Spain is once again overshadowed

“When we talk about medals, let’s talk about investment,” says the president of the Council of Europe (COE).

Following its departure from the Olympic Games held in Paris, Spain took home a total of 18 medals, five of which were gold, and 51 diplomas.

Spain has not participated in the Olympic Games during this time. Despite the fact that Alejandro Blanco, the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), voiced his hope that the Spanish delegation would beat the 22 medals that Barcelona 92 had won, the country has once again been left yearning the results of the Paris Games. 18 medals, five gold, four silver, and nine bronze, in addition to a remarkable number of Olympic diplomas (51), have been awarded to the national sport. The final balance has been rather low for the sport. However, the COE has already acknowledged that “it is not what was expected,” despite the fact that it continues to argue that it deems this finding to be “good.”

However, the president of the organization invites us to look beyond the list of medals and concentrate on another issue: investment. This raises the question of whether Spain accomplishes good, average, or just the outcomes it pays for at the Olympics.

“It’s not the expected result .” Those are the words of Alejandro Blanco, who, after declaring at the end of July that he believed it was possible to beat the medal total from Barcelona 92 in Paris 24, has been forced to come to terms with certain outcomes that are, at best, far from what was anticipated. With a total of 18 medals, five of which are gold, Spain has achieved a balance that is only marginally higher than that of Rio 16 and Tokyo 20. If we only consider the medals, we can see that it has maintained its position in the ranking, being in 15th place, slightly behind Hungary.

From excitement to introspection and return. A feature that Blanco himself has treasured, who speaks of a “good” final balance, is that the Spanish delegation returns home with 18 medals, which is one more medal than they had in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. On the other hand, the head of the COE has also stated that “it is not what was expected.” We were under the impression that Spain would be able to surpass the record of 22 medals before we arrived, but, unfortunately, the competition is what it is. When it comes to winning many medals, we have been quite close.

Blanco went so far as to remark that his forecast was among the most “humble” there ever was. Some observers projected that Spain would win thirty medals, which is eight more than they won in Barcelona. As El País points out, when comparing the results of the French Olympics to those of the Barcelona 92, there are two significant aspects that need to be taken into consideration. In the Barcelona event, there were 260 events that were competed for, whereas in Paris, there were 329 events. This difference increases the chances of placing on the podium. Additionally, the French Olympics were characterized by the absence of the official delegation from Russia, which is a significant competitor sanctioned by the conflict in Ukraine.

Not only is there a concern of money, but also of medals. Blanco put out an additional concept that appears to be just as interesting, if not more so. Due to the fact that the Paris Games have now concluded, he believes that it is time to “think about” the reasons why Spain appears to be unable to beat the 20 medals that London or Athens have won and surpass the 22 medals that Barcelona has won. One further thing to consider in this discussion is the issue of money.

“When we discuss medals, we are discussing investments,” the speaker said. When we compare ourselves to nations who are geographically close to us and that win a far greater number of medals than we do, we need to take into consideration the amount of money that they receive as well as the amount of money that Spain receives, Blanco said. “If we do the results-investment ratio, we are ahead.”

Even further, the chairman of the COE centered attention on the methodology of financing and distribution of resources that is utilized in Spain. He noted that “the responsibility for high performance depends on the public money that the High Council of Sports (CSD) gives to the federations.” He went on to say that “in the majority of successful countries, the Government gives the money to the National Olympic Committee, which makes the distribution.” Whether it be in Korea, Japan, Italy, or the Netherlands, this scenario occurs. It makes it possible to plan for the long term.”

This is a significant debate, but it is not a new one. It is not the first time that the resources that Spain invests in Olympic sports and the amount of money it spends on winning medals has been brought to the attention of the media. It was already the case during the most recent Games, which took place in 2021, when it was obvious that the delegation would return from Tokyo without breaking its record of 92, and that it would not even come close to breaking it.

After thereafter, the focus shifted to the diminishing amount of money that has been invested in the ADO Plan (which is an acronym for Sports Association) during the course of the most recent Olympic cycles. It was intriguing to learn this because the program was initiated in 1988, just prior to the Barcelona 92 tournament, with the intention of improving Spanish performance.

To what extent has it developed? Eloquent are the investment statistics that are included in the ADO plan. Certainly between the years 1988 and 2020. The information that was gathered by the Statista portal reveals that the amount of money that was allotted to the program during the Olympic cycle of 1988-1992 was 79 million euros. This figure dropped to 32 million euros during the Olympic cycle of 1992-1996, and it reached 46 million euros during the Olympic cycle of 2000-2004. In point of fact, before the most recent time of 2016-2020, there was not a single cycle that could match the support of 88-92. A total of 63 million people were reached under light of Beijing VIII. As a result of a decline in contributions from businesses and RTVE, the ADO Plan itself has had both strong and weak periods during the course of its existence.

The “long-term” perspective. Although Alejandro Blanco made it abundantly clear yesterday, the sporting planning of the Games bears fruit over the long term and requires a “continuous” commitment, RTVE, the CSD, and the COE signed a collaboration agreement for the development of the program in 2023 and 2024 to support Olympic athletes for 2024. This agreement was signed just over a year ago. The achievements of today are not so much explained by investments made in recent years as they are by those made in recent years.

In order to obtain outcomes, continual planning is the most important thing you need. Instead of thinking about the Games in 2028, do your thinking on the Games in 2036. As an illustration, he proposed that “the money received by Spanish sport in pesetas in 1986 was equivalent to the money received in euros in 2016.” Regardless of how much we try to raise it, we are still a long way behind other countries.

Spain is once again overshadowed

“When we talk about medals, let’s talk about investment,” says the president of the Council of Europe (COE).

By ki0nk

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