Gold

Photo by Eli Mora

I was always going to get first place. I am the only pole sport athlete who competes in a wheelchair - for now. When I was training for the Spanish nationals I focused on points. I wanted 40 points. A totally unreasonable goal I picked out of my dreams because it was the most likely to impress me. And I work better with unreachable goals. I got 30.2, set a world record and wasn't at all impressed by myself.

This afternoon, I competed for Spain on the world stage where the judges are much stricter and the standards are more elite-r. All I wanted was to not slip like I did during nationals, to beat 30.2.

I finished with a score of 39.8. I beat my own record. If you round up, I even hit my impossible goal. I've made it much harder to beat myself in the future. I'm impressed by that.

I even cried.