AIPS EC member Juan Antonio Prieto presents “Olympic Legends of Athletics” at Spanish Olympic Committee
From left to right: Ruth Beitia, Olympic champion in Rio 2016 in high jump; Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee; Juan Antonio Prieto and Juan Carlos de la Fuente, RTVE journalist and maintainer of the event.
MADRID, June 26, 2021 - Juan Antonio Prieto, member of the AIPS Executive Committee and vice president of the Spanish Association of Sports Journalists (AEPD) presented his book “Olympic Legends of Athletics” at the headquarters of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) on June 18, with the assistance of the COE president, Alejandro Blanco and Rio 2016 Olympic high jump champion Ruth Beitia.
During the presentation ceremony, there were also video greetings from World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, who wrote the book’s foreword, and AIPS president Gianni Merlo, as well as the 1,500m Olympic champion in Barcelona 1992, Fermín Cacho.
COE president Blanco said: “People will not remember the marks of the athletes, but the path that athletes have followed to achieve success. The important thing is the examples they give from what they have achieved, and, even more, what they teach us. The marks are not what remains, what remains is what journalists like you transmit with your words… This book is a fantastic document, in which we see beyond the successes; the efforts, the preparation, the dedication, the sacrifice that athletes have to make in order to succeed.”
Olympic champion Ruth Beitia dedicated words of gratitude to Prieto: “Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts when writing this book. It is valuable what you have done as a journalist, to know so many facts and anecdotes, and that you have shared it with those of us who love this sport. Thank you for having reflected the great history of world athletics beyond what the sports results are.”
In his speech, Juan A. Prieto thanked Blanco and Beito for their kind words as well as Coe, Merlo and Cacho for their messages. He said: “One of my intentions was to make known the true social dimension of the great Olympic athletes in history. That is why in the 2000 photographs in the book, there are many that are covers of magazines or newspapers, medals, stamps, statues or graves. A stamp, a medal or a statue is erected by society to people whose values it admires. In the book are all the marks, all the results, but also what it cost to each of them to reach the top: the sacrifices, the efforts, the deprivations and the emotions that their achievements aroused.”
“It has been very difficult,” Prieto said in response to a question from a colleague, “to choose only 75 athletes, as Olympics legends, but I have tried to be as fair as possible. Taking into account results (medals and records), but also relevant events. For example, I have included single-medal athletes like Beamon, whose jump is still an Olympic record 53 years later. Or Fosbury, because he revolutionized the high jump. Or Bubka, who broke 35 world records ... or Merlene Ottey, who does not have any gold, but, along with Allyson Felix, is the athlete with the most Olympics medals in history: 9 (3 silver and 6 bronze). It has not been easy to leave out athletes like Ugo Frigerio, Bob Hayes, Tommie Smith, Marita Koch, Marlies Gorh, Katrin Krabe, Jarmila Katrochvilova or Katty Freeman, just to name a few. What I was clear about was not to include athletes who cheated like Ben Johnson or Marion Jones.”
The event was also attended by the president of the International Olympic Academy, Conrado Durantez; the president of the AEPD, Julián Redondo and the director of MARCA, Juan Ignacio Gallardo. The book “Olympic Legends of Athletics” can be purchased on Amazon.
During the presentation ceremony, there were also video greetings from World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, who wrote the book’s foreword, and AIPS president Gianni Merlo, as well as the 1,500m Olympic champion in Barcelona 1992, Fermín Cacho.
COE president Blanco said: “People will not remember the marks of the athletes, but the path that athletes have followed to achieve success. The important thing is the examples they give from what they have achieved, and, even more, what they teach us. The marks are not what remains, what remains is what journalists like you transmit with your words… This book is a fantastic document, in which we see beyond the successes; the efforts, the preparation, the dedication, the sacrifice that athletes have to make in order to succeed.”
Olympic champion Ruth Beitia dedicated words of gratitude to Prieto: “Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts when writing this book. It is valuable what you have done as a journalist, to know so many facts and anecdotes, and that you have shared it with those of us who love this sport. Thank you for having reflected the great history of world athletics beyond what the sports results are.”
In his speech, Juan A. Prieto thanked Blanco and Beito for their kind words as well as Coe, Merlo and Cacho for their messages. He said: “One of my intentions was to make known the true social dimension of the great Olympic athletes in history. That is why in the 2000 photographs in the book, there are many that are covers of magazines or newspapers, medals, stamps, statues or graves. A stamp, a medal or a statue is erected by society to people whose values it admires. In the book are all the marks, all the results, but also what it cost to each of them to reach the top: the sacrifices, the efforts, the deprivations and the emotions that their achievements aroused.”
“It has been very difficult,” Prieto said in response to a question from a colleague, “to choose only 75 athletes, as Olympics legends, but I have tried to be as fair as possible. Taking into account results (medals and records), but also relevant events. For example, I have included single-medal athletes like Beamon, whose jump is still an Olympic record 53 years later. Or Fosbury, because he revolutionized the high jump. Or Bubka, who broke 35 world records ... or Merlene Ottey, who does not have any gold, but, along with Allyson Felix, is the athlete with the most Olympics medals in history: 9 (3 silver and 6 bronze). It has not been easy to leave out athletes like Ugo Frigerio, Bob Hayes, Tommie Smith, Marita Koch, Marlies Gorh, Katrin Krabe, Jarmila Katrochvilova or Katty Freeman, just to name a few. What I was clear about was not to include athletes who cheated like Ben Johnson or Marion Jones.”
The event was also attended by the president of the International Olympic Academy, Conrado Durantez; the president of the AEPD, Julián Redondo and the director of MARCA, Juan Ignacio Gallardo. The book “Olympic Legends of Athletics” can be purchased on Amazon.
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