Francisco Javier Fernández and Marta Domínguez have been elected the best Spanish athletes of 2006 in the poll made by the athletics magazine “Atletismo Español”, the official magazine of the Spanish Federation (RFEA).
Last summer Fernández retained his European 20km Race Walk title, a feat which Domínguez also achieved in her own event when successfully defending her women’s 5000 metres crown in Gothenburg.
Juan Carlos Higuero, European bronze medallist in 1500m and 5000m, and Jesus Espana, the European 5000m champion were the men’s runners-up in the vote, while Naroa Agirre, Spanish record holder in Pole Vault, and Mercedes Chilla, the bronze European medallist in Javelin Throw were the next best women.
The awards will be presented in the 12ª Spanish Athletics Gala on Saturday 13 January in Madrid in the venue of the Spanish Olympic Committee.
'Paquillo' Fernández: “for me it’s a big pleasure because the prize comes from my Federation and the “Atletismo Español” magazine. The fact of being the third time in a row I have been elected mean that people value my professional career at a high price.”
“The two European (2002 and 2006) victories were different. In Munich (2002) I achieved my first important success after two years of bad results and the happiness I felt was bigger than when I won in Gothenburg (2006). After that victory (2002) I grew up and started to achieve important things. In Gothenburg I confirmed that four years later I continued to be the best walker in Europe. If I had to choose between the two medals I prefer the one achieved in Munich.”
“This year the most important competition is the World Championships in Osaka and my main objective is to have a good performance there….I think I can be in a good condition in two different periods of the year, one of them in spring, near 100% to compete in the Walking Challenge, and the other in August for the Worlds”.
Marta Domínguez: “it’s a moment of great pride for me to receive this prize. Each year it’s more difficult to achieve it and it means that I’m still at the top after a long time”.
“The two medals (2002 / 2006) have the same value because both have been achieved in the same Championships, with the same result, but the one from Gothenburg had a special taste for me because I had to face a lot of problems to reach it.”
“In 2007 I have similar objectives to last year. I will do a little cross country running in the winter and then prepare for the World Championships in Osaka.”
Ignacio Mansilla for the IAAF
