josé-luis abajo

a historical bronze medal

By Marcos Lorenzo

José-Luis Abajo, born on June 22, 1978 in Madrid, not only has the honour of having received the hundredth Olympic medal won by Spain, and the first fencing medal for his country, but of being a friendly, well-liked person, as described by his peers, whose way of life and habits have not been affected by his Olympic glory.

His friends and acquaintances call him Pirri, a nickname he owes to his grandfather, who affectionately dubbed him Pirracas, because he was a mischievous lad.

Ten months after his most outstanding sports victory and just back from winning a tenth place in the prestigious Paris Challenge Monal, a qualifying event for the Antalya World Cup, Pirri speaks of his ambitions and tells some of his secrets.

Marcos Lorenzo

Can you tell us about the life of an Olympic medallist in Spain, a country where ball-based games and other disciplines are dominant and so popular with the media?

Pirri

My life is a bit busier than before, as well as continuing to train and participating in a normal season, I am promoting our sport at all the meetings and events I am invited to. We have to take advantage of the attraction of a medal to make fencing popular.

M. L. Of course, this Beijing medal is an achievement for you: First games, first fencing medal for Spain, and the honour of being an Olympic legend in your country.

P. Yes, it is an honour and having your dreams come true is something incredible, but I have been training for 19 years and think I deserve it. To be part of Spanish Olympic history was one of my targets and to achieve this with the first Olympic medal is fantastic.

M. L. Your rather “by chance” beginnings in the world of fencing, in spite of your passion for the sport, have not prevented you, based on your excellent qualities and abilities, from rapidly becoming successful on a national level, both in individual and team events. In your wildest dreams did you imagine occupying an important position internationally and with an Olympic medal amongst your trophies?

P. In my wildest dreams I still continuemy road to success, but it is true that I have friends who have  reminded me, after winning the medal, that when we were kids I used to tell them that I practiced this sport to be able to win an Olympic medal and that I would not let anything stand in my way, of course it is always easier after the event…

M. L. What is a normal day in the life of José-Luis Abajo?

P. I train every morning at the Madrid CAR (High Performance Centre) and sometimes also in the afternoons. After training, I eat at the Blume Residence, and then do whatever is on the agenda that day: a public appearance, meetings with the media, or I go home to be with my family.

M. L. After your first victory in Puerto Rico in 2003, we had to wait until March 2008 to see you again in the final of a World Cup, this time at Berne. During these 5 years, did you ever have doubts about the efforts and sacrifices you had made?

P. A fencer’s life is very long, every day you learn something about how to win on the piste, it is necessary to clearly understand that hard training and many sacrifices pay off; also I am very stubborn and will stick to my objectives no matter what. I never lost heart and in-between I did achieve a few results, even if not a final at a World Cup.

M. L. In Berne, in the final to be precise, you fenced against Matteo Tagliariol, who beat you by a touch, and you ran into him again 5 months later in the semi-finals at Beijing, where he took you out of the running for the gold medal. You yourself recognized that during this semi-final you got very tired. How can you explain your recovery, which made it possible to win brilliantly in the match for the bronze medal against Gábor Boczkó an hour later?

P. Fatigue is frequently psychological, and when you lose even more so. There is nothing better for inducing recovery than adrenaline and hope. The possibility of achieving my ambitions and the incentive to go down in history gave me the necessary strength.

M. L. During this Olympic season, you also climbed to position 11 in the world ranking for Men’s Epee, your best result to date. What must you overcome to reach the Top 4 or 8?

P. I need more regular results. The World Cup is very demanding and you have to be at a good performance level all year round to be able to classify amongst the top ranks. I have a series of good outcomes and a series of bad outcomes; it would be very good for me if I could regularize this

M. L. During the last World Cup in Saint Petersburg in 2007, you rankedin 11th position. What are your podiumpossibilities for at Antalya  next September, is victory one of your aims?

P. Clearly, after an Olympic medal I feel ready to achieve the best result. Another important thing is that the day of the competition I hope my best play comes to the fore and I am able to use all my skills. I will obviously do my best for this to come about.

M. L. With the bronze medal in women’s sabre won by Araceli Navarro last April at the Junior World Championships at Belfast, do you believe Spanish fencing is becoming important?

P. Undoubtedly we are obtaining better results in lower categories than before and that is a sign that things are well done, but we still have a long way to go before becoming a world power. Of course, we fencers do everything in our power, but we need more institutional support.

M. L. How do you see world fencing in the next 5 years?

P. In fencing we try to keep up with the latest developments and technological advances so that our sport is better understood and more appealing to the public. I think it has a fantastic future, fencing is a very picturesque sport and everybody who discovers it or is familiar with it thinks it fascinating.