaker against the gender gap of the Alexia Putellas Foundation; the impeccable career of the soccer player Jesús Navas and the admirable empathy of the Chinese badminton player He Bing Jiao with Carolina Marín, who received a surprise award from Minister Pilar Alegría.
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