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Winter Olympics 2022: How Spain fared in the final week
20/02/2022
SPAIN'S Winter Olympic squad has now left the snowy slopes in the Peking area and are on their way back to proud families, friends and followers, with over half of them full of tales of their first-ever Games.
Week one saw Spain clinching our first medal above a bronze since 1972, only the second Spanish woman to gain a medal – snow-board rider Queralt Castellet, with a silver in halfpipe – and a fistful of Olympic diplomas.
First-timer Javier Lliso got one for sixth place in Big Air freestyle skiing, cross-country snow-boarder Lucas Eguibar earned a seventh-place diploma – his second, in three consecutive Games – and ice-dance duo Olivia Smart and Adrià Díaz have taken home an eighth-place diploma, the first time Spain has ever won anything in this field at a Winter Olympics.
This, along with having finished 13th at Sochi 2014 and 11th at Pyeongchang 2018 with his then ice-dancing partner Sara Hurtado, was enough to qualify Adrià to carry the Spanish flag at the closing ceremony.
For the opening ceremony, 'skeleton' rider Ander Mirambell, at his fourth Games, and Queralt Castellet, competing at her fifth and with a seventh-place diploma from Pyeongchang, carried the flag together.
Overall, results from the first week of this year's Winter Olympics meant Spain had already enjoyed at least equal success to the previous Games in South Korea four years earlier – fewer medals this time than the two bronzes in 2018, but a higher position, plus several 'firsts' and improved personal bests, and more diplomas.
But plenty of action was still left for the second week – here's how our 2022 national team fared.
Imanol Rojo matches his skiathlon position
Basque-born Imanol beat Spain's highest-finishing place in 15-kilometres freestyle skiing this year, ending 39th – the best sinceJosep Giró's 45th position at Sarajevo 1984 – and cracked his personal best in 30-kilometres skiathlon, with a time of 42 minutes, 15.2 seconds, ending 21st.
For the second week of the Games, Imanol still had another lifeline – the 50-kilometres mass start, which is his strongest discipline, and where his hitherto highest position was 17th.
In this endurance test, Imanol, 31, had ended 33rd both in Pyeongchang 2018 and Sochi 2014, and for Peking 2022, he was unable to give it his all – long-distance racing is where he does best, and this final test of his skills and strength was reduced to a medium-distance competition.
Unfavourable weather conditions meant the 50-kilometre race was cut to 30, which Imanol says made no sense.
“It really annoyed me, because I've been preparing for this 50-kilometre race for the past four years,” he admitted in an interview with regional newspaper Diario Vasco.
“What difference does it make whether you do 30 or 50 kilometres? It doesn't matter either way when you're out there in the race.
“Cutting the distance is not going to make it less cold or less windy. I'd have preferred to go the whole 50 kilometres, because if I had, I'm sure I'd have improved my finishing position.”
Imanol still improved on his last two finishing positions at this level, though, and matched that of the skiathlon, which was, as it turned out, the same distance as this final leg.
He pulled himself up to 21st position at 16.8 kilometres, now well over halfway, rising to 19th by 22.3 kilometres and then matching his best to date at 17th by 23.9 kilometres – but was unable to hold it for the final 6.1 kilometres and dropped back to 21st.
His time, one hour, 14 minutes and 50.5 seconds was only just over three minutes slower than the gold medallist, Russia's Alexandr Bolshunov, who has swept the board at Peking 2022 with an eye-watering five medals in his hand-luggage.
Still, Imanol is not overly disappointed with his results – a narrow miss at a podium would have been agony, but as yet he has not been even close to a diploma, let alone a medal, and is focusing more on improving his personal best at each Winter Olympics.
“On balance, these Games have been very positive – improving my finishing positions at all distances is great, although I do regret the fact that in the odd race I might have achieved a higher place,” Imanol told Diario Vasco.
“As long as I keep bettering my positions and times in each discipline, I have to be satisfied.
“After Peking, there are another three weekends before the World Cup, and we'll be trying to give it our all in this, like we have at the Winter Olympics.”
Joaquim Salarich: Defending national alpine ski champion, but Olympic success still out of reach
Slalom skier Joaquim 'Quim' Salarich is a relative newcomer to major international competition, having taken part in two World Championships, two World Cups and now two Winter Olympics, although his International Ski Federation (FIS) career has seen him win numerous races throughout the season and gathering points.
Nationally, he has been slalom champion twice, in 2013 and 2015, and is the current alpine ski champion of Spain, but has never yet made the podium at a global final.
The 28-year-old from Vich (Barcelona province) has netted two top-15 slalom places this season so far – in Val d'Isère (France) and Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), so he is, at least, on the right track towards possible Winter Olympic success one day, if he stays in the sport long enough.
He started the men's alpine slalom at Peking 2022 – the only Spaniard in the competition – at a cracking pace, with the best time, in the first race, but suffered a fall which meant he was eliminated and unable to go through to the second and final race.
When asked about Pyeongchang 2018, Quim pulls a face and says, “I'm not keen on remembering it. It was very short.”
He had been eliminated in the first leg in South Korea, too.
But his 15th position in the Val d'Isère World Cup final is considered 'historic', and Quim has been dubbed 'the best Spanish skier in 40 years', meaning the 2026 Winter Olympics might just be third time lucky.
Laura Barquero and Marco Zandrón – we're watching this pair closely
'Ace on ice' Javier Fernández, with two World Championship titles and six consecutive European Championships, a fourth-place Olympic diploma from Sochi 2014 and a bronze medal from Pyeongchang 2018, was always going to be a hard act to follow.
And the responsibility of keeping Spain's name in lights in figure-skating now 'Super-Javi' has retired lies firmly on the shoulders of a very green young couple.
The first Spaniards ever to compete in pairs figure-skating – rather than individual – at a Winter Olympics, Laura Barquero, 20, and Marco Zandrón, 23, had only just started in international competition when they were booking their flight tickets for China.
Barely three weeks before Peking 2022, the duo took part in their first European Championships, not just as a pair but a début for each of them, and finished a very creditable 9th.
Had they avoided a handful of errors in their routine, they might have ended even higher up, but a top-10 finish is enough to guarantee Spain gets to take part in next year's European Championship.
So nobody was expecting major triumph from them at an Olympics just yet, but this very inexperienced couple certainly did their country proud in Peking.
“We didn't have any particular result in mind, we just wanted to skate well,” Laura Barquero admits.
Up against figure-skating pairs with a considerable track record behind them, the young Spaniards' first performance, in the short routine, was described as 'simply brilliant' and thrust them into 11th position, already giving them a very strong footing ahead of the final, a freestyle contest.
Their main aim was not to drop below their current position, and as newcomers to international events, did not expect to rise above it – but they nearly did.
Once again, they ended 11th in the freestyle on 118.02 points, giving them an aggregate score of 181.36 and 11th overall.
Had they gained just 0.01 more points, they would have finished in the top 10, showing that they were very close to diploma territory – these are awarded from fourth to eighth place.
Theirs is the best Olympic début in figure-skating in Spanish sporting history, including individual first-time competitors – the highest newcomer finish for the country since it became a Winter Olympic discipline in 1956.
And that's what Laura and Marco have achieved with virtually no experience beyond national competition, and at an age where they could have at least another two or three Games left in them.
We can't wait to see what they're capable of as they get their teeth into international events, and would put money on their being in the Winter Olympic medals by the end of the decade.
Related Topics
SPAIN'S Winter Olympic squad has now left the snowy slopes in the Peking area and are on their way back to proud families, friends and followers, with over half of them full of tales of their first-ever Games.
Week one saw Spain clinching our first medal above a bronze since 1972, only the second Spanish woman to gain a medal – snow-board rider Queralt Castellet, with a silver in halfpipe – and a fistful of Olympic diplomas.
First-timer Javier Lliso got one for sixth place in Big Air freestyle skiing, cross-country snow-boarder Lucas Eguibar earned a seventh-place diploma – his second, in three consecutive Games – and ice-dance duo Olivia Smart and Adrià Díaz have taken home an eighth-place diploma, the first time Spain has ever won anything in this field at a Winter Olympics.
This, along with having finished 13th at Sochi 2014 and 11th at Pyeongchang 2018 with his then ice-dancing partner Sara Hurtado, was enough to qualify Adrià to carry the Spanish flag at the closing ceremony.
For the opening ceremony, 'skeleton' rider Ander Mirambell, at his fourth Games, and Queralt Castellet, competing at her fifth and with a seventh-place diploma from Pyeongchang, carried the flag together.
Overall, results from the first week of this year's Winter Olympics meant Spain had already enjoyed at least equal success to the previous Games in South Korea four years earlier – fewer medals this time than the two bronzes in 2018, but a higher position, plus several 'firsts' and improved personal bests, and more diplomas.
But plenty of action was still left for the second week – here's how our 2022 national team fared.
Imanol Rojo matches his skiathlon position
Basque-born Imanol beat Spain's highest-finishing place in 15-kilometres freestyle skiing this year, ending 39th – the best sinceJosep Giró's 45th position at Sarajevo 1984 – and cracked his personal best in 30-kilometres skiathlon, with a time of 42 minutes, 15.2 seconds, ending 21st.
For the second week of the Games, Imanol still had another lifeline – the 50-kilometres mass start, which is his strongest discipline, and where his hitherto highest position was 17th.
In this endurance test, Imanol, 31, had ended 33rd both in Pyeongchang 2018 and Sochi 2014, and for Peking 2022, he was unable to give it his all – long-distance racing is where he does best, and this final test of his skills and strength was reduced to a medium-distance competition.
Unfavourable weather conditions meant the 50-kilometre race was cut to 30, which Imanol says made no sense.
“It really annoyed me, because I've been preparing for this 50-kilometre race for the past four years,” he admitted in an interview with regional newspaper Diario Vasco.
“What difference does it make whether you do 30 or 50 kilometres? It doesn't matter either way when you're out there in the race.
“Cutting the distance is not going to make it less cold or less windy. I'd have preferred to go the whole 50 kilometres, because if I had, I'm sure I'd have improved my finishing position.”
Imanol still improved on his last two finishing positions at this level, though, and matched that of the skiathlon, which was, as it turned out, the same distance as this final leg.
He pulled himself up to 21st position at 16.8 kilometres, now well over halfway, rising to 19th by 22.3 kilometres and then matching his best to date at 17th by 23.9 kilometres – but was unable to hold it for the final 6.1 kilometres and dropped back to 21st.
His time, one hour, 14 minutes and 50.5 seconds was only just over three minutes slower than the gold medallist, Russia's Alexandr Bolshunov, who has swept the board at Peking 2022 with an eye-watering five medals in his hand-luggage.
Still, Imanol is not overly disappointed with his results – a narrow miss at a podium would have been agony, but as yet he has not been even close to a diploma, let alone a medal, and is focusing more on improving his personal best at each Winter Olympics.
“On balance, these Games have been very positive – improving my finishing positions at all distances is great, although I do regret the fact that in the odd race I might have achieved a higher place,” Imanol told Diario Vasco.
“As long as I keep bettering my positions and times in each discipline, I have to be satisfied.
“After Peking, there are another three weekends before the World Cup, and we'll be trying to give it our all in this, like we have at the Winter Olympics.”
Joaquim Salarich: Defending national alpine ski champion, but Olympic success still out of reach
Slalom skier Joaquim 'Quim' Salarich is a relative newcomer to major international competition, having taken part in two World Championships, two World Cups and now two Winter Olympics, although his International Ski Federation (FIS) career has seen him win numerous races throughout the season and gathering points.
Nationally, he has been slalom champion twice, in 2013 and 2015, and is the current alpine ski champion of Spain, but has never yet made the podium at a global final.
The 28-year-old from Vich (Barcelona province) has netted two top-15 slalom places this season so far – in Val d'Isère (France) and Madonna di Campiglio (Italy), so he is, at least, on the right track towards possible Winter Olympic success one day, if he stays in the sport long enough.
He started the men's alpine slalom at Peking 2022 – the only Spaniard in the competition – at a cracking pace, with the best time, in the first race, but suffered a fall which meant he was eliminated and unable to go through to the second and final race.
When asked about Pyeongchang 2018, Quim pulls a face and says, “I'm not keen on remembering it. It was very short.”
He had been eliminated in the first leg in South Korea, too.
But his 15th position in the Val d'Isère World Cup final is considered 'historic', and Quim has been dubbed 'the best Spanish skier in 40 years', meaning the 2026 Winter Olympics might just be third time lucky.
Laura Barquero and Marco Zandrón – we're watching this pair closely
'Ace on ice' Javier Fernández, with two World Championship titles and six consecutive European Championships, a fourth-place Olympic diploma from Sochi 2014 and a bronze medal from Pyeongchang 2018, was always going to be a hard act to follow.
And the responsibility of keeping Spain's name in lights in figure-skating now 'Super-Javi' has retired lies firmly on the shoulders of a very green young couple.
The first Spaniards ever to compete in pairs figure-skating – rather than individual – at a Winter Olympics, Laura Barquero, 20, and Marco Zandrón, 23, had only just started in international competition when they were booking their flight tickets for China.
Barely three weeks before Peking 2022, the duo took part in their first European Championships, not just as a pair but a début for each of them, and finished a very creditable 9th.
Had they avoided a handful of errors in their routine, they might have ended even higher up, but a top-10 finish is enough to guarantee Spain gets to take part in next year's European Championship.
So nobody was expecting major triumph from them at an Olympics just yet, but this very inexperienced couple certainly did their country proud in Peking.
“We didn't have any particular result in mind, we just wanted to skate well,” Laura Barquero admits.
Up against figure-skating pairs with a considerable track record behind them, the young Spaniards' first performance, in the short routine, was described as 'simply brilliant' and thrust them into 11th position, already giving them a very strong footing ahead of the final, a freestyle contest.
Their main aim was not to drop below their current position, and as newcomers to international events, did not expect to rise above it – but they nearly did.
Once again, they ended 11th in the freestyle on 118.02 points, giving them an aggregate score of 181.36 and 11th overall.
Had they gained just 0.01 more points, they would have finished in the top 10, showing that they were very close to diploma territory – these are awarded from fourth to eighth place.
Theirs is the best Olympic début in figure-skating in Spanish sporting history, including individual first-time competitors – the highest newcomer finish for the country since it became a Winter Olympic discipline in 1956.
And that's what Laura and Marco have achieved with virtually no experience beyond national competition, and at an age where they could have at least another two or three Games left in them.
We can't wait to see what they're capable of as they get their teeth into international events, and would put money on their being in the Winter Olympic medals by the end of the decade.
Related Topics
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