José Miguel Pérez: "When I reached the finish line I felt an immense joy and also a lot of tranquility"

When the triathlete from Cuenca José Miguel Pérez crossed the finish line last Sunday after finishing twenty-sixth in the World Cup event in Madrid, he knelt on the ground and began to cry emotionally. And it was not for less, because he had achieved his dream, to participate in the London Olympic Games. It is an objective that can be summed up in one sentence, but to tell how it has been achieved, it would take at least a book full of stories of sacrifice, training, suffering, injuries, marathon trips and, above all, a lot of willpower. to continue fighting for the dream in which he has worked all his life.

For this reason, the feeling of José Miguel Pérez when he crossed that finish line was “like a birth. When I arrived I felt an immense joy for all that I have suffered and also a lot of peace of mind that things turned out well”. And it is that recent times have been "a very hard stage of my life, very loaded with competitions and trips", and it is something that he has noticed both physically and emotionally.

As for the race, José Miguel Pérez admits that his nerves took their toll on him in the first lap of the swim "I went out very nervous to compete and it was hard for me to get into the race, I didn't get into tune until the second lap." Then, in the section by bicycle, the group in which he was riding managed to neutralize the difference with that of Iván Raña, his main rival to qualify for the Olympic Games "in the bicycle sector I went very well, already calmer because the advantage that had been neutralized”.

The support is noticeable

In the section of the race on foot is when the man from Cuenca really felt "all the support" of the countrymen who went to Madrid to cheer on the man from Cuenca. "When I left Iván Raña behind, my legs felt very good, and I thought I could finish close to 20th place", but once Raña had fallen behind, José Miguel Pérez's legs and head began to give out, because "It was noted that with so much travel he was lacking in training."

The Cuenca fans played their role in this third round of the 2,5-kilometer route through the Casa de Campo in Madrid, since “probably if it hadn't been for those cheers I wouldn't have been able to qualify”. And it is that at that time José Miguel Pérez was "on a tightrope", since the Portuguese Joan Pereira had been cutting more and more time and if he overtook him he would not go to the Games. "Finally I got rid of the bird and was even able to overtake another."

Preparation for the Games

Now, with his goal fulfilled, the man from Cuenca is going to take "a mini vacation with a slower training pace" before beginning his preparation for the Olympics. In fact, the only test in which José Miguel Pérez is going to compete is in the World Cup in Austria. As for his role in the London Olympics, Pérez knows that he is going to "enjoy."

For now, he has already reached out to his teammates, Javier Gómez Noya and Mario Mola "to help them if they need it and get a medal." Of course, in principle his intention is not going to be to go to the Games as a gregarious group because his objective is to "give the best of myself"

Source: vocesdecuenca.com