In ancient Rome, the first great idols of speed risked their lives competing with chariots in which the power was provided by up to ten horses.. The multiple versions of the classic Ben-Hur that have reached the cinema had one of their climaxes at that moment in which the hero and the villain competed against each other at the command of chariots, chariots pulled in this case by four runaway horses to which They tried to control firmly and correctly with only their hands.

In the next edition of the Dakar, which will be held between January 5 and 19, Isidre Esteve (Oliana, 1972) will once again take on the challenge of controlling, with just his hands, more than 400. Of power, in this case, at the controls of a Toyota Hilux T1 plus with which, together with his inseparable co-driver and mechanic, Txema Villalobos, he will face a test to which he always arrives with the enthusiasm of a beginner. Whatever the challenges are.

“I think it is the most radical edition that has been presented to us since the race was held in Saudi Arabia,” he says, before embarking on what will be the nineteenth time he faces a test in which speed, navigation and endurance are key factors for all pilots, regardless of the position in which they manage to complete it.

“I have normalized it”

Reaching the finish line, in itself, is an absolutely negligible success, despite the fact that, in your case, of course, you aspire to be at least among the top 20. “If it can be closer to tenth than twentieth, then much better,” he reiterates.. «We arrived very well at Dakar 2024. We have one more year of experience with the car, and that has allowed us to change certain things, to be better on board and at the same time be more competitive,” he explains.

In his case, the challenge is twofold: compete in one of the toughest races in the world and do it controlling the car with only his hands.. A serious accident suffered in Baja Almanzora, more than 16 years ago, forced him to say goodbye to his first great passion in the world of speed, motorcycles, and condemned him to being irremediably bound to a wheelchair.

The prospect of competing again was one of his lifesavers. Therefore, what many would see as a very heavy burden is for him only and exclusively part of his reality as an athlete.. «I have normalized it, but, naturally, driving the car like this is more difficult. Being able to use my feet would make it easier, but I never stop to think about the complications. It's my way of driving, and that's it, nothing happens. The important thing is the desire and I am happy to be able to go out every day knowing that, in the end, we will be in the same classification as the rest.

“It won't be that bad either”

At the end of each stage, you should also dedicate a lot of time to recovery.. An aspect in which his wife, Lidia, is vital. “We know each other perfectly, he knows what difficulties I have and how we have to work every day,” explains Isidre Esteve, who also highlights the importance of muscle memory.. «Many times, when they ask me about the difficulties, I think “oh man, it won't be that big of a deal!”, because it's my daily life and it doesn't seem that way to me,” he insists with a smile..

«What motivates me a lot is that there is a Dakar that is very demanding. We already liked the empty quarter of the last edition a lot, but we thought that there were very few kilometers each day, and this time we will have a real empty quarter, also with this 48-hour special, a marathon stage with 300 kilometers each day. I really appreciate that the organization gives us flexibility and security to offer a stage in the dunes in which everyone will be able to get the most out of it,” he values.

On this occasion, the Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, winner of the last two editions, will no longer compete at the controls of a Toyota that has proven to be a terribly competitive vehicle in the desert. The increasingly distant positions with the Japanese brand culminated in a more than notorious breakup. And that will not be the only incentive of an edition that Isidre Esteve foresees as very groundbreaking.

«Dakar 2024 is going to mark a big change. A new generation is arriving, of very young drivers, Nasser has gone to BRX, in 2025 he will compete with Dacia and then I think the team will not be very different. “We will have to be attentive to see what they bring,” reiterates a pilot who, for the moment, does not even have the idea of retiring in his head. In fact, he has not even considered what exactly he will do when the time comes. «What I am sure of is that I am going to fight every day to continue doing what I like most, whether within the world of racing and competition or outside of it. I like to live in the present to the fullest. “I enjoy what we have now, a very competitive team, with wonderful people and we try to enjoy every moment to the fullest,” he concludes.

LaLiga has announced the amount of television rights that affects its 42 professional teams. The most striking thing is that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the two main Spanish clubs, double Sevilla's television income, which would be the fourth team.

Whites and culés receive 161.24 and 160.53 million euros, respectively. In third position would be Atlético de Madrid, which receives 119.03 million while Sevilla, which would be the fourth team, receives only 82.34 million euros. The fifth would be Betis with 70.1 million and then there would be Valencia, with 66.86 and Real Sociedad, with 65.14, almost 100 million less than the two big ones.

Regarding last season, it is worth noting that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona maintain their 2021/22 income while Atlético de Madrid considerably lowers their emoluments from 130 to the current 119.

It must be remembered that the distribution of rights is carried out in accordance with Royal Decree Law 5/2015, which divides 50% equally and the other 50% takes into account the results of the last five seasons and the implementation of each club.. However, there cannot be a difference greater than 3.5 (when €1,500M is exceeded) between the one who earns the most and the one who earns the least.

In total terms, LaLiga EA Sports, formerly Santander, also reduces income from 1,426 million euros to the current 1,375. If we add LaLiga Hypermotion we talk about 1,585 million euros in 2021/22 to 1,525 in 22/23.

In the silver category, 201 million euros have been distributed. The teams that benefited the most were those recently relegated due to the aid that is contemplated in the event of a reduction in category.. Thus, Alavés received €28.31M (€19.31M in aid), Levante €28.11M (18.99 in subsidy), and Granada €23.88M (14.24 in aid).

UEFA and LaLiga have asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to modify the press release of the ruling on the Super League, considering it inaccurate and contradictory.

According to 'The Times', in its letter, UEFA denounces that the note sent to the press was erroneous and that, among other things, it did not include key points such as that sports organizations can request exemptions from European competition rules if they are of public interest. “The press releases of the CJEU must at least faithfully reflect the actual content of the ruling. “While we appreciate that press releases are not binding on the court, they are the focal point of media attention in high-profile cases, and damage the perception and reputation of UEFA, given the extreme seriousness of the matter.”

“The statements also remain on the court's website. Additionally, in a high-profile case like this they attract a lot of attention and influence the way the case is perceived.. We therefore ask that you ensure that the press release is modified to accurately reflect the court's ruling,” concluded the European body's letter to the CJEU..

For its part, LaLiga, through its president, Javier Tebas, also criticized the wording of the press release because “it caused an undeniable misinterpretation of the true legal meaning of the ruling.”

“The official press release of the CJEU, on which all the media based their information, contained an erroneous headline that led to confusion among journalists and other citizens who accessed this statement,” Tebas argued about that controversial writing..

Many, many years ago, a battle between the eastern and western districts of Taiarapu (Tahiti) ended with the victory of the latter led by King Teahupoo. He decided to build a macabre wall with the heads of the defeated. This battle, this wall and this king gave their name to one of the most famous waves in the world. A wave to which all the great international surfers have made a pilgrimage to test themselves before its enormous jaws.

“It is one of the most powerful, the championships there are for gladiators”. The person who defines Teahupoo to EL MUNDO is Aritz Aranburu, the Basque surfer has surfed it on many occasions, but his first time was as exciting as it was bumpy.. He almost lives up to the name of the peak and hits his head on a coral that has claimed countless victims.. It can be said that he was lucky since his baptism resulted in cuts on both insteps after a bad fall and returning home on crutches.

Because of its fame, its beauty and its belonging, Teahupoo was chosen as the venue for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to celebrate the surfing test.. So far everything is correct, the fact is that in the technical visit of the Olympic committee it was estimated that a different structure was needed as a “security measure” for those in charge of judging the test.. The wooden booth in which the judges of the world surf circuit events are located seemed insufficient to them.

The point is that this structure, whose cost rose to 4.3 million euros, had to be supported by a base installed in the coral reef, one of the secrets that the Teahupoo wave builds together with the cold currents of the river that They flow into an underwater canyon.

surfing olympic games. Ola Teahupo

This type of work brings back bad memories for Aritz and he mentions when the bottom was dredged and the mythical wave of Mundaka (Vizcaya) was damaged or how the construction of a restaurant changed the course of a river and damaged another break in Mexico.. “In nature there is a harmony, when it is good there is no need to change it,” he says.

In the first phase of the installation, the coral was damaged, which generated a great wave of criticism from locals and also from some international surfers, including the legendary Kelly Slater, eleven-time winner of the world surfing championship.. “When the people there ask that things be kept the same, you understand it because the coral reef, which is very important there for fishing, is considered something sacred,” Aranburu said.

However, and despite the fact that this accident caused the stoppage of the works and serious self-criticism from the president of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, Tony Estanguet; The French Sports Minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, showed a firm position: “There is no plan B, this is the right path”, rejecting the option of building the new structure on top of the current one to avoid damaging the seabed.

The B plans that had been suggested were, in addition to not building a new base on the coral, moving the event to other breaks in French Polynesia such as the nearby Tahuruu beach, in Lacanau or La Torche, cities that demand to know before Christmas to prepare for the event. Although these options are impossible today. “If you think of Tahiti, Teahupoo is the most powerful,” Aranburu concedes.

Agreement

After some final meetings between all the parties involved, it seems that an agreement in principle has been reached, reducing the weight of the structure to be installed for less invasion of the precious coral.. It would not have the same weight to win the gold medal in another spot other than Teahupoo. “When it increases in size and is powerful, you no longer think about who you are competing against but rather against yourself,” says Aritz.

The Basque surfer, who has experienced some of his best moments on a board there, such as the two eliminations of Kelly Slater in the World Surf Association (WSL) championship, has also experienced bad ones and we are not just talking about his debut.. “It's a double-sided wave, when it goes well it is the best of your life, but when it goes bad it has its risks,” he says.

Five surfers have died after hitting the coral reef that forms these incredible walls up to three meters thick and, sometimes, several meters high.. The wave is produced by suction so, when it is formed, there is only a film of water between one and two meters above the coral.. A marine element that, at certain speeds, cuts the skin like a blade. Almost all the surfers who have dared to try Teahupoo have tried it, just some with more luck than others.

The Spanish surf team is not yet classified to surf the wall of skulls. The team composed of Kai Odriozola, Andy Criere and Yago Domínguez, in the men's category and Nadia Erostarbe, Janire González-Etxabarri and Lucía Machado, in the women's category, must obtain their ticket to the ISA World Surfing Games in Margara (Puerto Rico) between February and March 2024.

With the waters calm after the signing of Jon Rahm for the LIV circuit, the future of golf awaits a date: December 31, 2023. There are barely hours left for the two blocks, the PGA Tour and the LIV, to certify the agreement or not. It will be the first stone of the new order or the beginning of chaos. Americans and Saudis are condemned to understand each other, but the PGA Tour does not quite see any of the demands that come from Arabia, even though they are sprinkled with millions and with Rahm.

The maximum pressure is on the side of the Americans. These are tense days in Jacksonville, Florida, where the PGA Tour offices seem closed for vacation, but commissioner Jay Monahan spends hours locked in his office. Rahm's departure, they say, was an unexpected crochet on the chin. But after the initial shock the American circuit fights to regain its guard. The agreement with the American investment fund Strategic Sports Group (SSG) would be closed pending signature and the circuit hopes to rearm itself and not depend on the millions from the Saudis.

One of the many problems for the American circuit is that it is no longer a pineapple. The players distrust the management of their commissioner. A group of 21 modest members of the PGA Tour have hired a lawyer to enter into the details of the negotiation in which they feel alienated. Just a few days ago, the Norwegian Viktor Hovland, fourth in the world, one of those tempted by the LIV, made his position very clear: “They see the circuit players as labor and not as members.”. “We are the PGA Tour and it is clear that without the players there would be no circuit.”

Nothing will be the same

Yankee Commissioner Monahan needs aces up his sleeve with a delicate economic situation. In recent months, the PGA Tour used its own reserve funds to inject million-dollar sums of money into its tournaments and thus avoid a rout of the great players to LIV Golf.. There were eight tournaments that went from 15 to 25 million dollars in prizes, in addition to an extra 145 million to increase games in the FedEx Cup, the Top10 Comcast or the Player Impact Program that decides how much to distribute among the best players of the year in the PGA.

Whatever happens, nothing will be the same for the circuit again.. Monahan himself has his days numbered and, to the distrust of the players, we must add that of such loyal sponsors as Honda or Wells Fargo, who have announced their separation.. In recent times there has been little positive news for the PGA, if anything the commitment of Tiger Woods, who in the offices took a step forward as one of the directors of players on the circuit and in the field offers signs of improvement to maintain the tournament interest.

The lack of Saudi signings

The situation is complicated in the United States, but the other side cannot get carried away by euphoria either.. The signing of Rahm was a coup, but at the moment it has not been accompanied by new signings. In recent months everything has been negative. The Spanish Adri Arnaus could be the fifth Spaniard to be part of LIV Golf and join Rahm's new team, although there is nothing official. From the LIV the strategy is clear: silence and dollars. After the stellar appearance in New York on the day of his signing, Rahm has not spoken again, nor have his tour mates, and the offers to the stars of world golf continue.

First there was the attempt to hire Tony Finau for the LIV, then the siren call to Hovland and, at this moment, conversations persist with several players, including the Australian Adam Scott, one of the directors of the players' committee at the PGA Tour. His departure would be a high betrayal.

Golf decides its future in these hours before 2024, although the negotiation period could be extended a few more weeks. Meanwhile, we will only have to wait for the month of February to see Jon Rahm compete again, even if it is in a multi-million dollar LIV Golf 'pachanga' in Mayakoba (Mexico), precisely the same place where the PGA Tour gave him his first opportunity.