As day 9 of the Tokyo Olympics is underway, InSpain looks at Spain’s medallists so far. Spain is in 24th place in the medal table with 5 medals in total.
As InSpain reported before the start of the Olympics, Spain hoped to better their medal tally of 17 from the games in Rio in 2016.
We look at the medallists for Spain so far.
Spain shoot to gold with Fernández and Gálvez
Alberto Fernandez’s rock-steady hands helped Spain grab its first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics as he collaborated with Fatima Galvez to win the new trap mixed team event at the Asaka Shooting Range.
Gálvez missed five of her first eight targets, including the first three in a row, before taking a timeout.
Fernández held steady at the other end, however, and missed only one of his 25 targets as Spain prevailed 41-40.
“Because of the light, I didn’t see the target nicely. But the rest of it was nice,” Gálvez said of her nervy start.
Fernández said their success was the culmination of five years of training together. “It’s so easy to compete with Fatima and it was like a dream for me, so I didn’t feel the pressure of being in an Olympics game,” he said.
Cerezo takes silver in Taekwondo
Spanish Taekwondo athlete Adriana Cerezo said, after she lost the final round of the -49kg Taekwondo, she hopes her silver medal gives the sport a boost in popularity.
Aged only 17, Cerezo won Spain’s first Tokyo 2020 Olympics medal.
“It has always been talked about in the Olympics. Every year, after each round, it has grown a little and I hope that with me it will grow a little bit more,” she told Efe in an interview.
The teenage athlete had beaten China’s two-time Olympic champion, Wu Jingyu, with a 33-2 win in the quarter-finals.
Silver for Maialen Chourraut in the canoe
Team Spain won their second silver medal in the women’s slalom K-1 Canoeing event at Tokyo Olympics. Maialen Chourraut, who won the gold in the same category in Rio 2016, had to settle for silver this time.
Chourraut is Spain’s oldest competitor for Spain, at 38 years of age.
The canoeist from the town of Lasarte in the Basque Region completed a full set of Olympic medals after finishing second to Germany’s Ricarda Funk in a thrilling event. She was gold medallist in Rio and also claimed bronze in London 2012.
Carreno Busta defeats Djokovic for tennis bronze
Pablo Carreno Busta bounced back from his disappointing semi-final defeat by upsetting top-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 to claim the bronze medal.
The sixth seed, who defeated World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev on the way to the bronze medal match, played aggressively throughout against a bad tempered Djokovic.
“I won [the] Davis Cup, and I’ve gone far in other tournaments, but winning an Olympic medal is indescribable,” Carreno Busta told ITFtennis.com. “I’ve felt the support from Spain, my family and people around me, and have received fond messages from those who saw me lose yesterday. I want to share this medal with all of them.”
David Valero Serrano pedals to bronze
The 32-year-old cross-country mountain biker gave Spain a surprise medal taking home the bronze in the men’s mountain bike race.
Valero Serrano’s best World Cup result this season was 50th, but the smaller field size at the Olympics could have given him an advantage since start grid position wasn’t as critical.
