When Carolina Marín (Huelva, 1993) was called to tell her that she had won the Princess of Asturias Sports Award, she remembered her father and thought about death. It was a reflex act, a nerve. «I was training, I didn’t even know that my candidacy for this year was presented. I looked at my phone by chance and I had five or six messages from my mother saying ‘very urgent, pick up the phone’. I expected the worst, the loss of a family member. Then I was happy,” he says, with a smile, in the hall of the Reconquista Hotel, two days before collecting the award.
That happened in May, but between one day and the next (today), many things have happened: he reached the semifinals of the Paris Olympic Games, he broke his anterior cruciate and the internal and external meniscus of his right knee, he cried, he thought In the retreat, he became angry with life and became hopeful again. He hasn’t picked up a racket yet. During the interview he repeats several times that he is not in a hurry, although he speaks very quickly.
—How is it?
—Good, good. The recovery process is going very well. I am meeting all the deadlines that the doctor and my team have set for me. But I don’t want to compare this with any of the previous injuries, because it is totally different. I’m taking it another way. I’m not in any hurry. I’m taking advantage to do many other things.
—Like which ones?
—Above all, spending time with my family. At the end of the day it is the most important thing. I miss them a lot: leaving home at fourteen years old marked my life. I am also taking the opportunity to start embarking on a path that I really wanted, which is to start giving motivational talks to companies. I am training for that and I have already given some. I am very happy.
—Is this your plan for when you finish your badminton career?
—It’s one of the paths I want to take, yes. It is clear that sport has an expiration date. I hope it is always as late as possible. But you have to think about the future.
—I imagine that this injury has been one of the hardest moments of your career…
—Yes, without a doubt. Not because of the injury itself, because it is the third time I have gone through this, but because of the moment in which it happened to me.
—Did you feel frustration, anger…?
—Rage, a lot of anger. Anger because I think I didn’t deserve what happened to me or everything that has been happening to me. I had recovered from the two previous injuries, from the loss of my father, I was back at the top of my level, I was about to go to an Olympic final and be able to fight for that great dream I had, which was a second gold medal. And suddenly… At a moment like this you clearly feel that life has been unfair. I felt like maybe I didn’t deserve it. But hey, you also have to look at it from another side. Many times I think about it and say: if things happen to you, it’s for a reason.
—Did you think about retreating?
—Yes, as soon as I got into the locker room. I looked at my coach and said: “Fernando, I can’t take it anymore.” It has been complicated, but today I see it from another perspective. It would make me very angry if an injury, something that does not depend on me, would make me retire. Now I have a dream, which is not an obsession, very big. In a year and a half, in 2026, a European championship will be held in Spain. A few weeks ago I said that I would love for them to be in Huelva, and at the moment we are working to make that happen. It’s something that makes me very excited. My dream is to be able to retire on a badminton court.
—Are you already thinking about 2026?
—No, I’m not in any hurry to pick up a racket. Now what I mainly want, my great goal, is to recover my knee, recover my leg, especially for my daily life. For me it is the fundamental thing at this point, because as I said, sport has an expiration date. And we’ll see if I finally dare and, above all, if I feel like picking up a racket. I don’t want to force myself, because the moment I feel like I’m forcing myself to do something I won’t have enough desire and motivation.
—Who are you supporting during this recovery process?
—Mainly in my family and my entire team.
—Have you needed psychological help?
—I always have my psychologist. I know I have it for any problem or any time I need it, but it’s not like I needed it extra with the injury.
—What is your rehabilitation routine like? How many hours do you dedicate to it?
—Right now I’m doing an hour and a half at the gym from Monday to Friday. And another three days a week of physical therapy. We are working a lot on the scars, so that they do not adhere, we are also working a lot on flexibility. My physio unloads my muscles, because today I am gaining more muscle.
—When he was injured, he received massive support from the sports world. Have other athletes given you advice, have they helped you?
—It was incredible, in fact even today, two and a half months later, I am still reading messages. We athletes empathize a lot with what can happen to others. And showing support is very important. Although I’m not constantly talking to them either, I also need my time. I have stepped away from badminton and sports a little bit right now to focus more on my rehabilitation. At the moment I don’t even want CAR from Madrid to train. I want to be thinking about other things.
—He has the word resilience tattooed. What word are you clinging to now?
—At the moment I haven’t gotten anything tattooed. The word I find now is happiness, I need to be happy, look for my happiness. And if my happiness right now is not picking up a badminton racket, then that’s what I’m doing.
—The jury for the Princess of Asturias award said in its ruling that you are an example of improvement. Do you learn more in these falls or in success?
—It is clear that when you are in a moment of success perhaps you do not see everything from such a distance. However, when you have a fall you have to analyze what happened, what you can or what you have to improve to be successful again, to be up there. But I believe that we learn from both successes and defeats or injuries.
—What memories come to you when you look back and contemplate your career?
—Well, simply by being here, in Asturias, very nice memories come to me. I remember being twelve years old and coming here with my father, who accompanied me to tournaments. It was twenty years ago now… I look back and say: wow, everything that girl has achieved… I dreamed big and all my dreams have come true.
—Does every success entail a sacrifice?
—Without a doubt. The medals are very beautiful, but very few people know everything behind them. I always want to show that path, which is full of work, effort, sacrifice. Nobody has given me anything in my life. To get here I have had to give up many things. My main renunciation in my life has been moving away from my family.
—Do we have to vindicate the culture of effort?
—The message must be made clear to today’s boys and girls that you have to work to get the things you want. Many times life is unfair. I have dreamed big, I have achieved many dreams, but it is also true that life has put me in my place many times. Both sides of this must be made clear. Sometimes you work hard, you put in a lot of effort to achieve your dreams, but not everyone gets to achieve it.
—Your other great passion is flamenco dancing, which you cannot practice now either… What do you spend your free time doing?
—Well, I don’t have free time. [y ríe]. I haven’t had a day yet where I say, “I don’t know what to do, I’m bored.” I dedicate my free time to training, personal care (hairdressing, aesthetics…), and seeing my friends in Madrid or going down to Huelva. Come on, I’m not bored by being bored.
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