“Now I don’t have to compete, the truth is I don’t know if I will come back.”
- Ballet, horse riding, athletics… Bidasotarra Irati Beorlegi Goñi has had the opportunity to try everything since he was young. At the age of 21, however, he knows the obstacle course in which he participated in the television program El Conquistador del Mundo. For five years he has gone through the championship in Europe and in the world. It has always been ranked in the top five, until this year is the second in Europe. While on top, the body asks you to stay. And Iran decides to listen to the body in the name of physical and mental health.
When you’ve managed to work on what you were looking for, you’ve decided to abandon top-level sport.
It was not an easy decision. But the body has asked me and decided to listen. I was coming to Vitoria to train, and one day a colleague told me they would open a higher cycle of physical adaptation. I introduced my resume immediately, without thinking twice. The day after presenting me, they called me. It is the first promotion this year and I hope that many will follow. Before I entered college, I studied that same cycle in San Sebastian, and I once dreamed of being a professor. At the right time, I think I was in the right place, although year after year I have broken the road. So far a great base is needed and I have worked on it. It has not fallen from the sky. This year, at the moment, I work with my students in posture control, I impart the modality of yoga and anatomy. To do sports it is essential to know the body well.
Competitive or not, can't you imagine life without sport, right?
More than sport, the important thing is to exercise. They tend to do so on a daily basis, with both time to practice and lifestyle. For example, walking or cycling. Five issues are essential for general well-being. Practice of physical activity, healthy eating, rest, mental health and social life. I can't imagine my daily life without physical exercise. As I say, life is a style.
How did the obstacle come to race competition?
When I was little, we didn't have television at home, and when we had it, all I saw was The Conqueror of the World. I saw it wanting and I was eager to participate, it was my dream. In 2017, when I was 21, I dared to introduce myself and I was accepted the first one. In the past, he was only doing rhythmic gymnastics. In The Conqueror of the World, among my friends, I discovered the career discipline that has prevented me so much. I started training, and I realized it was going pretty well. It improved my results over time. In 2018 I made my first career and in 2019 I was a champion of Spain. Since then, I have won the Spanish league three times, I have ranked in the top positions of the world championship, and this year I have ranked as the second in Europe. It's been an amazing experience. I never thought I would get here.
How did you maintain the championships, training and rhythm of work?
We have to have a well-balanced head when we compete. It is an essential column. Pressure, nervousness, workouts, work, friends, family… When you’re up, when you get down, you wonder what happens, facing everything is very difficult. I've always been clear that I had to bet on mental health, that pressure couldn't catch me. At first it touched me for myself: relaxation exercises, yoga... But last year I decided to ask for professional help and I didn't regret anything.
Why have you decided to leave it?
I think I've gone too far. It's a closed circle, and there's something else in life. Now I have a job I like, a job of my dreams! I want to enjoy sport differently, without pressure. For five years I have been on a journey, without suspecting that I was going to be so good. I've almost come unnoticed. I have also been very surprised by my level and my results. As I have improved year after year, the others have also grown, and with it the pressures, those I have put on and those I have felt from others. I've been in a bubble. Always in the first places with great sacrifices. I think I have left it at the right time. I do not feel the need to compete now, the truth is that I do not know if I will return.
What asked you to stay, body or head?
Especially the body, and I have accepted it. The obstacle course is not yet regulated in Spain. Although the situation in the world and in Europe is different, we are still in the process of structuring. It's impossible to live from there. Therefore, when I have achieved the work of my dreams, I wanted to give priority, to open a parenthesis. Now I want to live sport differently, without pressure, with enthusiasm and with freedom.
You have two dreams come true, and if you're thinking about another one, in Australia -- I met
one person there in the last championship in the world and we changed the equipment like a joke. But I want to use it as an excuse to start traveling. Now that I have a little more time and money, I'm with that illusion. I do not have a date yet, but it would be nice if Australia were the first stop.
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