David Ramiro |
Madrid, (EFE).- Adel Mechaal has been a reference in the Spanish midfielder for many years. In Istanbul, where he lives with his wife, the Turkish athlete Emine Hatun, he hopes to get on the podium in the 3,000 meter European Indoor Championships, in which he will face the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
Mechaal (El Jebha, Morocco; 1990) arrived in Spain at the age of two, in Palamós, and obtained nationality in 2013. Since then he has been carving out a successful sports career. The most recent; the victory in the Spanish Championship of 3,000 meters on the indoor track in Madrid and the national record of 1,500 in Birmingham with 3:33.28, beating the previous indoor record that Andrés Díaz had held since 1999.
Q: How did you get to this European?
A: The numbers speak for themselves. I am in my best shape, not in vain have I broken my personal best twice, in Gallur and in Birmingham, and the preparation that I have done with my coach Antonio Serrano has been for 3,000, so I am a little better than when I broke that European record last year.
Q: The Spanish record of 1,500 on the indoor track of Andrés Díaz has taken him a year to break since he raised it
A: Last year I already said that I would have liked it, but in Birmingham the track was very old, it was not the best to break a record. This year the track was new, the British Federation has spent a lot of money to remodel it and it has opened with three records, the local, the Irish and the Spanish. The perfect race took place and I am very happy. This competition gives me great hope of arriving in Istanbul in the best shape.
Q: In Istanbul you will face Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The other day Mohamed Katir said that his objective in the summer was to try to win it. Can you beat him in Istanbul?
A: What Katir thinks we all think. It is true that Jakob is in incredible shape. He has been sick and hopefully he will be depleted. He is the athlete to beat. He is like Mo Farah or Hicham El Guerrouj in his day. All athletes train with his sights on him. He has a target on his back and we all want to pass him. I am going to try to get Neil Gourley to tire him out as much as possible and we will see if he arrives tired, because he is also going to double the distance. The 3,000 is the last test, I’m going for everything and I’m not going to wrinkle before him.
Q: Two years ago, Katir was almost unknown. What has his irruption meant for the rest of the athletes?
A: An encouragement. From 2015 until Katir and Mario García Romo arrived, perhaps I have felt a little superior at the Spanish level and that makes you relax. I have achieved five doubles. The two of them have exploded Spanish middle-distance athletics and have pushed us all.
In Birmingham, for example, I had one objective, to do the minimum for the World Cup in Budapest, and thus in the summer to be able to prepare for the Spanish Championship to the fullest, without worrying about that minimum. Ignacio Fontes, Jesús Gómez, Katir, Mario and I are five athletes and there are three places for the World Cup. You have to arrive at the Spanish Championship in incredible shape, without thinking about Budapest, because if you think about that, you might as well stay at home.
Q: Are you comfortable running indoors?
A: Yes. The indoor track comes after the cross country transition. You come from a very high volume, running distances of ten kilometers, and the 3,000 test is my favorite, it is the one I am best at. The 5,000 is a bit long for me and the 1,500 short.
In 3,000, when the indoor track arrives, it is not that I am transformed, but it is a test that I adapt well to and I try to enjoy it. Last year, outdoors, I had a very good season, but the covid reduced everything. I beat my best mark in the 5,000 in Stockholm, in the Diamond League, and the covid ruined the preparation.
Q: Athletics doesn’t stop. As soon as I come from Istanbul, the outdoor season will start shortly. Is everything focused on the World Cup in Budapest?
A: For us and the Federation it is the most important objective. Then we have the European Cup, the Road World Championship, which will be very nice in Riga, at the end of September, and I would love to participate. These are the three big objectives of the summer season.
Turkey country of residence
Q: This European is in Turkey, a country he knows well. Do you still live in Istanbul?
A: Yes. The Turkish people are very hospitable, they open their arms to you and hug you. Four and a half years ago I moved to Turkey because my wife works in a school with children with Down Syndrome and intellectual disabilities and obviously she had to be there working and I could run anywhere. I made the decision to go to Istanbul and the truth is that the people there have welcomed me well. They are currently suffering a very big tragedy and we hope that this four-day European will help them to forget a little about those weeks that still remain for the reconstruction, which will last months and perhaps years.
Q: On social networks, you were dismayed by the consequences of the earthquakes in Turkey, which affected many people you knew.
A: The ten most devastated cities add up to 13 million people. There are many displaced. Last September I got married in Antakya, the city with the most deaths and the most landslides. After seven days there were two more earthquakes, one measuring 6.4 and the other measuring 5.8. My wife’s relatives have all lost their homes.
We got married there six months ago, we had 245 guests, six of whom have died and two have disappeared. My wife has had a hard time because her cousins and friends have died and her trainer, both her sister, her father and her two children have died. It hasn’t been an easy time for my wife, nor for me, but the good thing is that we have a good direct family. They are in our house in Istanbul waiting for the Government to relocate them so that they can make a living until it is known what can happen to Antakya. I’m looking forward to going to see the city. I will do it after the European. In recent years I have gone a lot to see my wife’s family and it is a tragedy and a great shame.
