The people of Coruña David Pardavila and Alex Álvarez are about to leave for Greece to participate in the Jiu Jitsu World Championship. Both belong to the Jiu Jitsu Karbo school and they have achieved the necessary sponsorships to cover the expenses of this adventure that will be a finishing touch to their careers after 20 years of competitions and achievements. They are the first Galicians to participate in a World Cup in the Duo modality.
Coruña athletes have spent their entire lives dedicated to Jiu Jitsu“the mother of Japanese martial arts”, and from which others such as “judo, karate and aikido” derive, says Pardavila. They met as teenagers because “We stuck with each other, and as a result of that we became friends.”
They both trained at the Judo Club Coruña, but for a long time they competed in different modalities, “I started competing in Duo with another partner and Alex did it in Wrestling,” he says. However, as the years went by they decided to finally do it together. Furthermore, last year They started their own school with the help of judoka Jaime Roque: Jiu Jitsu Karbo, located on Ramón Cabanillas Street, where they give classes for all levels.
Now, they have been competing for more than two decades, in which they have achieved ten national titles and multiple medals. This year they also achieved the title of champions of Spain in the Duo Show modality, which opens the door for them to participate in the World Championship, which will be held from October 21 to 28 on the island of Crete.
Road to the World Cup
The athletes have decided to compete this month in the world championship, an event they attend with “great enthusiasm” and that It will be a farewell to their sporting career for them. And it is just ten years ago that the people from A Coruña attended their first World Cup in Paris, that, added to the Spanish title won this year, has pushed them to compete in this event to “finish their sporting career.” “I’m 43 years old, and Alex is 40, and it’s already difficult,” Pardevila acknowledges, so “we think it’s a good opportunity.”
To achieve this, They launched a campaign with the aim of finding sponsors for their trip, and they achieved the support of the Galician Judo Federation and DA, DuaCode and the La Garimbota Brewery. So on Sunday they will be able to head to the Greek country.
Allí competirán en las categorías Absoluta y Máster (veteranos). “En la categoría Absoluta son unos mil atletas de unos 50 y pico países, y en Máster unos 300 de unos 30 países. En total somos unos 2.000 atletas, más o menos”, relata.
Pardevila considera que la categoría Absoluta será “complicada” ya que “al que menos le sacamos igual 15 años”, pero esperan poder entrar “en el bloque final en categoría Máster y sacar alguna medalla”.
