Axel Corres: "At the best moment of my career I received the hardest blow"

BarcelonaAxel Corres's life (Barcelona, 2000) changed in August 2025. It was the first day of training for the CN Sabadell men's water polo squad, one of the League's best teams. Corres was starting his second season with the Vallesà team after a first year in which he had performed so well that he had been pre-selected to go to the Singapore World Cup. But in that first training session, he felt like he was suffocating. A few hours later, he was told he had testicular cancer, which would lead to eight months of fighting the disease and the removal of a kidney. A few days ago, he returned to training.

How is he feeling after everything that has happened?

— Right now, the truth is that I'm very well, both physically and psychologically. Physically, I could be better, obviously, but I'm very happy. The test results have come back well, I'm clean. The main tumor, which was what they removed with the kidney removal, has already been analyzed and came back negative. And the latest results regarding the different metastases have also come back well.

And psychologically, how has it been handled?

— A quite complicated part of illnesses is the psychological aspect. Thanks to my family, my partner and my friends, I've handled it quite well. But when you see them suffer for you... it's hard. It has been tough, things are as they are, and I won't deny that it hasn't been all easy. Luckily, I'm one of those who has always had the ability to keep a cool head. I set a goal and I fight for it. And that's what has kept me a little bit alive in this aspect.

The illness arrived just at the best moment of his career, at a new club and with his debut in the national team.

— It's one of the biggest blows I've ever taken, let's be honest. Forgive my language: what happened to me is a damn shame. That's what you think. Anyone who has followed my career knows it hasn't been an easy one. I've had to work hard. And the illness came just when I had taken the step of coming here to Sabadell, which was a change in my life structure and also an ambitious professional step. I had always been at a mid-table club and I was coming to one that plays in the Champions League. And the first year had gone so well that I was able to debut with the national team in an international tournament. I was going all out. And just then life throws a pretty big challenge at you. A damn tough challenge.

They told me they even have to hold him back because he already wants to jump into the pool.

— In fact, I'm already in the pool, but training. I've asked the coaching staff to let me back when I'm in good physical condition. I don't want just a few minutes because they let me back and leave out a teammate who deserves it. After eight months, I need to be part of the team again, play, have the ball in my hands. I needed it. And it's true that they have to slow me down a bit, but we have to accept that it will take time to get back to my form. It will be tough. If I were an office worker, I'd have clearance already, but a water polo player has to wait.

When undergoing chemotherapy, can you train?

— I started training a little again at the end of chemotherapy. During chemo I tried to do things at the gym, but basically cardio, I was too tired. It's also not advisable to make great efforts during this process. Now we are moving forward, eliminating this toxicity that the treatment leaves in your body. I still can't get all the oxygen I could and in a sport like mine, where apnea is key, I can't compete yet.

What was the day like when you discovered you were sick?

— That day the symptom was fatigue. I had difficulty breathing because I had a pulmonary embolism that caused a blockage of the pulmonary artery. Blood was not reaching my heart properly through the artery and I was not getting enough oxygen. I was coming back from vacation and had been living normally, you know? I hadn't had symptoms. Maybe sometimes I spoke too fast, a little tired... But you don't give it importance. But when I returned to training and couldn't swim 25 meters, I got worried and went to the emergency room.

Water polo has always been his life.

— My father already played for the Poble Nou club, where I started. I learned to swim, play, and compete with him. He was my coach. And then he coached me again at Mediterrani, where he is the second coach. He passed on to me effort, sacrifice, and work. These three values are non-negotiable for me and he has instilled them in me since I was little, back at Poble Nou. Then I played for Sant Andreu and it was a success to go to Mediterrani. I grew and lived magnificent years, I was called up for the national team, which no player from the club had been selected for in years. This sport is part of who I am. My partner is also from water polo, she coaches. What I am clear about is that I will always remain linked to water polo.

How has your father and family experienced this process?

— It has been hard for everyone. Seeing them cry, seeing them suffer... Delivering the news was complicated, as I had to stay at the hospital and I had to say it over the phone. If it's already tough for everyone, imagine for parents to live it with a child who, moreover, is an athlete and strong. You don't expect it. You think a thousand things can happen to you before all this.

Have you considered helping other people going through a similar experience?

— Talking about it in interviews is for that reason. I like to talk. In fact, I studied journalism, that stayed with me from my years of study. I think we need to talk about these things. Everyone experiences it differently, but listening to someone who has overcome it can help you. I started searching the internet for cases of athletes who had gone through the same thing, like the former football player Molina, from Deportivo. You look for people who have overcome it. I'm no hero or anything. But if I can help, I want to. In fact, one thing I've seen clearly is that men should go for an annual check-up with a urologist. Decades ago, women didn't go for annual visits to the gynecologist, now we've seen that it's necessary and important. Well, the same for us. When I found a small lump in a testicle, they told me it was a small calcification and I didn't give it any more importance. Now I think that if I had gone for check-ups, maybe it would have gone better, without metastasis, chemotherapy, or anything. So, seeing that the operation to remove the testicle is a simple operation, of almost an hour or less than an hour, I think we need to talk about the subject. Testicular cancer is relatively common, but there is a certain taboo when talking about it. As medicine has advanced, we need to lose the fear.

It is a necessary discourse.

— I also want to encourage people to play sports, because being an athlete has saved me. The doctors told me they didn't understand how I was walking with what I had. And not only was I walking, but I was also training with that blocked pulmonary artery. Sport has saved me. And it also helps mentally, as you can always set goals, challenges. And fight to achieve them.

And his next challenge?

— I would like to compete again in September. If I can get minutes beforehand, great, otherwise, patience. And help the team, because this club is working well and has taken care of me. I think we are building a good team and we are working hard to win titles. Barceloneta is the team that dominates, true, but I think we are on the right track.