Barça representatives at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020
The Tokyo Paralympic Games get going on August 24 and FC Barcelona has three different representatives: one athlete, one guide and one coach.
Xavi Porras, 15 years at Barça and fifth Games
Xavi Porras has been at Barça since 2005 and is about to compete at his fifth Olympics, and his fourth as a blaugrana. The long jumper earned his ticket with his second best leap ever, 6.36 metres, and says “the aim is to enjoy my sport and the whole process involved in the Games.”
He was hoping to be there with his son Marc who, unlike his daughter Egara was not even born at the time of the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics. Sadly, that can’t happen “and the absence of spectators will make it very different. The Paralympics are like a Clásico over several days and the atmosphere won’t be the same without people or being able to visit the city.”
On a positive note “we blind runners and jumpers always need a certain amount of silence because we need to hear our guide or coach’s instructions, so not having spectators will be helpful in that respect, so there is a positive side to it too.”
Porras, who is almost 40, has competed at both the long and triple jump, and his best result was a bronze medal in the latter at Beijing 2008.
Óscar Trigo seeking wheelchair basketball medal
Óscar Trigo coaches the Barça wheelchair basketball team, but also manages the Spanish national side. “The preparations have been very different to usual” he says. “We haven’t had a game since July 20 or 21 and since then we’ve only been able to train. But I know that this team is madly competitive, and this will be a very demanding competition.”
“The team have not been competing much of late due to Covid-19 and that means we’ll get a lot of surprises in the group stage.” Spain will be playing South Korea, Canada, Colombia and Turkey from August 25 onwards.
“It can be very hard to be away from home for 31 days and we will be going to Tokyo after living in an isolation bubble for 14 days in the Sierra Nevada. We can’t wait to get playing.”
“You see some spectacular personal stories at the Paralympics. It brings together the social realities of the whole world, with all the functional diversity and different cultures.”
Guillermo Rojo, exercising astronauts
Guillermo Rojo has been at Barça five years and will be going to Tokyo as the guide for Gerard Descarrega, a Catalan 400 metres runner with visual impairment (not part of FC FC Barcelona).
The Olympics are a new experience for Rojo, who says “We have been working hard with Gerard for three years and we are convinced he can do well. But it’s hard to tell because apart from the athletes that were at the European Championship, because of the pandemic it’s hard to know what the ones from the rest of the world are capable of.”
“Being at Barça means we can use the very best athletics facilities. We thanks them, and it has also meant that I have been able to continue working on a programme for astronaur fitness training via the Barça Innovation Hub.”.
Tokyo Schedule (all times CEST)
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL (Óscar Trigo)
Wednesday 25 August (1.30pm)
Spain v South Korea
Thursday 26 August (2.00am)
Canada v Spain
Friday 27 August (7.45am)
Spain v Colombia
Saturday 28 August (2.00am)
Turkey v Spain
Sunday 29 August (1.30pm)
Spain v Japan
LONG JUMP (Xavi Porras)
Friday 27 August (12.00pm)
400 METRES (Guillermo Rojo)
Saturday 28 August (5.00am)