Juan Carlos Higuero: "I was 0.26 seconds short of silver, but I feel like an Olympic medalist."

"Forgive me if it's too noisy, but I'm outside." Juan Carlos Higuero (Aranda del Duero, Burgos, 1978) introduces himself with a friendly voice and apology. He was nicknamed "The Lion of Aranda" at the Joaquín Blume High Performance Center (CAR) for his knack for winning trophies.

Higuero left his hometown to pursue a professional career as an athlete . When he arrived in Madrid, he was coached by Antonio Serrano, a trainer with whom he remained inseparable for 16 years. "I've spent more time with him than with my parents," he says.

He won eight medals at the European Championships, European Championships, and World Championships , but he missed out at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. That's a thorn in his side: "I'd be ruined if they let me run that race again." He's now a businessman and communicator.

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QUESTION: Where does Juan Carlos Higuero's passion for athletics come from?

ANSWER: I've always played sports. I was a restless child, and I realized that sports were a natural fit for me.

Q. You are, in fact, a prophet in your own land.

A. Although it may seem untrue at times, judging by what I hear from other sports enthusiasts, in my case I can say yes, I am a prophet in my own land for several reasons. One of them is because a sports facility was recently named after me.

Q. What was the move from Aranda del Duero to Madrid like?

A. It was a natural change. It was very difficult for me, and not all at once. Actually, it wasn't easy going to the Joaquín Blume CAR because I was a teenager who was always with my friends, I had my routine, we went to the river, we did a lot of outdoor activities... I later combined all of that with athletics . The change came because I needed a little more professionalism and responsibility. In Aranda, I was a semi-professional, and in Madrid, I lived for and through athletics.

Q. What changes did you experience in Madrid?

A. I didn't have that many distractions. When I was a junior, apart from athletics , I had other parallel activities. In Aranda, it would have been hard for me to give them up, but in Madrid, at a high-performance center, you do it spontaneously.

Q. Are there any dangers in going to a high-performance center at such a young age?

A. Legends aren't always good. Behavior depends on the person, and I was taught to be responsible in everything I do. That's what I did. I know it's not easy, because when you leave home, you're not as controlled. We had a director there, José Ramón López, who was everyone's father. In those places, you have to be yourself.

Q. Can you leave your lane in a place like this?

R. It depends on your personality. Maybe a teammate will come up to you and say, "We'll go party when we're done training." But no one's forcing you to go; it's your decision.

Q. You were nicknamed The Lion of Aranda at Blume.

A. It was the field hockey players. When I came home from competing on Sunday nights, I used to arrive with a trophy, and they would see it. I had to eat dinner outside the cafeteria, because it was already closed by that time. They saw me with the suitcase, with the trophy, with the bouquet of flowers they gave me, and they started saying, "Again? You're a lion." They used that and my town.

Q. Did you like the pseudonym?

A. At first, I didn't dislike it, but now I like it. I thought they were making fun of me with the pseudonym because I was new and didn't have that wit yet.

Q. You were expelled from the residence for two weeks. What was that like?

A. These things happen, pranks that don't cross the thin red line. They're on the edge, maybe. An athlete usually has his free time, outside of training, when he's 19 or 20, as long as there's no championship on the horizon. I had a small stove in my room to heat up coffee or make tea. I came home from a party, put some water on to make some macaroni, and tried to sleep for a while while it heated up, but I didn't wake up.

Q. What happened?

A. Everything evaporated and the room filled with smoke. The alarm went off and I was still asleep when the janitor arrived. I had gone to bed naked that day and was told to leave because I could die from food poisoning. He opened the window, and I was in the hallway, covering myself as best I could because there were teammates there. Fortunately, nothing happened, but even the firefighters came. The punishment was good for me to learn what high-level sport is all about. I don't regret it because it remained just an anecdote and helped me make better friends with the people there.

Fr. Antonio Serrano, his coach, took him into his home for those two weeks. They were together throughout his career.

A: 16 years, from the moment I entered the residence on the first day until the last. We had some disagreements, but that's normal between coaches and athletes. He's one of the people I've been around the most in my life, more than my parents. During that time, I spent all day with him. When things are going well, everything is joyful, but when they're not, you can even feel suspicious. I never did that because I was absolutely clear that I wanted to train with him. It was love at first sight, and we understood each other very well.

Q. Is it possible to have a controversy-free relationship between athlete and coach?

A. It's very easy to pick on the coach. I mean, athletes are often selfish, because it's normal to blame the coach when things don't go well. I've always believed that everything can be resolved with dialogue. The good thing about Antonio Serrano is that he listens. If I told him that a series wasn't good for me because I was tired, he understood. With him, some athletes left and were back within a year.

Q. What responsibility does a coach have in an athlete's success?

A. A very high percentage because you put your trust in him. The coach is responsible for your fitness, your day-to-day routine, the pace you have to keep… You depend on him and you have to trust him because he gives you orders.

Q. What is the success you look back on most fondly?

A. I can't stick with one, I'll stick with three.

Q: Tell me.

A. When I won my first race in Aranda del Duero as a junior, in an important cross-country race in the region. The second memory is when I became Spanish champion for the first time, because I was fifth among the greats, and that gave me a pass to the Olympic Games, which was my dream. The third is when I was crowned European champion in March 2007 and the national anthem was played. It was another of my outstanding debts. Perhaps these results weren't the most convincing, but they were the ones that excited me the most.

Q. In Beijing 2008 you almost won a medal.

A. It's the championship par excellence. I remember the good atmosphere in the Olympic Village, which was a fantasy. On the sporting side, I was convinced I could win a medal because the last few training sessions had been good. We were worried about acclimatizing due to jet lag, but I handled it very well and trained with relative ease. I felt fantastic in the semifinals , but the final is a toss-up. We'd probably compete now, and the positions would change. I don't know if I'd win a medal or not, but I'm convinced the positions wouldn't be the same.

Q. What do you remember?

A: Bittersweet. Although fourth place is great, it wasn't enough for me because I was aiming for the medal. I was 0.26 seconds short of silver, but morally, I feel like an Olympic medalist. Despite what happened, I consider it a good performance. I'll tell you more: right now I would go bankrupt, give my apartment, the money in my bank account, to run that final again. I gave everything, but I could have done better.

Q. What were your experiences in Sydney and Athens like?

A. Sydney was an oasis because I reached the final at 21, and I remember being in an amusement park. I learned so many things from other teammates, from other countries, from other customs... It was a total learning experience. I've always said that athletes have to go abroad to see other ways of competing, to see other rivals...

Q. Why is there such a big media change between any tournament and the Olympic Games ?

A. Because the Olympic Games are held every four years and have a tremendous social focus. Even though the same actors are involved, the entire country is involved in one, while not in the others. It's by far the most important sporting event of all.

Q. What was your relationship like with your rivals?

A. Quite good. It's always been respectful, especially with foreigners. Some people fit in better with relationships than others. For example, with Sergio Gallardo and Arturo Casado, it has been and is extraordinary. I'm thrilled to have worked with such wonderful colleagues.

Q. Was it common not to shake hands after races?

A. It depends on how hot I was. I used to have a bit of a temper, but it would pass after half an hour. Although we didn't do it all the time, it's never a good idea. When you're young, you tend to be more impulsive and have years of rebellion. For example, I dyed my hair yellow.

Q. Why did you leave athletics ?

A. Because I was starting to get injured, and I saw my body wasn't responding the same. Even so, I think I could have competed for a few more years. Running in certain championships wasn't what it used to be, and my fitness wasn't the same. I had been Spanish champion for 11 years, but I wasn't at my best anymore, and I decided to step back. I tried to connect with athletics in a different way.

Q. Do you have any regrets about your career?

A. Nothing, nothing, nothing. The only thing I regret is the races at the Olympic Games, but everything else. Athletics is about making decisions continuously, in real time, and you can't change them. I don't even regret the blunder I made at the Blume, which was a healthy and natural thing to do. Why do people have to tell you what to do?

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Q. How was the transition from athlete to commentator?

R. During training at the high-performance center, I imitated the narrators, specifically Gregorio Parra [laughs].

P. Gregorio is a friend.

R. Mosqueperro [a word Parra frequently uses]. I trained with Juan Carlos de la Rosa and Javi Guerra. Before the series, I would visualize a race and narrate it to them. I was a big fan of athletics at the time; I had the World Championships since 1995 on VHS. I liked the commentators, and I was passionate about it. I didn't know if I would be good enough or not, but I loved commentating. I got into commentating because I started imitating the TVE commentators.

Q. What is more difficult, running or commentating on a race?

A. I don't want to put the journalists down, but I have to take a stand. For me, it's harder to run a race. In a broadcast, you have the protagonists under control and you say what you see. It's simpler.

Q. How did you prepare for that task?

A. I have several techniques. I usually do research because I like to keep track of all the athletes: what they've done, their biographies, their resumes... Then I take care of the technical commentary and try to focus on the details. When I'm the main commentator, which I've been on occasion, I have to use a little more semantics and prepare more for the merits of that event. I put in a lot of hours.

Q. How healthy is athletics in Spain?

A. It's always been healthy, but I don't have a benchmark to measure whether what we did before was better than what we do now. Now there's much more diversity; you don't know where we can excel; before, we dominated in race walking, middle-distance, and long-distance events. The triple jump is having a good time, the 800m, the hurdles... National athletics is more diverse than before.

Q. Which athlete would you highlight from Spanish athletics?

A. There are several, but I'd highlight two strongholds: María Pérez and Jordan Díaz. From there, I'd say Mohamed Attaoui, who is at a very high level in the 800m and doesn't hide anything, and Dani Arce, whose attitude is commendable. I'd also highlight the women's sprint team as a whole.

Q. What do you think about the controversy surrounding sneakers?

A. Technology is here to stay. It's horrible to make comparisons between the brands of the past and those of today. Now everyone is setting records, breaking records, and leaving athletics like a wasteland [laughs]. It's a fact of life, and it seems to me that we've lived through a four-year cycle as if 30 had passed.

Q. Which athlete is like you?

A. I have it clear: Mariano García.