Speech by President of the Government at Spanish Olympic Committee Annual Gala

Spanish Olympic Committee Headquarters, Madrid

Mr President of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco; Mr Minister for Education, Culture and Sport, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo; Mr President of the National Sports Council, José Ramón Lete; ladies and gentlemen; sponsors, friends,

A good afternoon to you all and thank you for attending this press event.

For me it is a pleasure to return - because I was here not that long ago - to the headquarters of the Olympic Committee, your headquarters, and see that the passion you had just a few months ago, before leaving for Rio, when some of you came to Moncloa Palace, not only remains, but, as most of us suspected, is living testimony of success; a success, that of the Spanish squad, that cannot be considered as anything but a success for Spain, and that is what we have come here to acknowledge today.

I would like to remember one thing: on that last occasion, that day at Moncloa Palace, where, as I just mentioned, some of you were able to attend, I said: we want medals and diplomas and the more the merrier; but, if things don't pan out right, which happens on many occasions in life, we will still be on your side. So, today I must say that it makes me feel very proud to stand by your side. No less than 17 medals, 38 diplomas and an exemplary participation from the whole of the Spanish squad.

I know that you spent many years preparing for this challenge, in training sessions, in your daily efforts, overcoming injuries and spurning your leisure time, time which could have been spent with your families or resting; and all of that so that you can give the very best of yourselves on the court, on the track, on the field, in the pool or out on the water.

I want you to know that the people of Spain - you know this but I want to remind you of it now - shared your enthusiasm and desire, we accompanied you in every competition and we are grateful that you have made us feel the emotion and brought us great happiness.

We have just heard Rafa Nadal, the flag bearer for Spain. Thank you for your words, Rafa. I believe that I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that you are a great ambassador for Spain - you were unable to do so in London, for the reasons we are all aware of - and furthermore, you are one of the finest athletes Spain has ever known.

Dear friends,

I also want to thank, as have done those speakers who have gone before me such as the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee (Spanish acronym: COE), to the sponsors, and all those companies and institutions that have worked to support our athletes. The Olympic Sport Association (Spanish acronym: ADO) Programme, Spanish Radio and Television (Spanish acronym: RTVE), Telefónica, Joma, the Catholic University of Murcia, Sanitas and Estrategia Chapman have all contributed to the good Olympic results harvested by the Spanish squad and this recognition should be duly acknowledged. I wholeheartedly believe that this was a good commitment. I believe that what you have done is very wise; moreover, this benefits everyone and doesn't harm anyone; it is very difficult to take a decision that it so beneficial and achieves such good results at the same time. So I would urge all of you to continue being involved and playing your part, because we are going to give our all so that others can do the same.

Dear friends,

Sport is a mechanism for union in which all the stakeholders must collaborate to continue making progress and guarantee that our athletes benefit from optimum work conditions and physical preparation to face up to their competitive challenges.

I also want to congratulate Alejandro Blanco and the Spanish Olympic Committee. You are a key element of our Olympic successes. Thanks to your work, the Olympic values and the promotion of sport continues to grow in our country.

In recent years, sport has gathered momentum in Spain and I believe that one athlete - if you will allow me to mention him - with so much experience and success as Jesús Ángel García Bragado has bear witness to this upward curve. You have taken part in seven Olympic Games and you could take part in another seven more, which is a great example of how Spanish sport has evolved in recent years. You are a true legend in Spanish speed walking. When you arrived at the airport - I saw you; I had a fairly tough August but it helped me relax a lot to see our athletes take part in the Olympic Games -it was an emotional moment for me, as it was for you, when you got off the aeroplane and there was a group of your colleagues and friends waiting there for you. You said that you were unaware of what that had planned for you and hence you didn't know that they were there waiting for you, and I believe you. I was excited for you and that pleases me because seven appearances at the Olympic Games is no mean feat. I raise my hat to you, Jesús Ángel.

Dear friends,

The Spanish performance in Rio represents a new milestone for our Olympic sport and has given a whole new drive to practising sport in our country, a stimulus for the best Olympic values and an example to everyone.

You play a very important role in Spain's image abroad, of a nation - Spain - that is competitive, enthusiastic and well prepared; but also in the image that the Spanish people have of themselves. You are an example that many young people look up to in which they see a path for the future with opportunities, and I believe that you convey certain values which are very important for a society to have. There are those who believe that, at the end of the day, it falls to the public authorities, to the State, to resolve everything; but that's not the case. At the end of the day society is what the people that make it up are, and when through what you do you transmit certain values such as hard work, sacrifice, effort and dedication, you are making a great contribution to all the people of Spain, both at present and in the future, and hence, that is a great help for Spain.

The Government of Spain has a great commitment to sport, but we must do even more. We worked hard during the last legislature, at a difficult time for Spain and, in the end, the work, the efforts and the dedication of the Spanish people have slowly produced results.

I believe that things have been done, but that we must still do more in the fight against doping, in improving the federations, in fostering inclusion, in strengthening Paralympic sport, and this is very important as it has also given us many moments to remember, in boosting equality and in eliminating all forms of violence.

Sport is much more than just a word; sport also brings good health, quality of life, education, social inclusion and opportunities. These are values that make a society strong.

We know that the ADO Programme has given us some good results. Since its inception, a great many Spanish people have had the chance to achieve great successes, such as all of you who are here today. We are going to keep up our commitment to Spanish sport and, together with our partners, the Spanish Olympic Committee, Spanish Radio and Television, collaborators and sponsors, we will keep up our commitment to our Olympians and, between us all, we will redesign a new plan that will allow these goals to be maintained.

Tokyo 2020 is just round the corner and I wish to convey our full support and encourage you to prepare well for this new challenge at which, once again, all of the people of Spain will undoubtedly be joyful and proud of you.

Thank you very much.