The Spanish National Sports Awards granted by the Higher Sports Council (CSD) 2022 were held in Madrid on April 4, 2024. Susana Rodríguez, Carlos Alcaraz and Izan Almansa were the awarded.
Among the winners, Susana Rodríguez, an athlete with a disability, received the Queen Letizia Award for the first time. In her speech, Rodríguez expressed her gratitude for this recognition, stating that it is a very special day for her for two reasons: “First, because I feel very honored to receive this award, since it is also the first time that it has been granted to an athlete with a disability. It was a door that I thought I would never be able to open. I feel very grateful to the jury that has valued my achievements, leaving my disability behind. And secondly, because 2022 was a year of many successes at the level sporting but on a personal level I went through a bad streak, a ‘burn out’ situation. And having this happen two years later makes me able to enjoy it better with my entire team.”
The Queen also had the opportunity to speak with the triathlete about her work at the hospital, and Rodríguez highlighted how much she likes having the opportunity to speak with the most important personalities in her country, The Kings, in such a close way in these events.
ALCARAZ AND… SINNER
On the other hand, Carlos Alcaraz, a rising tennis player and current world number three, also received the King Felipe Award and spoke about his rivalry with Jannik Sinner and the possibility of playing in the Olympic Games with Rafa Nadal. Alcaraz expressed his hope that both he and Sinner can be the next great rivalry in tennis history and hopes that this will help improve his level of play in the next 10 years.
The Princess Leonor Award, awarded to the best athlete under 18 years of age, has been awarded to basketball player Izan Almansa. In 2022, Almansa was crowned European champion with the Spanish team in the under-18 category and was runner-up in the world championship in the under-17 category, being named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in both tournaments.
