Queralt Castellet cannot defend her Olympic medal in her sixth Games

BarcelonaWhen Queralt Castellet (Sabadell, 1989) made her Olympic debut, she was still in high school and studying for Catalan literature exams during training. That debut was back in 2006, at the Turin Games, on the Bardonecchia slope. Twenty years later, Castellet participated in her sixth Olympic Games in the same setting, the Italian Alps, although a bit further east, in Livigno. The skier from the Vallès region couldn't win a medal in a halfpipe final affected by the snow. The gold medal was surprisingly won by a 17-year-old, Choi Gaon, from South Korea. She secured it with a brilliant third run, recovering from a hard fall on her first run, in which she had injured herself. Gaon beat the overwhelming favorite, American Chloe Kim, and Japan's Mitsuko Ono, who finished third. Of the three medalists, two weren't even born when Queralt was already competing in the Games. "Returning to the Games in the Alps has brought back so many memories. I still feel the same excitement; I have butterflies in my stomach from nerves. It was in Turin in 2006 when I knew for sure that I wanted to win an Olympic medal," said Castellet before a final in which she finished in tenth place.

Her dream was to win another medal. It wasn't to be. Four years ago in Beijing, she became the first Catalan athlete to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games, taking silver in the halfpipe. Four years later, she gave her all, facing rivals who, in many cases, weren't even born when she made her Olympic debut in 2006. Queralt was the only European finalist in a sport dominated by Asian and American athletes, but she arrived optimistic after reaching the podium at the last X Games. However, the final was held in very difficult conditions due to heavy snowfall. On the first of her three runs, she fell very quickly. "I had to adapt to the changes quickly, and it was difficult. It's a shame, I'd been competing really well, but it wasn't meant to be," she said. She improved on the second run, but lost her balance. And when it seemed she was going to have a perfect run on the third, she touched the snow slightly on the very last jump. Aware that she wouldn't win a medal, Castellet looked at the television camera and said a very special message in Catalan: "Grandma, I love you!"

"All my Games have been unique and special, incomparable to each other. The first ones I had were in Turin," explains a woman who left home young to live where there's snow, since there isn't a single ski slope in the Pyrenees. Castellet has become a wanderer who has lived in New Zealand and travels back and forth, and has become a true icon of this spectacular sport where you have to ski down a slope with side ramps that allow you to perform jumps and tricks scored by judges. A long career that began when her parents would take the car from Sabadell to the Pyrenees to ski, a time when she discovered skis. snowThey were a new trend arriving in Catalonia that captivated this young girl who had done rhythmic gymnastics, because she couldn't sit still. Pursuing her dream, she has endured injuries, falls, and devastating blows, such as the death of her coach and partner, Ben Jolly, in 2015. Castellet had met him in Wanaka, New Zealand, and they began working together. He convinced her to spend half the year in southern New Zealand and half in the United States. But in 2015, just when Castellet was experiencing a peak in her athletic career, Jolly was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Overcoming setbacks, Castellet has never stopped being competitive in a sport with increasingly younger rivals. Twenty years ago, she was the youngest. Now she's the veteran. "I'm not thinking about retiring, I'm thinking about next season, but it's true that I'm not sure where I'll be in four years. The Games come around very quickly, who knows. For now, I'm thinking about next season and enjoying myself. I'm really enjoying it and I'm competing well, although things didn't go my way today," she said, referring to the Winter Games. She has competed in six different Winter Games with the Spanish delegation, reaching five consecutive finals in the halfpipe event. She only missed the final at the 2010 Vancouver Games, although she had qualified, but was injured in a previous training session after a fall.

In Livigno, Queralt did not achieve another Olympic diploma on a day when she had the support of her people, her family, who came to be there. "Having them is special; without them, I wouldn't have gotten here," he said. A 20-year journey in which he has gone further than anyone else.