Kevin Santiago Quintero, cThe 25-year-old cyclist is looking for his consecration in Paris from today, the medal that he has been missing for years, after an attempt in the Tokyo Olympics, Perhaps the first step, that of learning, of getting over the fear of pedaling with the Olympic rings in front of you.
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Quintero arrives at the events wearing the rainbow jersey of the keirin world champion, the one he won last year in the competition Glasgow, Scotlandafter beating Matthew Richardson, from Australia, and Shinji Nakano, from Japan, silver and bronze, in a sensational final, in an electrifying push, from back to front, a strategy drawn up by the Palmirian and the coach, John Jaime Gonzalez, unexpected attack that left his rivals surprised.
Determined and confident
To win that gold he had to learn and he did that a year earlier, at the 2022 World Championships, when he won bronze. That is what he will experience in Paris, a city he arrives to more relaxed, not only because he knows what he is coming to, but because he has already experienced what it is like to run a few Olympics.
Quintero was 11th in the keirin at the Tokyo Games and 12th in the speed, which indicates that he already has experience in this type of competition. and leaves behind that negative note of competing as a first-timer.
The Olympic cycle has been successful. The road to France has been the best way. He won gold at the Bolivarian Games, silver at the Central American and Caribbean Games, he did not participate in the South American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, but he did participate in the Pan American Games in Santiago, where he was the champion of the keirin and silver in the team sprint.
Quintero is clear about it. He knows he is one of the candidates for a medal and he believes it, but he is not confident. One more support, another great incentive is that he was the flag bearer of the Colombian delegation in the inaugural parade along the Seine River on July 26, one more prize, but at the same time one more element of confidence.
The son of Alexander and Angela Rocío arrive at their meeting, perhaps the most important in their sporting lives, with a goal set and which they want to achieve on the track of a velodrome that they know, where in 2022 they won bronze at the World Championships.
How does reaching the Olympics as world champion constitute an added responsibility?
It is a bit of a responsibility, but it also has its advantages, knowing that I am capable and that we will be with the best in the world. I don’t see it as a disadvantage, on the contrary, but what is clear is that we have to go to Paris to do a job, to earn everything on the court because there you don’t win by wearing a shirt.
Does wearing that rainbow shirt give you peace of mind?
Yes, in a way, yes, but I don’t trust myself. At the same time it is a challenge, other people treat the world champion as he is. Many things have changed in how I raced before and how I race now. The jersey and that world title have given me the confidence that the work we have done has paid off, we have won, but in Paris it is like starting from scratch.
How can you not relax when you are the benchmark for keirin in the world?
It’s not about relaxing. Not at all, what we have to do is pay more attention to what happens. The thing is that, although before we were world champions they respected us for what we had done, now with that label they have more references for us, they know how we do things and that tells us that we have to be more careful with everything, we have to train harder, because they have studied us well.
Is knowing them an advantage?
It’s true that if they’ve seen us, then we have too. It’s true that with Jhon Jaime González we know them, we know the strengths and weaknesses of our rivals and that’s good to a large extent because you know who you’re going to compete against. It gives me the opportunity to get to know them and to draw up a strategy. We’ve already competed against everyone and in any case it’s a dynamic for the Paris Games.
Have you already won the race against stage fright?
That always takes a bit of a toll, because it’s the Olympic Games, you always feel a bit nervous, wondering if you’re going to win, but I’ve already got experience and I know how to handle it. Without a doubt, being in the World Championships, the World Cups and events in the Olympic cycle matures you a lot. I feel that anxiety like everyone else, but at the same time I’ve dealt with it, it’s happened to me in other events.
What has been key to having González at your side as coach?
We have been organizing the strategies for the different competitions and they have been successful. In moments of stress, doubt, and uncertainty we have talked and the response has been successful. So it is more a matter of teamwork than anything else.
Your goal in Paris?
I see the medal as real. I wake up looking at it, I visualize myself, I keep dreaming about that medal and achieving many things on a bike. Before becoming a professional I dreamed about everything I have achieved. These Olympics are one more step.
If winning is everything to you?
I have no limits. I set goals with dates, but life and sport have given me things sooner than I thought, than agreed with the coach. I remain rather calm about that, but I assure you that they have been given before. I think that things come at the right time, but if we win in Paris it will not be my last result that I want. What’s more, I still don’t know what will happen if we win here, but what is clear is that I will continue to respond to an expectation in Colombian cycling.
Lisandro Rengifo
Special correspondent from EL TIEMPO in Paris
@lisandroabel
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