MADRID, 2 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish hurdler Enrique Llopis is “with a lot of confidence” ahead of the indoor European Championship that starts this Thursday in Istanbul, a championship that he reaches with the second best European mark of the year in the 60-meter hurdles, although he insisted that athletics “does not they are mathematics” and that the level of his test “is very high”, but he goes “with the intention of fighting for everything” and willing to show the “best version” that he has offered “throughout the year”.
“I am already physically and mentally rested, after last week was a bit hard and with a lot of emotions. There have already been a couple of easy training sessions, another one hundred percent, I am very confident for the European Championships,” Llopis said in an interview with Europa Press before leaving for Istanbul.
The man from Gandía equaled the 60-meter hurdles record (7.48) in the Spanish Championship held in Gallur at the end of February, beating an Asier Martínez who will not be in the European Championship. The 110 mv European champion did not do well in the semifinals and in the final he ran into several hurdles. While Llopis had a perfect run to share a record (7.48) with Orlando Ortega, the second best mark in 2023.
“I prefer not to think about the ranking numbers or anything like that, athletics is not mathematics, otherwise they would distribute the medals before competing. You have to run in the European Championships and show the best version, the one we have shown during the year. I have I really want to compete”, reiterated a Quique Llopis who is going to Istanbul “to run, compete, and whatever has to come out”.
The 22-year-old athlete faces his third European Indoor Track, an event in which he has never reached the final, therefore, this is the step he sees as “the most complicated”. “I do not sign any results, I go with the intention of fighting for everything. There is a very high level, once in the final, to give everything and fight for everything,” he said.
“Medals and brands do not generate any obsession in me. I take athletics and sports as something to enjoy, as if I were a small child, going every afternoon to train and enjoy, and that is the key for everything to come out” , said Llopis, who has two bronze medals in 110 mv in the European Under-23 and the Mediterranean Games as winners.
Given the loss of Asier Martínez, continental champion last year in Munich and world bronze in Eugene in 110mv, Llopis stands as the fittest option for the Spanish team in the 60mv. In a list of athletes in which the presence of “(Mohamed) Katir or Mariano (García)” would make “the level higher, it is clear.” “Even so, there is an incredible team, the level of Spanish athletics has been very high in recent years, it is reflected in the results. The team is very exciting,” he said.
Finally, Llopis stressed that “it is very positive” that the stadiums are full, as in the Madrid Meeting of the World Indoor Tour, without tickets “from one or two months before the event.” “People are becoming very interested in athletics. And that they encourage us so much motivates us a lot,” he concluded.
