One of the lesser-known aspects by fans is the physical conditioning of elite athletes before starting their preparation for major competitions. Science has proved to be a great ally for coaches. Thanks to the assessments and studies carried out at the High Performance Sports Research Centre (CIARD, by its Spanish acronym) at UCAM, coaches obtain very valuable data to comprehensively prepare great athletes, such as the walkers coached by José Antonio Carrillo, who were recently team world champions, or the UCAM Murcia CB (Basketball team) of the Endesa League. Mariano García and Mohamed Katir, both of the Universidad Católica, along with their coach Gabi Lorente, have met at the facilities to undergo anthropometric tests and stress tests before their big outdoor events this summer: the World Championships in Eugene (USA) in July and the European Championships in Munich (Germany) in August. 

Mariano García, world indoor 800m champion, arrives at this stage of the season with the desire to continue excelling and surprising: “I don't set myself any limits because I want to achieve great success, for which the work we do at the CIARD is important, which is essential to keep improving”. With the gold medal he won in Belgrade still shining, he knows that he will be under more scrutiny, but it doesn't seem to be something that affects him too much: “I don't care if they put me under pressure now, because I don't put myself under any. I'm only worried about reaching each race in the best possible condition”.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Katir has just finished a resting period to focus on the Diamond League before the big events in the summer and looks set to continue competing in 1500 and 5000m: “I feel like a fully-fledged athlete. I've shown that even in a 10K I can perform at my best. My rivals know that if I am in a race, they will have to give their all to beat me”. 

Pedro Emilio Alcaraz, director of CIARD at UCAM, highlights the importance of the multidisciplinary and long-term work that has been carried out for years: “They are two exceptional athletes and working with them and their coach is a privilege for our team. Success always depends on the athlete's performance on the track, but for us it is satisfactory to know that with our work at CIARD we contribute to it”. 

Gabi Lorente, coach of both athletes, explains that “these tests allow us to know exactly what their limits are so that we can fine-tune their training to make it much more specific". The coach highlights the work of Cristian Marín, who is responsible for the physiological assessments, and Javier Martínez, who carries out the nutritional monitoring and periodic evaluations of body composition and basal metabolic rate.