Newsletter Toro 2007 Official bulletin of the 14th SPAR European Cross Country Championships # 02-30th OCTOBER 2007 SUMMARY CONTENTS Official presentation Toro 2007..page 1 Airports information...page 2 The city of Toro...page 3 Interview with Marta Romo...page 4 PUBLISHED BY Organising Committee Toro 2007 COORDINATION Marco Alonso Ignacio Mansilla Official presentation Toro 2007 José María Odriozola, RFEA president, and Jesús Andrés Sedano, Toro major, signed the collaboration agreement between these two institutions. Past 22th October it was celebrated in the Toro s City Council the official presentation of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships, which will be celebrated in Monte La Reina Course (Toro) next 9th December. The presentation was presided by Jesús Andrés Sedano, Toro major, and José María Odriozola, president of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA), along with Clara Sandamián, representing Diputación de Zamora, Luis Alberto Pujades (Castilla y León Regional Government), Gerardo García (president of the Castilla y León Athletics Federation) and Jesús Mardaras (National High Sports Council). The first in speaking was Toro major, Jesús Andrés Sedano, who emphasized the fact that it s a great honour for this city to host the most important competition of the year in Europe in cross country running. We are confident that all local institutions will contribute to the success of the Championships. Following, Clara Sandamián addressed the audiencia, underlining that this is the most important event this year in all the Zamora s province, so we will put all our efforts in the organisation of the competition. In addition, José María Odriozola spoke about the sports aspects of the competition. This is the first time that the Europeans will be celebrated in Spain. Toro was designated as host country in Edinburgh 2003, among other things, because of its magnificent course, Monte La Reina, which will be a great scenery of this year s competition. Regarding the chances of the Spanish team Odriozola underlined that the team will be decided mainly after Llodio and Soria cross country races. Every year our goal is the gold, but in this edition even more, taking into consideration that it will be celebrated at home and that several important athletes are preparing to compete there. During the official presentation José María Odriozola and Jesús Andrés Sedano signed the collaboration agreement between Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA) and Toro City Council that will contribute with 180.000 euros to the general budget of the competition. During the following weeks they will sign other agreements for the same quantity with Diputación de Zamora and Castilla y León Regional Government. 1
Barajas and Villanubla, the European s gates Do you know that? The works of the high speed train (AVE) between Medina del Campo and Zamora will start in 2008. These works will allow trains coming or going to Galicia connect with the track from Madrid to Valladolid. According to the planes, these works, along with a wide track interchange (trains that come from Madrid will use the European wide and train from Galicia the Renfe one) will open next summer. With this new track the time of the trip from Galicia to the Spanish capital will be reduced in around one hour and twenty minutes or one hour and a quarter. Diputación de Zamora celebrated the Province s day last 20th October in the village of Fuentesaúco. In the official act, president of Diputación, Fernando Martínez Maillo announced the creation of an Inmigration Provincial Council and the introduction of a Tourism Provincial Plan. In addition, it was paid tribute to the Music Conservatory of Middle Grade, which was created by Diputación de Zamora in the course 1982-82 and which property has passed this year to the local Government of Castilla y León. Zamora s Provincial Tourism Council will invest a total of 100.000 euros in order to promote the tourism in the province. The beneficiaries of this help will be 72 villages in order to publish information brochures, to organise guide visits, creation of new events and touristic sources or the promotion of festivities of The majority of athletes and rest of persons involved in the organisation of the 14th SPAR European Cross Country Championships will enter Spain through Madrid-Barajas and Valladolid-Villanubla Airports. The first is located 12 kilometres northwest of the Spanish capital and nowadays is Spain s main airport and 13th in the world considering the number of passengers per year with more than 45,6 million passengers in 2006. After the inauguration of the new and modern Terminal 4 in the beginning of 2006, a building which has received several international prizes for its design and functionality, the Madrid airport has become the highest in the world according to the surface of its terminals, with a million square metres distributed among T1, T2, T3, T4 and T4 satellite. Madrid Barajas Airport has direct connections with the airports of the main European cities and is the European airport with the highest number of direct flights to Latin America. On the other side, Valladolid- Villanubla Internacional Airport is located 10 kilometres away from the city, in the village of Villanubla and is the main airport of Castilla y León Region. It is an airport in clear expansion with more than 450.000 passengers in 2006 thanks mainly to the establishment of some low cost airlines which connect Valladolid with several European cities. Now, from Valladolid is possible to fly to Brussels Charleroi, London Stansted and Milan Orio al Serio with Ryanair company and to Paris Orly with Air France and Iberia. In addition, from An image of the new terminal 4 of the Barajas International Airport. Valladolid is possible to fly to several Spanish cities: with Iberia to Alicante, Barcelona, Gran Canaria Gando, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Seville and Tenerife, while with Lagun Air is possible to fly to Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Sevilla and Valencia. Valladolid-Villanubla airport is located 70 kilometres from Toro while Madrid Airport is 230 kilometres from the Zamoranian city. In both cases the organisation will provide transportation to and from the airports to Toro. An image of the Valladolid-Villanubla Airport, one of the gates to the Europeans. 2
Toro, a city with a rich history The city that will host this 14th SPAR European Cross Country Championships is a beautiful city in northwest Spain, rising up over the river Duero and declared of historical, artistic and architectural importance. Nowadays Toro counts with a surface of 326km2 and with 9.667 inhabitants according to the 2006 census. Its population density is 29,65 inhabitants per km2 and is located 33km from the province s capital, Zamora. The city s origins date back to the Iberian Celtic age but it enjoyed its greatest splendour in the Middle Ages, when it was a royal residence, dwelling place for noblemen and a meeting point for the parliament. It also played an important role in the historic events that led to the consolidation of Spain. From its memorable past Toro retains a rich artistic heritage, which Toro s Puerta del Mercado with Santa María La Mayor Chruch on the backdrop. can be appreciated by walking through the city s narrow streets, its squares and beauty sports all of which evoke the past and transport the visitor back in time-. Thousands of visitors are attracted to the city each year to view its many monuments, including the Roman-Gothic style Collegiate Church of Santa María La Mayor, Roman-Mudejar style churches such as San Salvador de los Caballeros, Santo Sepulcro, San Lorenzo and Santa María de la Vega. There are also monasteries like Sancti Spiritus, Santa Sofia and Santa Clara as well as palaces, stately homes, gateways and city walls. Two fascinating festivals, the Carnaval and Vendimia, also attract great tourist interest. The local economy is largely agricultural, with beetroot and corn among the main crops. Also important are the processing of these crops as well as pork and dairy products. But the product that has given Toro world fame is without any doubt their wine that yet has a very long tradition which during the last two decades has advanced and achieved a worldwide recognition. Toro s landscape is spotted with vineyards and wine cellars that stand out in the country like real monuments of our moust famous product: the wine. Toro s landmarks Stone bull or verraco Located in one of the entrances to the village, besides the Santa Catalina Arch, the Stone Bull or Verraco is one of the oldest monuments of Toro and according to several historians the city took his name from this sculpture. It s believed to be a work of the first settlers of Iberian Peninsula, before the Roman domination, because this monument bears some resemblance with other similar sculptures like Guisando Bulls or Bull of Salamanca. It is made of granite in only one piece and crudelly worked, located over a pedestal. According to several historians this bulls have a lot of simbology because they were placed in the roads like milestones in the most important routes. It was created that they attracted rain and help the fertility of the terrains and in addition they were a force symbol and fertility because they were stud bulls. We have to remark that the symbol of the bull has been always connected to the city. So, we can say that it appeared in the primitive weapons shield of the village, which has only a green camp with the figure of a bull. After this a lyon was added to the Toro s Shield. 3
Interview with: Marta Romo: Achieving a place on the podium in Toro would be the greatest thing The shelves in Marta Romo s house begin to overflow with trophies, medals and prizes she has achieved during her victorious sports career. The Salamanca born athlete, only 19 years old, has already won the bronze medal in the SPAR Cross Country Championships (2004), has been proclaimed twice best junior athlete of the season, won in the Spanish National Championships over 5.000 metres and now wants to debut in the Under 23 category with a place on the podium in the Europeans of Toro. This dream can possibly become true within one month. - You have yet achieved a lot of goals with only 19 years - It s not that many either. I m satisfied with my achievements so far during this year, but I also had bad days and I need to improve some aspects. - What do you prefer: to run in the track or in cross country? - It doesn t matter to me. I m focused on running on both surfaces. Each event has its peculiarities, so you have to adapt to the characteristics of each of them. - But it s more comfortable running on track than getting covered in mud in a cross country race - Depending on the time of the year and the weather, cross country is more or less though. But running on track is not easy either. You have to be mentally strong to maintain the concentration while running lap for lap. - SPAR European Cross Country Championships will be disputed in December. How do you manage the The athlete from Salamanca Marta Romo winning the bronze medal three years ago in Heringsdorf. Marta Romo Born on 25th December in Salamanca. 1,74m/53kg. cold? - I don t like the cold at all, but I was in Kenya during the Worlds suffering under extremely hot weather conditions and I didn t like that either. I m from Salamanca and I know perfectly well what we can expect in Toro. It s going to be cold and we have to accept it. No matter what weather conditions we will encounter, it will be the same for all participants. - So Europeans in Canarias would be better - Probably. During that time the weather would be nicer. - You have achieved the prize as best junior athlete of the season for the second time in a row and now you enter Most important achievements: - Bronze medal in the Europeans Heringsdorf 2004. - Bronze medal in the Under 23 Europeans Debrecen 2007 in 5.000m. - 5.000m Spanish Champion 2007. Performances: - 1.500m: 4:16.35 (07) - 3.000m: 9:13.98 (06) - 5.000m: 15:50.25 (07) the Under 23 category. Is the challenge getting tougher every year? - Yes, of course. The athletes competing with me are now older and it will be more difficult to achieve new victories. - You already know how it feels to achieve a medal in a Europeans. What is your goal in Toro? - The bronze medal in the Europeans tasted sweet and repeating it in front of my home crowd, with my people supporting me, would be the greatest thing. I don t have any expectations yet because it s still far away. Anyway, I go to all competitions with the intention of achieving the maximum result. I will be there, trying my best. - Thinking about your future, do you consider living of athletics? - Not yet. I m still staying with my parents and I can t live of the money I earn with athletics. I rely on my parent s support. - You are currently studying Medicine. How do you manage both things at a time? - You can achieve what you really want. I think that you can achieve everything if you put effort in it. - Up to now, Marta Domínguez hasn t confirmed her participation in Toro, but it would be nice to see you running together - It would be amazing. Marta is a great athlete and it would be a pleasure to count on her in the Europeans, considering that the competition will be held for the first time in Spain. Moreover she is from Castilla y León and therefore competing will be very tempting to her. 4
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