MADRID, 31 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s sport will close the damaged 2020 with a good list of successes. The coronavirus pandemic significantly affected the sports calendar, but even so, national athletes completed another year with a good and positive harvest of successes in major international events, or notable achievements.
One more year the figure of Rafa Nadal stood out again. Although the Balearic tennis player did not capture a large number of titles, he was able to win Roland Garros for the thirteenth time and reach the Swiss Roger Federer in titles of ‘Grand Slam’ (20).
The number two in the world overcame the difficulties of the ‘great’ Parisian, whom COVID-19 ‘forced’ to travel to unusual dates, already in the cold autumn of the French capital, conditions that were not for him, in principle, so favorable to the twelve-time champion. But he knew how to adapt and went from less to more to end up lifting the Musketeers’ Cup again, with a tennis explosion in the final against the number one in the world, the Serbian Novak Djokovic (6-0, 6-2, 7 -5).
Another important figure of the year was Joan Mir. The Balearic Suzuki rider surprised everyone and was crowned world champion in the MotoGP category, in a season where in addition to the pandemic that caused Dorna to carry out only one European calendar from July to November, it was marked by the fall in the first Grand Prix in Jerez de la Frontera for Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) who injured his shoulder and could no longer compete.
In a very close World Championship, the one in Palma, already Moto3 champion in 2017, did not start very well, but from his second place in the first round in Austria he became the most regular on the grid, while his rivals they failed. He achieved his first World Cup victory in the category in Valencia, in the penultimate race, and a week later he savored glory in Cheste.
It was not the only Spanish victory in the Motorcycle World Championship as Albert Arenas from Girona, from the Aspar Team and riding a KTM, took the title in Moto3. The Catalan started the year strong, but little by little everything evened out and he had to wait in a tense last Grand Prix in Portugal to win the championship, with many doses of emotion in the final laps.
Without leaving the motor world there was another proper name like that of the veteran Carlos Sainz. The 57-year-old from Madrid was proclaimed champion for the third time of the Dakar Rally in January, which was held for the first time in Saudi Arabia and with the attraction of the participation of Fernando Alonso. The ‘Matador’, with Mini, demonstrated to know the ins and outs of the ‘raid’ well and mastered it with authority.
GREAT SEBASTIÁN MORA, RAHM NUMBER ONE
The successes of the Spanish motor are completed by Toni Bou (Repsol Team), who already has a total of 28 world trial titles after once again leading with a firm hand in the indoor and outdoor seasons. In addition, Carlos Sainz Jr. achieved the second podium of his career in the F-1 by finishing second in Monza with McLaren and the young Galician driver Jorge Prado shone in his jump to the ‘queen’ category of the Motocross World Championship with several victories that They did fight for the title from which the coronavirus finally separated him.
Cycling also brought success, although it was in the track modality that the figure of Sebastián Mora stood out. The Castellón won two medals in the February World Cups, a silver in scoring and a bronze in scratch, and in November he was proclaimed European champion in scoring and madison together with his teammate Albert Torres.
Jon Rahm also made it clear that he can be counted on for the future and in the summer he reached number one in the world at the age of 25, something that only the great Severiano Ballesteros had achieved in Spanish golf. Barrika’s won two tournaments on the US circuit and, among the majors, he shone in Augusta.
The winter sport also brought joys, with Ander Mirambell once again conquering the 2019-2020 Copa América in skeleton and making his progression clear, with the ‘rider’ Lucas Eguibar winning the World Cup event held in Sierra Nevada, or young people like the skater Nil Llop and the skier Ot Ferrer who won a silver and a bronze at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The sail did not escape giving joys, with the main one being that of Diego Botín and Iago López Marra, who were proclaimed runners-up in the world of the 49er class. Joan Cardona was bronze in Finn’s European and the pair formed by the Olympic medalists Iker Martínez and Natalia Via-Dufresne won the same award in the Offshore European, a new Olympic class in Paris in 2024.
Finally, in contact sports, which were among the most affected by the pandemic during this 2020, the Madrid judoka Fran Garrigós won a bronze medal in the Prague Europeans at -60 kilos.
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