Pepe Moreno became fascinated by acrobatics when he was only ten years old and joined the Club Dinàmic de Manises, in Valencia. “Children who fly, balance, impossible jumps… it’s something that really catches your attention,” explains the Valencian who, after a life dedicated to acrobatic gymnastics, returns from Varna (Bulgaria) after having won three silver medals in the European Junior and Senior Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships. In total, the Spanish delegation added five.
From there he returns enthusiastic about the achievement – “no one until now had won three medals”, he clarifies – and accustomed to the fact that his feat, shared with the gymnast Juan Daniel Molina, does not have excessive repercussions. For now, life goes on the same, as they say. “We’re used to it,” he says.
The Spanish Gymnastics Federation, chaired by the well-known gymnast Jesús Carballo, dedicated two articles to them in its news space and the official profile of this Federation on Instagram, some more with several photos added, and Carballo himself sent them a message. The athlete explains it, who counts it as a small recognition of the effort made: “We have been listened to on social networks, but we have not had any type of award, no,” he answers questions from this medium.
What recognition do you think you should have? we asked. “That it be recognized that we are a power, Europe is (…) And that our work be valued, I have colleagues who have been dedicating themselves for years and years and they don’t have a single post on Instagram because they didn’t get a medal, I don’t know if I explain…”.
In this last Championship, the Federation covered the team’s expenses, but Moreno explains how it is difficult for them to access a scholarship or have financing to pay for training, since to maintain their high level of demand they must participate in competitions that are held. They celebrate, for example in Granada, but also in Portugal or Belgium. In that case, he is on his own, details the gymnast.
In Valencia there are only two training clubs for acrobatic gymnastics, the Acrobatik club, in Albalat dels Sorells and the Dinàmic where Moreno trains, every day between 12 and 18 hours a week. There he also works in the mornings teaching training or physical education classes. In its center there are about 300 students and in the competition team, 60 people.
He admits to feeling “a little bit of anger” when he sees the impact that other disciplines have, such as artistic or rhythmic disciplines, which recently held their World Cup in Valencia, but all in all, he only asks for “help to be able to continue developing as a club, which value the work we do but, above all, I would ask for a new mat to be able to train and continue advancing. And jumping, running and flying in the air like he has been doing for 14 years now.
