How Spanish middle distance star Mariano Garcia put his small hometown on the world stage
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, the 800m indoor track athletics world champion reveals the reason behind never moving away from his home town, why his motorcycle-riding alter ego comes out on race day, and his new focus in athletics.
Athletics
Spanish middle-distance runner Mariano Garcia bucks the trend of many modern-day elite athletes.
Often, talented youngsters are plucked from their hometown, and make the move to different cities or countries in order to access what they perceive to be better coaching, competition, and facilities.
But this was not Garcia’s story.
The 27-year-old has never left Cuevas de Reyllo, a town of around 1,000 people in Murcia, southern Spain.
It was a decision that he clearly doesn't regret, having become the 800m European champion and the world indoor champion in 2022.
_“_It's where I was born, and lived all my life, where I'm still living and I want to live there forever,” he told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview.
“I always say my hometown proudly in interviews after every regional or national championship as it's always in my heart. Even if foreigners don't know where it is, I always say where I'm from. Sometimes they even call me “Mariano de las Cuevas!”
_“_I see many advantages, like the peace of mind, the calm, and having your family and friends close. To me it's like a high performance centre but in a very peaceful town and without any pressure from anyone.”
Mariano Garcia's triangular dirt training track
The uniqueness of Garcia’s training environment doesn’t end there.
Rather than a conventional, 400m synthetic-rubber athletics track, the world champion uses a triangular dirt track that only measures 300m, in nearby Fuente Alamo.
“Before, it was called "Market track", because it's where the market took place, and now it’s called the “Mariano Garcia Campeón del Mundo” (in English: “Mariano Garcia World Champion” track)," Garcia continued.
“I have to do the official opening when I have a little time, because between competitions and trips I haven't been able to do it yet.
“I must have done about 2000 laps there, I can’t even count because I’ve trained there day and night since I started in athletics.”
So why then did Garcia turn down the opportunity to train at more modern, and correctly shaped, facilities in Barcelona or Madrid?
_“_Because if I'm out of my town, I get lost. I get lost in the sense that I need this peace of mind. I don't like traffic, I don't like crowded spaces. I like to train in nature, just like we did as kids," he said.
“I trust my coach Gabriel Lorente, who has been the one who gets the most out of me, who made me who I am today. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here doing this interview.”
Garcia is something of a celebrity in his hometown.
Despite not naturally enjoying the limelight, he uses his platform to promote positivity surrounding his region and the virtues of prioritising home comforts over a high-performance environment.
“Everyone considers me an important person. When they see me there they greet me, they ask me for photos many times. I'm a little shy, but I take pictures with them and I talk to them for a while,” he said.
“I consider myself a normal person, I don't think I'm superior to anyone. I try to show them that being in a place like the one we have, we can achieve great results, there is no need to go to bigger facilities.” - Mariano Garcia to Olympics.com.
The two sides of Mariano Garcia
It could be said that there are two Marianos.
There is the shy man from Cuevas de Reyllo who goes about his business without wanting to draw attention to himself.
But once his running spikes are on, he transforms into a world champion athlete that seeks to entertain, and has even become known for his motorcycle celebration after races.
“When I get on track I forget everything. I know that the crowd is there but I’m fully focused and want to put on a show for the audience who came to see me,” he said.
“I want them to enjoy it and I have to do my best, give the maximum. There is a big party in town if I do it well.”
A major accolade still missing from Garcia’s mantlepiece is an Olympic medal.
Just as he was entering the form of his life, appendicitis meant that he could not compete at Tokyo 2020 in 2021.
It was a devastating blow for the Spaniard, but he decided not to dwell on something that he could not control, and used that motivation to propel his career to new heights.
_“_It was hard because I was very fit and getting better every day,” Garcia admitted.
“The first days were super hard, but since I had the support of my family, I was able to rebuild myself very quickly and I was able to start training again in September. I tried to not think much about it and just to focus on the next season which is when I became World and European champ.”
But with another Olympics quickly looming next year at Paris 2024, Garcia is training with only one thing in mind.
“I have to be there no matter what, because I don't know if it will be my first or last Olympics. So I have to plan my best to be fighting for a spot and to be there representing Spain,” he said.
“I want to be in the Olympic final and once there I can fight to be on the podium.”