Spain has no homologated ice track for skeleton or bobsleigh, a long-standing limitation that has shaped the technical development of both disciplines in the country. The climate, the scarcity of snow in most regions and the absence of dedicated winter-sport facilities for much of the year place Spanish athletes in a particularly challenging environment when preparing sports traditionally rooted in Alpine or Nordic territories.
Despite these constraints, a small group of athletes continues to keep Spain present on the international circuit thanks to the leadership of Ander Mirambell, a pioneer of skeleton in the country and the first Spaniard to compete in the sport at the Olympic Winter Games. Since retiring from competition after Beijing 2022, Mirambell has taken on a mentorship and technical support role for the emerging generation of sliders.
Creativity as the key to progress without facilities
Spanish athletes rely on a range of alternative training methods, including dry-land push sessions, sprint work, strength training tailored to the explosive start and pilot-training simulators. To complete their technical preparation, the team regularly travels to European ice tracks in Germany, Austria, Italy or Latvia, where they can train on ice and cover aspects that cannot be developed at home.
As part of this constant process of adaptation, the team held a spring training camp in Blanes, far from the usual winter-sport setting. The focus was on strengthening mental and sensory skills directly linked to performance on the ice. As pilot Adrián Rodríguez explained, “training away from our usual environment forces us to stay alert and adapt, and that makes a difference when we return to the ice.”
Underwater training
During the camp, Mirambell introduced a scuba-diving session designed to simulate pressure, limited vision and decision-making under stress. Conducted with technical support on the Catalan coast, the activity sought to recreate—underwater—some of the sensations pilots face when descending an ice track at high speed.
The drill included removing the mask to reduce visibility, locating an object on the seabed and managing stress through controlled breathing. Rodríguez noted that “there was a moment of chaos without the goggles, but my competitive side kicked in and I went straight for the target.” Pilot Leanna García added that “the key was staying calm; when I couldn’t see anything I went up to the surface, but I understood that this was part of the exercise.” Meanwhile, Clara Aznar said that “working without visual references forced me to rely on other senses, something very useful when you react in fractions of a second on the ice.”
Mirambell, pioneer and driving force in Spain
Spain’s presence in these sliding sports has historically been limited, with intermittent participation at the Olympic Winter Games and only one Spanish skeleton athlete until 2022—a role held by Mirambell himself. In recent years, new athletes have joined the programme, including the first Spanish woman to compete at a World Championships, while the national federation works to expand the talent pool.
With the aim of ensuring continuity, Mirambell launched a national talent-identification programme to recruit new pilots for skeleton and bobsleigh. Combining physical and mental assessments, the initiative has helped establish a structured pipeline to support the team throughout the Olympic cycle.
Today, Spanish athletes are competing in the IBSF World Cup with the objective of scoring points toward qualification for Milano Cortina 2026. The combination of international training camps and alternative preparation methods has become essential for compensating the lack of infrastructure in Spain and sustaining the country’s presence in these disciplines.
