Ana Peleteiro-Compaoré Brión (29 years old) is the queen of the National Team. In Rome she aspires to the title even though Paris is the big goal of the year. Before entering the triple aisle in the European qualification (Friday, 11:10 qualifying; final, Sunday at 9:21 p.m.) she sits down with her AS in the hotel in Spain in the ‘Eternal City’. In a relaxed chat he addresses all the topics as always, with sincerity and without hiding.
-How does it reach the Europeans?
-Well, very good, really. In Castellón I felt very heavy due to a mistake in the preparation, but I still did 14.30 and that before a championship gives you peace of mind. I am very calm and eager. It is true that we have just had the loading season thinking about Paris and there is still work to do. I’m not 100%, it’s a reality. We knew that this European Championship was on the way to the Games and it is as we had planned.
-Calm, eager… and with the best mark of the year among the participants. Your goal can’t be other than fighting for gold, right?
-Yes, yes, exactly. I don’t think about anything other than gold, about being European champion. I would be lying if I said otherwise, that’s why I’m going. The idea is to pass the classification in the most graceful way possible, without getting too tired. Yesterday I already left the work done on the track and now the goal is to focus on resting well and arriving well recovered. Yes, it is true that I am a little excited to see what the jumping hall is like because it is set up and it doesn’t convince me very much. Let’s see what feelings I have in the warm-up on the track, which we haven’t even been able to see yet. I don’t know if I can do the sprint race and that makes me a little nervous because I depend a lot on it and I don’t know if I’m going to have the 46 meters that I need.
-After motherhood, the first international championship was the indoor World Championships in Glasgow and it was bronze. I don’t know if that has relaxed him to see that he is again with the best on the planet…
-Quite the opposite. Seeing myself capable in Glasgow motivates me more and makes me relax less. There we were who will fight for the medals in Paris and that gives me the respite to think: ‘I’m ready to fight with everyone and relaxation doesn’t exist.’ You can’t relax in an Olympic year. I’ll do it in September, not even a joke now. If you let your guard down a little, the train will catch you. In my head that feeling has never existed.
-Gold, silver and continental bronze, double world bronze, Olympic bronze… do you notice the recognition of the people?
-I feel very loved and in Spain I feel very comfortable competing. People support me and are aligned with me. I am in a very sweet moment and I feel very valued… but sport is very thankless sometimes and the slightest thing that you disappear for any reason, you do it 100%. I am aware and that is why I work every day to not be just Ana Peleteiro the triple jumper. That also draws people’s attention and as I say, I feel very loved, but I have had to make an effort to feel that.
-You always say what you think. As your opinion, when the new clothes from Spain were presented for here and for Paris…
-At the end of the day, the clothing thing was a bit of a meme for all of us who are in the National Team. Obviously we are used to wearing red although, for example, Fermín Cacho won gold in Barcelona 92 in blue. My generation is more accustomed and linked to red. So when we saw the clothes it caught our attention because orange is not a color that represents our country. In the end it’s getting used to it. The sponsor and the RFEA have made a commitment to something different, which always at the beginning what is not usual creates controversy and is not liked, but now we are quite happy in general terms with the kit. I had been trying to have a bodysuit for 15 years so I am the happiest woman in the world (laughs). That the top part could be redder, well it could be, but I also think it’s a gamble and it’s not bad to change from time to time. It was more of a bit of joking and hesitation between athletes because it was different. In fact, we have crossed paths with the Dutch and they have told us: ‘Hey, now we are first cousins.’
-He also made a statement ‘defending’ the RFEA in the face of complaints from some athletes regarding the issue of selection criteria…
-One centimeter makes you a fourth or bronze, and I have never seen anyone complain there. And nor to someone who is one thousandth of the international minimum and cannot go. And then why do we complain when the criteria is that of our federation. Before these criteria it was more by eye or by personal relationships and people also complained, and I see that as worse. Clear criteria were requested and now that they exist, they don’t like them either. It will never rain to everyone’s liking. My relationship with the RFEa has not been very good and I have had many problems with them, but it is true that they have known how to take care of me. In particular, coach Pepe Peiró has been very concerned about improving that relationship. They have never given me anything, but I think that this attack and this lack of respect in a public way towards a person who, at the end of the day, is doing his job and is in charge of it, is not fair. For that there is a commission of athletes. If they don’t like that way of acting, they will have to fight it there. In the relays or the 800 where the coach’s opinion counts more, it is also judged. I don’t understand what you want. I think it is done well because the regulations are followed. There are countries like Cuba where everything is decided on a specific day of competition and if you are not in the places you are left out. Of course, it seems unfair and harmful to the athlete. Asking for a very affordable minimum from January 1 until almost June does not seem so strange to me. Respect must be for everyone, for athletes and for those in office.
-As one of the greatest exponents of the National Team, what role do you think Spain will have in Rome?
-Maybe I’m wrong, but I think he’s going to be the European with the most medals for Spain, by far. At least from the last fifteen years. I don’t remember further back (laughs). The comrades are very hungry, with a lot of ambition… Everyone knows that a lot depends on medals to be able to exploit at a public and economic level… and people are aware. I think the excellence that the RFEA asks for helps the athlete deal with the tension of a great championship. We’re going to bust it…
-And the last one. The Paris Games arrive in a month and a half. Without Yulimar Rojas on the jump, can Ana Peleteiro win Olympic gold?
-There is nothing guaranteed in life and even less so in athletics. Yuli won gold at Budapest 2023 with 15.08 and I can jump that. We can all have good and bad days. That’s why what you have to be prepared to give your 100% to whoever is your opponent because anything can happen. You can make three nulls, headwinds… multiple factors that can affect you. That’s why I always trained to be the best, to be prepared on D-day and H-hour. Obviously Yuli not being there is another factor for her to be able to fight for Olympic gold, but there are no guarantees for anyone. Without it it is more open, but I have been training with that goal since I gave birth on December 20, 2022. It is true that without Yuli the panorama changes somewhat, but as I have always done, my goal was to be an Olympic champion in Paris since I said I wanted to be the best version of myself again.
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