The participation of the Santa Eulària walker in Tokyo has become the greatest milestone of Pitiusan sport, as his fourth place after a tough race of nearly four hours has already been recorded in history.
Marc Tur Picó (Santa Eulària, 30-11-1994) has, by his own merits, become the Person of the Year in the Diario de Ibiza 2021 awards and his name will be in the history books of Pitiusan sport after his feat in the last Olympic Games in Tokyo. The walker from Santa Eulària made his debut in the greatest sporting event in the world with a heroic performance, after losing the medals in the 50km walk in a dramatic final stretch that is already living history in Spanish athletics.
What has Marc Tur done since that historic fourth place at the Olympic Games in Tokyo?
I’ve already started training, it hasn’t been all holidays. When I arrived I had a lot of interviews, tributes, going from one place to another, I was quite busy. I’m not used to so many events and so many interviews [laughs]. Then I went on holiday to Mexico, I really needed it, then I went to Madrid, where I had several events, and here I’m strarting training, starting the preseason little by little and taking short breaks.
Did you end up seeing the race on television? What was your feeling after losing the medal in the last meters?
Yes, on the one hand it is true that the commentators were very supportive, they supported me during the whole race, that was very nice. And then the more personal part, to see that the strategy was very good, but I lacked that extra strength at the end. But it was how I felt, in that competition I gave absolutely everything, I could have changed things, but I don’t know if it would have improved my placing. Small mistakes make you lose a medal, but in my case the mistake was minimal, I reached the limit of my strength, I saw it on the screen. I’m not frustrated, on the contrary, it motivates me to see myself so close to the medal. It gives me more strength for the next championships.
Does being among the best athletes give you more strength to keep fighting for the Olympic medal dream?
Yes, it looks closer, I’m starting to train and I can feel that extra motivation after the year I’ve had. After the European Championships, which I rate as 10, and the Games, which I rate a 9, I have to continue in that line: motivated but without losing sight that there is also the technique, work, effort, sacrifice and I ‘m back to training from scratch. With my coach we are also advancing, we have both improved together, he knows me better, my strengths and weaknesses, and I have more experience. If my body allows me, I hope to be there in front in the following championships.
” If the body allows me, I hope to be there in front in the next championships. The difficult thing is to keep it up but I think I can improve a little more. As the distance changes (35km), I think it will benefit me.”
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