Shooting with a crushed hand

Jakov Soler Benedikt (Vigo, 2000), Nov Galician recorder from 400 meters, he did not want to run to Gallura. A month and a half ago, a friend crushed hand closing round and, in principle, is excluded for the Spanish Championship. He saved only his own persistence and how rewardhe ended by signing the record of 47.77 seconds who retired with a mark in the record book at the age of 16.

The Odyssey from this one a converted basketball player The athlete started on January 4, when he broke his arm. It was by accident when his friend destroyed him by closing the car door. “I crushed my hand, my fifth metacarpal head gave way and they had to put it back“, explain. The injury caused the hand to honorthey told him he should be a a month and a half vacation and on top of that, since I couldn’t get him wet, I couldn’t even train him. “We were nearing the end of the winter season, but in the end I managed to remove it soon (after 15 days) and we take risks run,” he says.

Nevertheless, the preparatory period before the appointment of Gallura was not easy. “The truth is that I’ve had enough painbut when it loosened and we removed the cast, now he can run with splint», admits the athlete who admits it he had a bad time: “It limited me a lot when it came to training, and then, back he was dusty. It wasn’t advisable.” On top of that, since he couldn’t support his arms, he couldn’t go out in three weeks. “I couldn’t carry weights or lift anything in the gym,” he explains. Nevertheless, he decided to stand in Nacional «and that it started as it should».

The regional record was reached on Saturday in the semi-finals, almost unexpectedly. “The record was not the goal, but it is something that is always present. In addition, it came in the last race, when there were no more opportunities, and it is a Good neighborhood. I got a record from good sensations», value. The athlete, who plays for Pamplona, ​​ran in the second semi-final of the 400 in a race he won Manuel GuijarroAt the end, a bronze medal.

The history of the Galician record at 400 meters always appears surrounded by memorable episodes. In 1979, he won the European Championship in Vienna Isidoro Hornillos after it has been refined for the final after request. That brand was in force until 2007, when Dario Vazquez, the son of the then Minister of Environmental Protection, grabbed the record that lasted 16 years. “I have not met Dario. When I switched to the 400 two years ago, I looked at him and last year I was convinced that he would come out, but this year it was in a more unexpected way,” says Jacobo, who has already received a congratulatory message from the former president of the Galician Athletics Federation, who he still holds Galicia’s outdoor distance record.“A marcón,” warns the man from Vigo.

From quarterback to athlete

Jacobo Soler is an athlete late vocation. While he lived in Vigo, he spent his life playing point guard in the Salesianos basketball team, and when he moved to Pontevedra for his studies, he did not want to change teams. “I was sorry,” he says.

That’s why she dedicated herself to independent running and some running colleagues — studies Physical activity and sports sciences— encouraged him to train with Rías Baixas. He met there Gonzalo Mendez, who is still his coach today, entered the world of athletics little by little until he discovered the test of returning to the track. “I started with short tests, but I had shin splints, which limited me when it came to training, and one day I ran a 400 and found that a little longer training really helped my shin pain a lot.” In addition, the grades began to come out, so he remained in the test, which qualified as the most demanding of all for the combination of speed and distance. «you suffer a lot, but when you reach your goal, it more than compensates you.” That’s why he’s happy after beating the pile imponderables.