Julieta Gallego Gámez, a 24-year-old athlete specialized in long jump and a member of AD Sprint de Madrid, has died in the railway accident that occurred on Wednesday, October 28 in Urda (Toledo). This was reported by AS and Cadena SER, which reproduce the announcement made by her club on social media. Her death gives a name and sporting career to one of the victims of the tragedy.
Gallego was part of the jumps group of the Madrid-based club, with which she had participated in national championships. After her death became known, AD Sprint conveyed its condolences to her family, friends, and teammates and has called events in her memory.
Fourth in Spain sub-23 in long jump
Born on October 9, 2002, Julieta Gallego had just turned 24 years old. One of the most notable results of her career came on February 5, 2023, when she finished fourth in the long jump final of the Spanish Under-23 Indoor Championship, held in Antequera.
The AD Sprint athlete reached 5.90 meters, a mark she achieved in two of her six attempts. Ahead of her finished Tessy Ebosele, champion with 6.50 meters; Evelyn Yankey, second with 6.09, and Carmen Rosales, third with 6.04. Gallego was 14 centimeters short of the podium in that national final.
Her presence in the Spanish championships continued in the following season. In July 2024 she competed in the outdoor Under-23 National Championship held in Burgos, where she finished eighth in long jump with a leap of 5.62 meters, according to the official report of the Real Federación Española de Atletismo.
AD Sprint bids farewell to its teammate
The news has struck the club in which she carried out her sporting activity. In the statement reproduced by the media, AD Sprint expresses its pain over the loss of a member of its jumps group and extends its support to the people close to the athlete. "You will always be part of our Sprint family", the entity says in its farewell.
The club has announced for this Thursday, October 29, a minute of silence in its two schools: at 6:00 p.m. on the Paracuellos athletics track and at 7:30 p.m. in Santa Ana. The tributes will remember Julieta Gallego and the rest of the people who died in the Urda accident.