The 23-year-old Catalan speed skater Nil Llop is hospitalized in the Netherlands after suffering "a severe inflammation of the spinal cord caused by an infection," as reported by the Spanish Ice Sports Federation. The athlete from Baix Llobregat, who in February 2026 became the first national ice skater to qualify for a Winter Olympic Games, was in the Netherlands preparing for the upcoming season with his new professional team, Team X²O Badkamers, the federation adds.

In 2022, Queralt Castellet from Sabadell became the first Catalan to win a medal at the Winter Olympic Games In a sport, the halfpipewhich has no facilities in Catalonia. Now, skater Nil Llop (El Prat de Llobregat, 2000) will make his Olympic debut this February in a sport that also lacks facilities in our country: speed skating. In both cases, these are athletes who have left home for many months to pursue their dreams.