MADRID, 20 (EUROPA PRESS)
The badminton player Carolina Marín, the water polo player Paula Leiton, the Spanish youth women’s handball team, the Valencia FC of the Futures League and the Paralympic athletes Elena Congost and Loida Zabala were awarded this Wednesday at the VII edition of the Sports Values Gala organized by the newspaper Sport.
Some national sports figures took to the stage of the Royal Tapestry Factory of Madrid, but, above all, athletes who with their actions, values and demands helped improve society. The gala had a second part where Sport, on its 45th anniversary, honored many other sports legends.
Jorge Valdano and Vicente del Bosque, the president of the ACB, Antonio Martín, the former cyclist Perico Delgado, the former tennis player Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Laia Sanz and the CEO of Dorna, Carmelo Ezpeleta, as representatives of the motor world, were part of the extensive poster of the gala in Madrid with the also presence of different authorities such as the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría, and the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), Alejandro Blanco.
“Spanish sport not only has magnificent athletes, but also magnificent people,” said the minister, who also applauded the solidarity of the athletes with those affected by the tragic DANA.
Olympic legends such as Saúl Craviotto and David Cal, also Gemma Mengual, Andrea Fuentes and Ona Carbonell, who put synchronized swimming at the top, and mythical figures such as Lydia Valentín or Fermín Cacho and Chuso Bragado were also the stars of a sports and values.
The Extraordinary Values Award went to Paralympic weightlifter Loira Zabala; the Valores 2024 Award went to the Spanish Olympic water polo champion Paula Leiton and the Valores Gesto Humano award went to the Paralympic athlete Elena Congost, while the Spanish women’s under-18 handball team was recognized with the Valores Female Team Award.
The Valores Superación Award recognized Carolina Marín for her incredible resilience and perseverance, and the Valencia CF junior A team from LaLiga FC Futures was the winner of the Valores Men’s Team Award for its exemplary gesture of sportsmanship, honesty and respect.
