Spain is heading into the Paris 2024 Olympics with some pretty serious sporting momentum. Not only did the football team just unexpectedly win the Euros with a perfect 7/7 winning record, but tennis star Carlos Alcaraz also won his second successive Wimbledon title on the same day.
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In terms of Olympic success, Spain’s best games so far was in 1992 when Barcelona hosted the games. That year Spain won 22 medals including 13 golds, 7 silvers, and 2 bronzes, a record they haven’t equalled or surpassed yet.
Spain are not historically a track and field powerhouse, nor do they consistently rank among the countries with the most medals at each Games, but they do have amazing sportsmen and women in a very wide variety of sports.
IN DEPTH: Why is Spain so good at sport?
This year’s Olympics could be different for España. So who are Spain’s top sports stars that are expected to deliver at the Paris Games?
Athletics
Spain has a few medal hopefuls in the athletics events, including Jordan Díaz, currently renowned as one of the world’s best triple jumpers, and Mohammad Attaoui, the European championship silver medallist in the 800m earlier this year.
Speed walkers María Pérez and Álvaro Martín are also names to keep an eye on, having won four World Championship gold medals between them at Budapest 2023.
Of course, there’s also Galician triple jumper Ana Peleteiro, the only Spanish track and field athlete to win a medal at the Tokyo games and current European champion.
Tennis
Everyone in Spain (and perhaps even the wider tennis world) will be rooting for La Roja in the tennis.
It just feels like it’s meant to be: tennis golden boy Carlos Alcaraz teaming up in the doubles with the game’s elder statesman, one of the greatest players of all time, Rafa Nadal, in what could be his swansong on the international stage.
They’ll be going for gold.
Basketball
Spain’s also got high hopes in the basketball, having won four European and two World Championships over the last few years.
The Spanish basketball national team has arguably been the second best national team in the world in the 21st century, winning back-to-back Olympic silver medals in 2008 and 2012 (they lost to the dominant U.S team, which there’s no shame in) and sandwiched between that they won the FIBA World Cup in 2006.
They also won it in 2019. Stopping the U.S will be tough, but if any country can realistically do it, Spain’s one of them.
Football
Of course, Spaniards will also hope (perhaps expect) that the football teams can continue their momentum into the Olympic games, and Spain seems an obvious candidate for double gold.
The men’s team (which is made up of U-23s plus three senior players) has a safe route semi-final, where they could meet France or Argentina.
The women’s team, which will be made up of senior players (many of whom recently won the World Cup) will also be strong favourites to go deep into the tournament and win a medal.
Golf
Basque golfer Jon Rahm will lead the Spanish team and also be in with a shout of a medal, having been one of the better players on the world tour in recent years. He’s already won a U.S Open title (the first Spaniard to ever do so) and followed it up with a Masters win in 2023.
Swimming
There are also high hopes for Hugo González, the versatile University of California swimmer who has won several collegiate titles in his time in the U.S.
He’s already considered one of the most promising prospects in world swimming, and will be competing in 100m and 200m backstroke, as well as the 200m combined in Paris.
Waterpolo
Spain’s male and female teams will arrive in the French capital with solid medal options after being podium finishers at major international competitions recently.
The men’s team is a strong candidate to win another medal after the gold in Atlanta and the women’s team is hoping to repeat the silver in Tokyo at least.
Badminton
Spain’s Carolina Marín is the best female badminton player in the world. She overcame an almost career-ending ACL injury in 2021 to get back to the top of her game, so a place on the podium is likely.
Canoeing
Piragüismo as it’s called in Spanish is the sport that has brought the most Olympic joy to Spain in recent times, both in the sprint and the slalom. Saúl Craviotto is the most successful Spanish Olympic medallist (5) and Maialen Chourraut is a true standard bearer.
Handball
The men’s handball team, which has four Olympic bronze medals to its name, the last in Tokyo, is once again in the running for the podium.
Shooting
Fátima Gálvez is emerging as one of the most serious medal hopes of the entire Spanish delegation, as her list of achievements includes numerous medals and European and world titles. Male skeet shooter Alberto Fernández also won this year’s European Championship.
Taekwondo
There are high hopes for Adriana Cerezo, the young woman who won silver in Tokyo at just 17 years old.
Boxing
Spanish boxing has reached the historic milestone of qualifying six boxers for the Games, the highest number since the current system was introduced in Barcelona ’92. They are Enmanuel Reyes Pla (92 kg), José Quiles (57 kg), Ghadfa Drissi (+92 kg), Oier Ibarretxe (63.50 kg), Rafa Lozano (61 kg) and Laura Fernández (50 kg).
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